By Atoyebi Nike
Veteran labour leader and agricultural advocate, Mustapha Nuhu Wali, has urged northern state governments to establish Green Imperative Implementation Desks within their ministries of agriculture to strengthen regional participation in the national mechanisation programme.
Wali said the initiative would improve coordination, monitoring, and sustainability of the Green Imperative Programme Nigeria’s partnership with Brazil aimed at boosting mechanised farming and food production.
He explained that despite its launch in 2019 to supply tractors, farm implements, and service centres across all local governments, progress has been limited due to weak state-level involvement and poor private sector investment.
“The Green Imperative cannot succeed through federal efforts alone,” Wali said. “State governments, traditional institutions, cooperatives, and the private sector must take ownership and contribute actively.”
He commended President Bola Tinubu’s renewed efforts to revive and commercialise the programme by 2025 and called on northern states to provide counterpart funding, allocate land for service centres, and include mechanisation goals in their budgets.
Wali also encouraged universities and polytechnics to strengthen agricultural engineering and mechanisation courses, while urging cooperatives and investors to support tractor-hire and maintenance schemes.
He emphasised youth and women’s inclusion through technical training to address the manpower gap and foster rural employment.
“The Green Imperative is a real opportunity for Northern Nigeria to boost food production, create jobs, and secure its agricultural future,” he said. “But this can only happen if local leaders take responsibility and drive the process from within.”
