By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA- IN the quest to change the narrative with mechanized agriculture in Nigeria, an agricultural mechanization firm, TracTrac Mechanization Service Limited, Monday, unveiled Young People in Mechanization, YPiM, initiative to build capacity of 36, 000 youths on practical skills.

Speaking during a media parley at the headquarters of the company in Abuja, the CEO, TracTrac Mechanization Service Limited, Godson Ohuruogu, explained that there is a shortage in track operators in Nigeria, hence the launch of YPiM, a new generation of mechanization leaders, which serves as Nigeria’s first youth-focused mechanization movement and a flagship initiative powered by TracTrac MSL.

Ohuruogu said: “The YPiM initiative is designed to address the sector’s shortage of technical skills and low youth participation, the initiative equips young Nigerians aged 18 to 35with practical skills, mentorship, and access to opportunities in mechanization, entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership, and advocacy, helping them build sustainable livelihoods while contributing to agricultural transformation and food security.

“Young people should not just observe the future of agriculture. They should lead it. We are hoping that should be 36,000 and to engage about 36,000 young people in another six months across the 36 states, 8,000 per state. It is huge. We want everybody to know about mechanization. We want everybody to hear about it. I want everybody to know about the benefit of mechanization to their productivity and to their lives.”

He also explained that TracTrac Mechanization Services Limited is a Nigerian-led and owned technology company transforming agriculture by connecting mechanization service providers, tractor owners, and the wider ecosystem. Leveraging technology and innovative financing solutions, TracTrac empowers smallholder farmers to access affordable and reliable mechanization services.

Meanwhile, Ohuruogu said since its inception, TracTrac has deployed over 800 tractors, supported more than 500,000 farmers across Nigeria, and collaborated with over 6,000 Mechanization Service Providers.

The company had also implemented strategic programmes, including the Mastercard Foundation’s Improving Smallholder Farmers’ Access to Small-Scale Agricultural Mechanization Services (ISSAM) project.

Through the project, youth-led Mechanization Service Providers are trained and deployed to expand access to mechanization, strengthen rural livelihoods, and improve agricultural productivity, with a strong focus on the inclusion of women and young people.

“We need to actually start sensitizing ourselves and every other person in the entire country to know that let’s step away from the government for a while because the government cannot supply 250,000 tractors that we need in another five years. The only solution to that would be for us to facilitate investment into the ecosystem so that we can unlock that result we are waiting for.

“I would not really want to dwell so much around the government, issues around government policies or inefficiencies because I have been in this space for 15, 20 years and I have seen that, oh yes, to some extent, government has tried, and they are still trying but the enormity, the size of work that we all need to do or that needs to be done to unlock or provide a solution, government can only do maybe like two per cent through policy, the remaining 98 per cent will have to be done by you and I, and how can we do it as Media House?

“We need to collectively start championing investment into that space. We have a unit in TracTrac that is looking at investment, and we have a mandate to make sure we bring in at least four or five assembly plants into the country because we believe that if we can bring in these assembly plants, the number of tractors available in the country will increase”, he said.

According to him, a country with 5,000 to 10,000 tractors, compared to some other countries that have like 1.4 million tractors, but Nigeria needs at least 250,000 tractors to be called a country practicing mechanized agriculture.

He also said there are huge opportunities in mechanized farming if the right people are brought on board to actualize and sustain it, but this can be possible if everybody works together including the media.

“I can tell you that there is huge, huge opportunities in mechanization. If you buy a tractor for let us say N20 million, that tractor will stay like five years before deposition. You can generate like N80 to N10 million annually from that tractor alone. Now imagine multiplying that by five tractors, you have like almost 200 per cent revenue and even profit to you. But are people really seeing that opportunity? No, because there’s no light there. Nobody is beaming the light in that sector.”

Meanwhile, the TracTrac boss said, “At TracTrac, we believe tractors should be within reach of every farmer, not a privilege for a few. Through technology, policy engagement, financial inclusion, and strong partnerships, we’re building an ecosystem that not only delivers services but creates lasting capacity for Nigeria’s agricultural sector.”

He also made it known that engaging policy for a stronger mechanization ecosystem, TracTrac’s ambitions extend beyond service delivery. The company is a partner in the development of Nigeria’s draft National Agricultural Mechanization Policy (NAMP), a landmark framework charting a five-year course for the sector built on sustainability, inclusivity, and innovation.

NAMP addresses critical priorities, including sustainable land development, promotion of appropriate technologies, private-sector investment, robust financing mechanisms, and human capital development, while embracing Climate-Smart and Digital Agriculture to position Nigeria’s mechanization drive as both resilient and future-proof.