INVESTIGATION: The true story of ‘400 tractors’ ex-Governor Lalong claimed his govt bought for Plateau farmers

In March 2018, former Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong announced that the state government had procured 400 tractors for farmers across the state. The news was widely reported in the newspapers, as can be seen here, here, here, and here.

However, when former President Muhammadu Buhari was invited to commission the tractors, only 40 of them were on display. Mr Lalong explained that this was because the Government House premises used for the ceremony could not contain all the tractors.

A controversy has since raged on the whereabouts of the tractors as most farmers in the state still lack access to modern farm implements.

The tractors during the commissioning Pic by Marie-Therese Lanlong

Plateau State is a leading food producer in Nigeria. Its landscape, fertile soil, and temperate climate make the state suitable for large-scale farming. Yet, the state’s agriculture sector is still dominated by subsistence farming.

Who did what?

The state’s Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) portal stated that the state government procured “400 Tractors and farm implements in 2019” at a total cost of “NGN 5.6 billion.” The agencies and groups involved in the procurement process were “Plateau State Ministry of Agriculture, Plateau State Ministry of Finance, Plateau State Bureau of Public Procurement, Office of Accountant General, Plateau State Local Governments (17 LGAs), Tractor Owners Beneficiaries, Plateau State Government, and Commercial Banks.”

However, the state’s Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has said it was not aware of the project. In response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request sent to his office, the bureau’s director-general, Yabilsu Dogo, said the bureau, which was established to ensure transparency and accountability in government procurement processes, said it was not aware of the procurement.

“I wish to categorically inform you that the Bureau of Public Procurement has no records of the said Procured Tractors, hence not in a position to answer the questions raised in your letter. You may wish to confirm from the State Ministry of Agriculture if it has such information, please,” Mr Dogo wrote in a letter.

In its response through its Programme Manager, Ishaku Jilemsam, Plateau Agricultural Development Programme (PADP) noted: “As far as we may not be able to tell whether there was such procurement of the 400 tractors in question or not, we emphatically wish to state that we did not receive the tractors neither can we tell about the current state of the tractors and whether they are in use or not…”

The Agricultural Services Training Centre and Marketing Ltd (ASTC & M Ltd., through its Managing Director/CEO, Susan Bentu, also said it was “not aware of any transaction regarding the procurement of any 400 tractors said to have been procured during the Lalong’s administration. We do not know how many tractors were procured during the period. We have (had) 300 tractors for mechanised agricultural operations since our establishment.

“None was received from the Plateau State government during the period under review (Lalong’s administration). Since ASTC & M Ltd was never a part of the team for the said procurement, and or beneficiary it cannot say who the beneficiaries of those said 400 tractors are…”

The other agencies said to be involved either in the procurement or implementation of the project did not respond to the FOI requests as of the time of this report, despite many reminders.

‘PPP, not direct contract’

Hakar Engineering Nigeria Limited supplied the tractors to the state government. The company refused to officially reply to questions about its roles in the procurement. However, a senior official of the firm said the purchase did not go through the normal public procurement process because it was not a “direct contract.”

The official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to journalists, explained the company’s role.

“It was not a contract. The whole thing started in 2016 when we presented the tractorisation idea and sought a partnership with the state government.

“It was a tripartite partnership that involved the Plateau State Government, Hakar Engineering, and farmers to revolutionise agricultural activities. The scheme was to allow farmers to own tractors at subsidised rates and pay overtime.

“Each tractor was N14 million. It was to be funded by all stakeholders at different levels as counterpart contributions. The state was to pay 30 per cent, the local government 10 per cent and the farmers 60 per cent. The farmers were to pay 10 per cent of the cost of a tractor as a down payment and the remaining balance was to be spread over three years. As the tractors are working and they make a profit, they remit the payment into an agreed account.

“When the programme came in, it was a complete package and had mechanisation, agricultural development, youth empowerment, community farming, and land development. The government was to subsidise the tractors for farmers to enable them own tractors to develop agriculture.

“I don’t know if it was a misconception because when we were writing the MoU with the government, instead of MoU, it was now presented as a contract to supply tractors. It was not a direct contract but a subsidised PPP programme.”

