The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has endorsed Nigeria’s newly launched National Agricultural Mechanization Investment Strategy, describing it as an important step towards increasing agricultural productivity, strengthening food security and improving rural livelihoods.
The endorsement was made at a High-Level National Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Mechanization in Abuja, where IFAD’s Country Director for Nigeria, Dede Ekoue, commended the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for bringing together key stakeholders to address persistent challenges affecting agricultural mechanisation.
Ekoue’s remarks, delivered on her behalf by IFAD Country Programme Officer, Chioma Adiele-Okpara, highlighted the significant productivity gap in African agriculture.
She noted that while Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for nearly one-quarter of the world’s arable land, the region produces only about one-tenth of global agricultural output.
According to her, closing this gap will require greater investment in sustainable agricultural mechanisation, which can increase farm productivity, reduce the physical burden on farmers, improve post-harvest handling and attract more women and young people into agricultural value chains.
Ekoue said Nigeria’s new mechanisation strategy is consistent with existing national and continental development frameworks, including the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP) 2022–2027, the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the African Union’s CAADP Kampala action plan.
She explained that these frameworks place emphasis on agricultural value-chain development, rural infrastructure, digital agriculture, financial inclusion and support for vulnerable groups.
IFAD also highlighted its ongoing contribution to Nigeria’s agricultural development through programmes such as the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises Project for the Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) and the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme.
The organisation said these initiatives have supported the development of market-oriented smallholder cooperatives, strengthened public-private-producer partnerships and improved processing and aggregation infrastructure across the country.
Looking ahead, IFAD urged stakeholders to focus on practical measures that would ensure the successful implementation of the mechanisation strategy.
The organisation called for machinery-access programmes designed around the financial and operational realities of smallholder farmers, women and young people, while encouraging investment in domestic machinery manufacturing, local maintenance centres and sustainable agricultural machinery service models.
It also stressed the importance of integrating climate-smart technologies into mechanisation programmes to protect natural resources and ensure long-term sustainability.
IFAD further called for increased mobilisation of private-sector capital alongside public funding to ensure that the strategy remains financially sustainable and capable of delivering lasting impact.
Ekoue reaffirmed IFAD’s readiness to continue working with federal and state governments, development partners and private-sector stakeholders to support Nigeria’s transition towards a more inclusive, modern and food-secure agricultural sector.
