NADF trains 250 tractor drivers, mechanics

The National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) has marked a significant milestone by graduating the first cohort of approximately 250 participants from its National Agricultural Mechanisation Service Providers Training Programme. This initiative is designed to bolster technical capacity and improve the sustainable deployment of agricultural machinery throughout Nigeria.

The program has a broad target of training 4,000 tractor drivers and mechanics, with the initial phase successfully training 250 individuals drawn from all six geopolitical zones of the country. Mohammed Ibrahim, the Executive Secretary and CEO of NADF, stated that this graduation represents a crucial step in the Federal Government's strategy to modernize agriculture through mechanization, innovation, and human capital development.

Participants underwent intensive training covering agricultural mechanisation service delivery, machinery management, occupational safety, enterprise development, sustainable maintenance practices, and environmental conservation. Beyond technical skills, the program focused on enhancing professionalism, an enterprise mindset, and operational discipline necessary for an efficient mechanisation ecosystem.

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Beyond technical skills, the programme has strengthened professionalism, enterprise mindset and operational discipline required to sustain an efficient mechanisation ecosystem.

The pilot cohort, comprising about 232 trainees, will be certified by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF). This certification will qualify them for inclusion in a national database of proficient mechanisation service providers, which NADF is developing. This database is intended to support future public and private sector investments in agricultural machinery and implements, potentially enabling certified providers to manage significant agricultural assets.

Ibrahim emphasized that true sustainable mechanisation hinges not just on acquiring machinery but on maintaining it effectively. He noted that past investments in agricultural mechanisation had sometimes fallen short due to inadequate technical capacity, poor maintenance systems, and a lack of accountability. The future, he stated, depends on technical competence, accountability, and responsible stewardship of assets and the environment.

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The future of agricultural mechanisation in Nigeria depends not only on acquiring machines, but on sustaining them through technical competence, accountability, and responsible asset and environmental stewardship.