By Banke Oglundayomi
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Lack of understanding of complex machine mechanism and latest technology by tractor operators in the agricultural sector have been identified as a factor that could cause major setback in the industry.
Southwest Zonal Director of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Oguntuyi-Abimbola Folashade, stated this at a training programme for tractor operators in the Southwest region.
She said the need for more skilled operators would increase drastically in the nearest future as the federal government adopts modern technology to grow the agro-economy of the nation.
Mrs. Oguntuyi said there was need to train tractor operators in the country to be well-qualified and skilled owing to the technicalities involved in operating various complex present-day tractors.
Head of Agricultural Mechanics and Machineries Operators Training Centre, Akure (AMMOTRAC), Richard Aguda said 50 tractor operators in the Southwest region would be trained on how to use tractors for tillage practices ,such as plowing, ridging ,and harrowing.
Aguda said the training was to ensure management of the little available tractors in the country.
According to him, Four participants were selected from the South West, South East, and South South regions of Nigeria including Kogi and Kwara States.
Aguda noted that the parts of tractors produced here in Nigeria are scarce adding that federal government has intensified it’s efforts by bringing tractors regularly to the country.
He explained that Nigeria has vast, rich and good land but peasant farmers could not provide up to their expectations as the population continuous increasing in an alarming rate which required them to go on mechanisation to meet up with the food needs.
According to him, they trained operators, tractors mechanics including corpers, industrial training (IT) students and trainees from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Mrs Ajana Oluwafunke who represented the State Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, while opening the training revealed that one of the sustainable development goals is food security,and Nigeria have 200 million people.
The Principal Agric Engineer, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, and Rural Development in Abuja, Engr. Micheal Nuyero, described the program as an annual event designed to increase the knowledge of the machinery operators toward the maintenance of machinery and Operation, so that they could be safeguarded , saying if the operators are not well trained the machinery may not last.
“We don’t just buy tractors and sell to farmers so any interested farmers or entrepreneur should apply to the Federal Government through the Bank of industry,” he expressed.
According to him, the machinery came with full implement ,they have different brand based on the interest of the farmers or the end users like Mazifagous, mahindral, etc including the Ridgers, Plowing, harrowing, tipping trailers, and some pro -harvest processing equipment depends on kind of crops they grow .
The programme is meant for interested people who expressed interest through their applications.
The Agro equipment Enterprise has been running since 2014 and they have 111 centres hoping to establish more.
The equipment would be distributed by different vendors paid after the sixty percent has been paid by the farmers or the off-takers.
