How Tractor Operators Can Unlock Agricultural Productivity

James Emejo writes that Nigeria’s push to modernise agriculture is increasingly moving beyond the question of how many tractors are available to a more fundamental one; who will operate, maintain and maximise them? The graduation of 250 newly trained tractor operators under a federal mechanisation programme offers an early glimpse of how investment in human capacity could translate into higher farm productivity, lower production costs and stronger food security For 24-year-old Idris Zainab Dansuleiman of Keffi, Nasarawa State, the completion of a 10-day intensive tractor-operator training programme has provided more than a certificate. A student with no previous tractor-driving experience, she can now confidently operate a tractor, understand its controls and carry out basic farm operations safely. “It has increased my confidence and given me a practical skill,” she said, adding that she hopes to gain more experience and build a career in agricultural mechanisation. Dansuleiman is one of about 250 Nigerians who have completed the first cohort of the National Agricultural Mechanisation Service Providers Training Programme organised by the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) in collaboration with Agcoms International Trading Limited, the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. The 250-person cohort, drawn from different parts of the country, represents the first completed stage of a much larger programme targeting 4,000 tractor operators and mechanics. The training is linked to the Federal Government’s wider mechanisation programme, with this phase involving 2,000 John Deere 5E Series tractors and associated implements to be supplied by Agcoms. The significance of the exercise lies in a simple proposition: tractors alone cannot mechanise Nigerian agriculture. They must be operated safely and efficiently by people with the skills to get the best from the equipment and keep it working. That proposition is increasingly central to the agricultural policy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. The President has described agricultural mechanization as a key component of his administration’s response to Nigeria’s food-security challenge and its ambition to modernise agriculture, increase productivity and move the country towards food sovereignty. The federal government’s strategy for transforming mechanization is a service-provider model which will give smallholder farmers access to modern machinery, reduce dependence on manual labour and increase yields. The 2026 Budget identifies mechanisation, alongside input financing, irrigation, climate-resilient agriculture, storage, processing and agro-value chains, as priorities for strengthening food security and agricultural productivity. More recently, the government unveiled a National Agricultural Mechanization Policy and National Agricultural Mechanization Investment Strategy, with the stated objective of moving Nigeria from a mechanisation deficit towards a more productive and competitive agricultural system. Against this background, the training of operators represents an important but often overlooked part of the mechanisation equation. From looking at tractors to operating them The transformation is particularly evident among trainees who arrived without meaningful experience. Abubakar Jamilu, 29, from Garki Local Government Area of Jigawa State, had no previous tractor-driving experience. Before the training, he said, he could visit a farm and see a tractor without understanding what was happening. He can now operate the tractor and use different implements. In his community, he noted, farmers often have to bring tractor operators from considerable distances because there are few locally available operators. “Now I can operate and help them do anything in the farm,” he said. For Usman Baba Mohammed, 28, from Lavun in Niger State, the training has opened a similar door. A farm worker and extension agent, he said he previously could not operate a tractor but can now start, drive, turn and reverse one, attach implements and undertake land preparation safely. He sees the certification as a route to employment with farms, cooperatives and mechanisation service providers, while also providing an opportunity to support his family. The benefits are not limited to the individual operators. Many trainees linked their new skills directly to the problems confronting farmers in their communities: the high cost and shortage of labour, delays in farm operations and the physical burden of manual cultivation. Aliyu Murtala, 29, a farmer, agro-dealer and service provider from Giwa, Kaduna State, said his training in tractor operation, safety checks, routine maintenance and implement handling would enable him to offer ploughing, harrowing, planting and transportation services. For him, the ultimate ambition is to own a tractor and operate his own mechanisation service. The women and the wider opportunity The programme has also opened a pathway into an area of agriculture often perceived as male-dominated. Hadiza Ashiru, 34, a farmer from Kura, Kano State, learnt, among other things, how to conduct pre-operation checks, start a tractor correctly and hitch implements. She said the training also taught her to identify some faults and understand fuel consumption and working hours more closely. But her ambition goes beyond personal employment. “It means a lot to me because I am privileged to be among few female tractor operator in Kano State,” she