NASENI's National Asset Restoration Programme: Revitalizing Nigeria's Agricultural Sector

Strategic Insights -

NASENI, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, has launched the National Asset Restoration Programme in Maiduguri, Borno State, with a focus on the Tractor Recovery Project. This timely intervention aims to revive livelihoods, food security, and self-sufficiency in Nigeria. The programme has unveiled 375 tractors belonging to the Borno State Government, fully funded and refurbished by NASENI. The tractors were commissioned by Vice President Kashim Shettima GCON, on June 8, 2025, at the Borno State Agricultural Mechanization Agency, Farm Centre in Maiduguri.

Key Takeaways:

  • The National Asset Restoration Programme aims to restore 602 idle government and private assets, including tractors, to their original functionality, with a potential cost savings of over ?10 trillion.
  • The Programme has identified 375 priority tractors, which have undergone a full end-to-end refurbishment through an eleven-Step Reverse Engineering Process.
  • The project is expected to create over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs across Borno State and the region.
  • The initiative is projected to cultivate over 500,000 hectares annually, directly benefiting over five million farmers.
  • The Programme will increase mechanization levels in Borno State, with the current level of mechanization at just one per cent.
  • NASENI's contributions to the nation's agriculture mechanization policy is an incentive to build strong centres to address infrastructural challenges and promote key sectors like agro-allied industries.
  • The NASENI Tractor Recovery Project is a comprehensive plan to drive Nigeria's agro-industry, create jobs, diversify the economy, and enhance its global competitiveness through mechanized farming.
  • The initiative demonstrates how NASENI can connect security with economic development by investing in productive assets that put people back to work and food back on the table.

Statistics:

  • Over 47,000 broken-down but serviceable agricultural and law enforcement assets in Nigeria, with a potential replacement value of over ?14 trillion.
  • 375 tractors refurbished by NASENI, with a cost savings of over ?10 trillion.
  • Expected job creation: over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs across Borno State and the region.
  • Projected land cultivation: over 500,000 hectares annually.
  • Direct beneficiaries: over five million farmers.
  • Current level of mechanization in Borno State: one per cent.

Sources:

  • National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI)
  • Vice President Kashim Shettima GCON
  • Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NASENI, Khalil Suleiman Halilu
  • Engr. Mohammed Yadudu, Project Coordinator, National Asset Restoration Programme, NASENI
  • Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), an agency of the United Nations