The Federal Government of Nigeria has expressed fear over lack of understanding of complex machine mechanism and latest technology by tractor operators in the agricultural sector which has caused a major setback in the sector in recent years.
The Federal Government said because there was dearth of skilled tractor operators in the country saying that there is need for more skilled operators in the nearest future to adopt modern technology to grow the agro-economy of the nation.
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 recently.
Mrs. Folashade said there is need to train tractor operators in the country to be well-qualified and skillful in areas of technicalities involved in operating various complex present-day tractors.
According to her, “There aren’t enough skilled and certified operators in the market to meet increasing demand for professionals to manage, and maintain machineries, and equipment for our advancement towards increasing yields on our farms as we adopt technology in our agricultural practices.
Head of Agricultural Mechanics and Machineries Operators Training Centre (AMMOTRAC) Richard Aguda, said 50 tractor operators in the Southwest region would be trained on .how to used 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.
In his words: “The challenges of tractor operators are peculiar to different environment. In the Southwest we need tractor with higher horsepower. The number of tractors available compared to the number of farmers are not enough. We are supposed to have over 500 tractors in Ondo State.
Four participant were selected from the South West ,South East, and South Regions of Nigeria including Kogi and Kwara State ,
Mr Richard Aguda further stressed that if they have the tractors it would reduce the number of challenges they are faced with noting that the part of their tractors produced here in Nigeria are scarce although federal government is trying by bringing tractors each time to the country, currently about 10,000 tractors was brought from Brazil which he said would at least reduced some of their challenges because some of the farm owners ,business owners including cluster farmers could grouped themselves and pay litlle money and have it and there after pay the rest overtime or insulmentally.
He also mentioned the area of funding as another crucial challenge, because after training the operators they needs certification, so that, if they are employed into the ministry or private sectors they need to be well taken cared of bacause they complained they are not well paid considering what they are doing.
Mr Aguda further stated that, to meet up with the food rate of the country their is a need to go on mechanisation which he said actually triggered the reason behind the initiatives stressing that Nigerians entirely have vast, rich and good land and that the peasant Farmers could not provide up to their expectations and the pupulation is increasing at alarming rates, which required to go on mechanisation to meet up with the food needs of the population ,so that the tractors available could be used well,
Acording to him. they trained operators of Tractors Mechanics including corp members, industrial training ( IT ) and Trainees from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Mrs Ajana Oluwafunke who represent the State Coordinator Federal Ministry of Agriculture, while opening the training revealed that, one of the Sustainable Development Goals is food security, and Nigerian have 200 million.
The Principal Agric Engineer Federal Ministry of Agriculture, and Rural Development in Abuja, Engr Micheal Nuyero, discribed program as an annual event, the purpose of which was to equip the skills, and increasing the knowledge of the machinery operators towàrd the maintenance of machinery and Operation ,so that they could be safeguarded , because if the operators are not well trained the machinery may not last.