said. Her goal is to become the first female trainer to train women in Kano. Yusra Jibril, 25, from Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State, also came into the programme without previous tractor-driving experience. A graduate working on her family farm, she said the training would reduce the time and energy required for farming and allow her family to work its farm without always having to hire an outside operator. A 36-year-old trainee from Buruku, Benue State, similarly saw the new skill as a potential route into mechanised agriculture and said she hoped to pass the training on to other women and young people. These accounts illustrate an important dimension of the programme: mechanisation is not simply about replacing manual labour with machines. It can also create a new skills ecosystem around operating, maintaining, servicing and managing agricultural equipment. Protecting the investment For Agcoms, the Nigerian John Deere dealer responsible for the supply and training component of the programme, the quality of operator preparation is central to the success of the larger investment. Patrick Okeke, National Service Manager at Agcoms International Trading Limited, said the operators were now more knowledgeable about the John Deere 5 Series tractors, while technicians had also gained knowledge that would strengthen maintenance services. He identified the combination of classroom instruction, driving exercises and practical field demonstrations as particularly valuable. Proper training, he said, would help keep the tractors operational, reduce accidents and maintenance costs and improve efficiency and productivity. Dennis Njoku, Agcoms Training Manager, similarly said the programme had equipped participants with skills that could extend beyond tractor operation into areas such as maintenance, supply of original equipment manufacturer-recommended products and other agricultural mechanisation services. He identified the principal objective of the exercise in broader terms: “creating food abundance in the country.” Building the human infrastructure of mechanisation The ITF assessment provides an independent institutional perspective on the outcome of the first cohort. Musa Daniel, ITF Assessor and Head of the General Studies Department at the ITF Model Skills Training Centre, Maitama, Abuja, said the 250 operators acquired foundational knowledge and practical skills in tractor operation, safety, implement handling, field operations and routine maintenance. According to him, trainees demonstrated competence in pre-operation inspection, safe start-up and shutdown, driving and manoeuvring, use of tractor controls, hitching and uncoupling implements, PTO and hydraulic-system operation, basic field operations and routine maintenance. He described the outcome as satisfactory and said the joint certification provides evidence of structured training and assessed competence, while strengthening the operators’ employability and creating a foundation for more advanced training. ITF also identified lessons for subsequent cohorts, including the need for more hands-on exposure, more time for individual tractor operation and stronger fault-finding and maintenance exercises. Samuel Aende, Mechanisation Training Project Coordinator at NADF, said the training had created a pool of trained and certified operators to support deployment of the NADF/John Deere tractors. He identified safety, operational efficiency, equipment maintenance and first-level diagnosis as key competencies acquired by the trainees. In his view, these skills should translate into improved mechanisation services, better food productivity and less tractor downtime caused by operator-related problems. Aende said the first cohort had also highlighted the importance of more rigorous trainee selection and ensuring that equipment used for subsequent training performs optimally. A first step, not the finish line The completion of the first 250 operators is therefore best understood as a foundation for the next stage rather than the conclusion of the mechanisation programme. The broader target remains 4,000 trained operators and mechanics, providing the human capacity required to support the deployment and effective utilisation of the 2,000 tractors and associated equipment. The partnership itself reflects the model the federal government is seeking to establish: FMARD provides policy oversight; NADF serves as the implementing authority; Agcoms brings private-sector equipment, technical and training expertise; and ITF provides training and assessment support. The original programme design calls for two operators per tractor, helping to extend operating hours while ensuring that equipment is handled and maintained properly. The immediate achievement, however, is tangible. Some participants arrived having never driven a modern tractor. They left with practical skills, certification and a new sense of possibility. For the farmers they hope to serve, the larger promise is equally straightforward: faster land preparation, greater access to mechanisation, less dependence on manual labour and the possibility of cultivating more land at the right time. For Nigeria, the test will ultimately be whether these newly acquired skills, combined with the equipment they are being trained to operate, translate into more productive farms and a more reliable food system. The first 250 operators have taken the first step. The much larger task of turning that human capacity into sustained agricultural productivity now begins.