A comparative analysis of tractor use in Borno State of Nigeria in 1984 and 1998

The paper compares the levels of tractor use in both public and private sectors in Borno State, Nigeria in 1984 and 1998. The major tractor operations performed in 1984, namely disc harrowing and disc ploughing, were still the important operations carried out in 1998. The available tractor makes and models rose from 12 and 31 in 1984 to 16 and 61 in 1998 respectively. Despite this increase, the specific tractor population density (STPD) decreased from 0.28 in 1984 to 0.22 in 1998. Also, there was a decrease in the specific tractor wattage from 16W/ha in 1984 to 12 W/ha in 1998. This means that farm mechyanization suffered a setback during the 15-year period, with fewer functional tractors and less power availble per 1000 ha of cultivated land. The major problems of tractor use in the State were high overhead cost, lack of spare parts of some makes and poor operation skills. Despite these odds, there was an appreciable improvement in tractor maintenance culture by both private and public sectors in the state during the 15-year period. The STPD and tractor use need to be increased so as to uplift farm mechanization in Borno Stat