The Federal Government of Nigeria is actively recruiting 819 young individuals to be trained as tractor operators and mechanics. This initiative aims to enhance mechanised farming and improve food security in the country. The announcement was made by Temitope Fashedemi, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, during a workshop in Abuja that focused on creating the National Agricultural Mechanisation Policy.
The workshop brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including policymakers, agricultural experts, industry leaders, farmers’ associations, and development partners. Fashedemi, represented by the ministry’s Director of Planning and Policy Coordination, Ibrahim Tanimu, highlighted a significant issue: despite the government having procured over 30,000 agricultural machines in the past, Nigeria has fewer than 5,000 functional tractors currently in operation. This underscores the need for skilled operators and mechanics to support the agricultural sector effectively.
He also commended President Bola Tinubu for involving agricultural equipment manufacturers such as John Deere, Belarus Tractors, and the Green Imperative Programme in the plan to supply an additional 32,500 tractors over the next five years.
The Permanent Secretary added that this development has led the ministry to initiate the training of 819 tractor operators and mechanics at training centres in Akure and Misau.
He said, “Currently, there is no national policy on agricultural mechanisation in Nigeria. The development of this mechanisation policy comes at a critical time when the government is exploring various avenues to procure agricultural equipment amidst low agricultural output.
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