Mechanisation Key to Making Agriculture Attractive to Youths, Empowering Women – Oluremi Tinubu

First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has identified agricultural mechanisation as a major pathway to drawing more young Nigerians into farming while expanding economic opportunities for women in the sector.

Tinubu said equipping women and youths with the knowledge, technology, machinery and entrepreneurial skills needed for modern agriculture would be essential to strengthening Nigeria’s food security and transforming the agricultural sector.

She made the remarks on Wednesday at the National Colloquium on the Role of Women and Youth in Advancing Agricultural Mechanisation in Nigeria, held alongside the unveiling of the Agri360 Mechanisation Training Initiative at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja.

The First Lady was represented at the event by the wife of the Vice President, Nana Shettima.

Her remarks were contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media and ICT in the Office of the Vice President, Kwapchi Bata Hamman.

Tinubu commended the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for introducing the Agri360 initiative, which is targeted at training 5,000 women and youths across the country.

The programme is expected to equip participants with practical knowledge in agricultural mechanisation, digital agriculture, equipment operation and maintenance, entrepreneurship and agribusiness management.

According to the First Lady, mechanisation would help move farming away from labour-intensive traditional methods by improving productivity, reducing drudgery and making agriculture a more appealing career option for younger Nigerians.

She noted that the impact of mechanisation would not be limited to farming itself, but would create opportunities across several segments of the agricultural value chain, including machinery operation and maintenance, processing, logistics and technology.

Tinubu further observed that technology was already changing the way young Nigerians viewed agriculture, with digital tools, precision farming, artificial intelligence and drones increasingly being applied to agricultural activities.

“They no longer see agriculture as subsistence; they see it as a huge opportunity, an enterprise and a career path to prosperity,” she said.

She also called for greater inclusion of women in the agricultural economy, stressing that providing them with the necessary skills, resources and opportunities to generate income and grow their businesses would have a positive impact on families and communities.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, described mechanisation as essential to reducing the physical demands associated with agricultural production and making farming more efficient.

Kyari explained that the Agri360 programme would take a comprehensive approach to agricultural production, covering activities from land preparation through to value addition, including access to water and machinery.

He said the Federal Government was moving from “conversation to action” by repositioning agriculture as a viable economic enterprise capable of improving the livelihoods of farmers.

According to the minister, the initiative forms part of the implementation of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which places agriculture at the centre of efforts to achieve food security, create employment and stimulate economic growth.

Participants at the colloquium identified poor mechanisation, limited access to finance, inadequate skills and infrastructure, and the insufficient participation of women and youths as major obstacles to increased agricultural productivity.

They advocated wider access to modern agricultural machinery and related training, arguing that mechanisation would reduce the burden of manual farming, generate employment, attract younger Nigerians into the sector and create stronger economic opportunities for women.

The participants also emphasised that strengthening mechanisation across the agricultural value chain would ultimately contribute to increased food production and improved national food security.