How many and where are the tractors?

Although the initial intention of the government was to get 400 tractors through the PPP scheme, fewer than 100 tractors were supplied, according to the company official.

“The project was for 400 tractors, which were to be supplied in batches. We brought the first batch, which was over 90, but there were a few delays, and it never took off again. I can’t say why it stopped.”

What we asked for, what we got

Many farmers who got the supplied tractors said they have not been happy ever since. Some of them expressed regrets that they committed their resources to get the equipment.

A beneficiary from Jos North LGA beneficiaries cluster, who asked not to be named so he is not barred from future deals, explained his disappointment. “The government collected N1.5 million from each beneficiary through the All-Farmers Plateau Multi-Purpose Cooperative Limited as a commitment to be given the subsidised tractors.

“The model of tractors agreed upon with the farmers was the Massey Ferguson brand, including all the implements. But the contractor supplied another brand (Deutz Fahr) alien to our topography. When the beneficiaries raised an observation, the representative of the government and the contractor promised and assured the farmers of the availability of spare parts and service stations in each of the senatorial zones in the state, to avoid any breakdowns.

“The remaining parts (trailers) were never supplied. The spare parts were never supplied. Most of the tractors broke down in the first few months. The service centres agreed upon were never established. No trained mechanics were available to repair this brand of tractors.

“The contractors moved out of Plateau State and the beneficiaries were not privy to any information concerning the remaining tractors.”

Why we did not participate – Farmers’ groups

John Wuyep was the chairman of the All-Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Plateau State at the time of the scheme.

“The tractor was an intervention scheme; the state government paid 30 per cent, the LGAs 10 per cent. It was an initiative of Plateau All Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative; it was not AFAN,” Mr Wuyep said.

All-Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN)

“Some persons went as cooperatives and benefitted but the majority were individuals. We felt it was the first batch so we should wait for the subsequent batches, which never came. It was a government arrangement, and it was an election year. After the election, everything stopped, and some people were refunded their money.”

The Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON) also had interest in the scheme. An executive officer of the group, Mary Afan, explained why the group eventually did not participate in it.

“We were asked to pay some amount of money, which was over a million, and small-holder women farmers have no such money.

“When they were procuring the tractors, we told them that as women farmers, we do not need those big tractors but power tillers that women can operate, so they should include those so that women could afford and access them.

“At that time, it was N190,000 to get a power tiller but they didn’t do that. When we talk about food security, people look at big tractors and big farms but what you find in the markets is what the small-holder farmers produce. The big farms target exports or industrial use.

“Small-holder farmers produce vegetables, grains, tubers, and others, but when the government wants to support them, you hardly see them benefit. It is either the political farmers collect and sell because they don’t have farms, or it is the big farmers that benefit. That is why we are facing food insecurity; small farms are neglected. The real farmers don’t get the needed support.”

‘I got a tractor for my personal use’

A local government chairman during the Lalong administration said he got one of the tractors. He also spoke with this reporter on the condition of anonymity.

He said: “Our local government contributed 10 per cent of the money as stated in the agreement. Individuals also contributed. Individuals contributed the sum of N1.4 million. I got a tractor for my personal use. My local government paid the amount to get one for the Agric Department, but we were not given one.

“The first batch they shared was for individuals and I got one. But the one for the local government, we were promised that they would be delivered but to date, that has not been done. It was not all the 17 LGAs that indicated interest in getting for their councils. A few of us did pay for the council but we didn’t get.

“The whole thing was done at the state level by the Ministry of Agric. That tractor was just a name, even right now, it is broken down and left at a repairer’s place at Shendam. I have wasted so much money on it and even if I were to sell it, I would not recover my money.

“There was no expert for repairs. The understanding was that three centres would be opened as the workshops across the three zones but nothing like that happened. Even the trailer was not given to us as promised. We got only the harrow, the plough, and the ridgers. What I have spent on that tractor! I have regretted getting the tractor because it did not serve me.

“The intention was to use the tractor and help rural farmers to cultivate their lands at a subsidised rate. Some people deposited money for the tractor to be used on their farms. The people are angry, and we are looking for money to return to those who paid.

