Nigeria’s maize farmers strengthen partnership to drive mechanization

In line with efforts at boosting maize production and reducing harvest losses, the Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN) partnered Origin Group Automobile to deepen farmers’ access to combine harvesters and mini harvesters.

Bello Abubakar, national president of the Association while speaking at the official flag-off of the 2021 harvest and commissioning of some harvesters last Thursday said the recent partnership is in line with the Association’s effort to improve its mechanization system.

“In our efforts to enhance our mechanization system, we collaborated and partnered with Origin Group Nigeria to supply the association with combine harvesters and mini harvesters,” Abubakar said.

MAAN, he said decided to purchase 15 units of combine harvester and 32 units of mini harvesters in form of a loan, adding that “the group would provide the harvesters to MAAN, MAAN would pay 30 percent initial deposit, after harvest another 30 percent, after dry season farming, 20 percent would be paid while the remaining 20 percent would be paid after next year wet season.”

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Speaking further, Abubakar noted that the combine harvesters have the capacity to harvest 50 to 100 hectares of farm per day, a development he said the maize farmers are happy about as they would have needed to employ at least 50 people to harvest on the farm.

According to him, the harvesters would be first deployed to about 12 states with the largest hectares and subsequently to other states across the country.

“The association appreciates the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Director Development Finance and their staff for supporting farmers in Nigeria with soft loans through the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) which has changed the narration of farming system in Nigeria with the introduction of new technologies and mechanised farming system while applauding the efforts and support of the Chairman and members of Taraba state chapter of MAAN,” he said.