…seeks private investment to bridge Nigeria’s 250,000-tractor deficit
TracTrac Mechanisation Services Limited (MSL), a Nigerian-owned agricultural technology company, has launched an ambitious youth empowerment programme aimed at training and engaging 36,000 young Nigerians in agricultural mechanisation while calling for increased private sector investment to address the country’s critical shortage of farm machinery.
The initiative, known as Young People in Mechanisation (YPiM), will recruit 1,000 participants from each of Nigeria’s 36 states. The programme targets young people between the ages of 18 and 35 and is designed to build a new generation of skilled operators, technicians and entrepreneurs in agricultural mechanisation.
Speaking at the programme’s launch in Abuja, Godson Ohuruogu, the Chief Executive Officer of TracTrac Mechanisation Services Limited, described YPiM as Nigeria’s first youth-focused mechanisation movement.
According to him, applicants must possess a minimum of a Senior Secondary School Certificate (WAEC), a National Identification Number (NIN), a birth certificate and passport photographs. Applications will be submitted through the company’s website.
Ohuruogu said the programme seeks to tackle the shortage of technical skills and low youth participation in mechanised agriculture by providing practical training, mentorship and opportunities in entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership and advocacy.
“Youth should not merely witness the future of agriculture; they should lead it,” he said.
The TracTrac CEO stressed that Nigeria’s mechanisation challenge cannot be solved through government intervention alone, urging investors, development partners and the media to mobilise private capital into the agricultural mechanisation ecosystem.
He noted that Nigeria requires about 250,000 tractors over the next five years to achieve meaningful mechanisation, compared with the estimated 5,000 to 10,000 tractors currently operating nationwide.
“We need to move away from waiting for government to solve every problem. Government alone cannot provide the 250,000 tractors Nigeria requires. The solution lies in attracting private investment into the mechanisation ecosystem,” Ohuruogu said.
While acknowledging government efforts to support agriculture, he argued that public policy alone would deliver only a small fraction of the transformation required.
“Government can probably contribute about two per cent through policy. The remaining 98 per cent must come from private investment and collective action,” he added.
As part of efforts to close the mechanisation gap, Ohuruogu disclosed that the company has established a dedicated investment unit tasked with attracting four to five tractor assembly plants to Nigeria. He said local assembly would improve equipment availability, reduce dependence on imports and strengthen the country’s agricultural value chain.
Beyond increasing the number of tractors, he emphasised the importance of developing a skilled workforce capable of operating, maintaining and managing agricultural equipment, describing youth development as critical to Nigeria’s food security agenda.
Ohuruogu said TracTrac currently connects farmers, tractor owners and Mechanisation Service Providers (MSPs) through digital technology and innovative financing models that improve access to mechanised farming services.
According to him, the company has deployed more than 800 tractors, supported over 500,000 farmers, and built a network of more than 6,000 mechanisation service providers across Nigeria.
He added that the company’s flagship digital platform, TracTrac Plus, enables farmers to connect with service providers in real time while supporting asset tracking, farm mapping and demand aggregation. The application has recorded more than 5,000 downloads and facilitated over 2,000 mechanisation service engagements.
TracTrac is also implementing the Mastercard Foundation’s Improving Smallholder Farmers’ Access to Small-Scale Agricultural Mechanisation Services (ISSAM) Project, which trains and deploys youth-led mechanisation service providers to improve agricultural productivity, strengthen rural livelihoods and expand access to mechanisation, particularly for women and young people.
The company also disclosed that it is collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation and other stakeholders in developing Nigeria’s draft National Agricultural Mechanisation Policy (NAMP). The policy is expected to promote private investment, encourage local manufacturing and expand farmers’ access to mechanisation services across the country.