“I heard that some people sold theirs in the first few months but mine was to work within the community and help others at a subsidised rate. The agreement was for the supply of Massey Ferguson in which parts are readily available and skilled mechanics abound.”

One of the tractors waiting for repairs. (PHOTO CREDIT: Marie-Therese Manlong)

Why we did not supply popular brand

On why the government did not get the popular brand of tractors that the farmers asked for, the official of the supplier company said opinions were divided on the preference.

“We were to have facilities for the maintenance of the tractors in the three zones. We worked with the All-Farmers Plateau Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society, which represented the farmers. They came up with the idea that Massey Ferguson was very common and there was a possibility of pilfering of the parts by either the operators or the workers.

“They insisted that they wanted a different brand and came up with the brand that we gave.”

On the complaint that the tractors were not durable, the official said: “Some of the farmers started mismanaging their tractors almost immediately. The agreement was for the tractors to be warehoused as they arrived until they all arrived. The tractors were to be clustered in the various local government areas for proper management and supervision.

“Before the tractors arrived, we organised training and asked the beneficiaries to bring those who will manage their tractors to come for the training. In 2018, we trained over 200 operators with the support of our partners from Germany and South Africa.

READ ALSO: Reps probe CBN’s N1.12 trillion anchor borrowers scheme, NIRSAL’s N215 billion loan

“We used the tractors for practical for the trainees to show them how they worked. How the tractors were managed and that, within a short time, they developed problems is clear; some of the people who were trained were not the ones who operated the tractors. We found that out.”

The official explained further: “We asked them to call us for services because services were supposed to be carried out on the tractors at specific intervals. The company brought the components to do the service, but they did the service themselves without our knowledge until they encountered problems and started calling us.

“Those who approached us, we sent experts, but others chose to use their local mechanics, who were not trained by us, and they damaged the tractors. We trained mechanics and engineers from the Ministry of Agric. The trailers of the tractors didn’t come because of the impatience of the beneficiaries.”

Despite challenges, ‘tractors useful’

But some of the beneficiaries have a positive view of the scheme, despite the maintenance problems of the tractors.

The District Head of Pushit (Mangu LGA), Diket Gupiya, and the acting Chairman of Pushit Development Association, Salihu Dakat, whose association was a beneficiary of the scheme, said despite the challenges, the tractors have been useful.

“The tractor that we got in Pushit Development Association worked and we were using it,” Mr Gupiya stated. “It breaks down from time to time, but we repair or replace the faulty part. Farmers in the district pay to use the tractor on their farms. We got it on hire-purchase, and we have been making payments. We made some down payment before the tractor was released to us.”

Mr Dakat continued: “We got our tractor in 2019 and it is still working. But just in the first week of June 2024, it broke down again. The ram broke. Anytime it breaks down, we repair it in Shendam Local Government Area, but we buy the spare parts at Dadin Kowa in the Jos South Local Government Area.

“The front tyres are always giving problems, so we replaced them. Just last week, the ram broke. We have spent N4.4 million repairing the tractor since we got it and the broken ram will require about N1.8 million to fix it.

“We charge people who hire the tractor based on hectares of land. Before now, it used to be N30,000 per hectare, but with the situation, we are charging N70 per hectare for ploughing and harrowing. The components of the tractors were not complete. We got the plough, harrow, and ridger, but we are yet to get the trailer.

“The first year we collected the tractor, we made a down payment of N1.2 million and a non-refundable N50,000. The tractor was spoiled last Thursday close to the Panyam fish farm. We have spent a lot to repair the tractor. The insecurity last year did not allow us to go to the farm. Now that we are making efforts to go to the farm, the tractor is grounded.”

‘We are probing the project’

The Plateau State Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Samson Bugama, said the administration of Governor Caleb Mutfwang was investigating the project and would not comment until the investigation is concluded.

Plateau State Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Samson Bugama

“We can’t comment on it, we are looking for information, we are doing every investigation, so we understand what Plateau State money was used for that tractorisation thing.

“Plateau people are asking questions and we want to be fair to all parties. So, we have to conclude our findings so that we don’t indict anyone wrongly without proof.”

The story was supported with funding from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, CJID.