Leasing deal to put tractors within reach of Benue smallholder farmers

Smallholder farmers in Benue are among those set to gain access to tractors, irrigation systems and processing equipment under a leasing partnership signed by the Equipment Leasing Registration Authority and Heifer Nigeria.

The two organisations signed a memorandum of understanding running from 15 August 2026 to 14 August 2028 under Heifer Nigeria's Naija Unlock programme, according to a statement from the authority's head of media and corporate communication, Adebola Sunday. The scheme will operate initially in Benue, Nasarawa, Ogun and Edo states, using flexible leasing and lease-to-own arrangements so that farmers, cooperatives, women and younger agripreneurs can use machinery without paying its full purchase price upfront.

The authority's registrar and chief executive, Donald Wokoma, described the agreement as a way of removing one of the main barriers to higher food production, and said the model could later be replicated in other states. For Benue State, which is marketed nationally as Nigeria's food basket but where most farming is still done by hand, the value of the arrangement will depend on how far the equipment reaches beyond the state capital and into rural cooperatives.