, Dr. Kamal Rasheed, has extolled){kind=link}
The Executive Director of the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation (NCAM), Dr. Kamal Rasheed, has extolled Kwara state’s deliberate effort to drive and sustain agricultural mechanisation.
Rasheed, who spoke during a visit to the Kwara State Ministry of Agriculture in Ilorin, said NCAM is producing farm machines tailored to Nigeria’s needs.
He listed ploughs, harvesters, and combined threshers among equipment designed with locally sourced materials.
He said the Centre’s farm village concept will serve as a hub for training, research, and demonstration, with machines deployed directly to farms and linked to post-harvest technologies.
Rasheed added that NCAM plans to establish farm estates in Kwara fitted with solar-powered boreholes, drip irrigation, and the Elerinjare Dam, capable of irrigating 150 hectares for dry-season farming.
According to him, farm estates, irrigation projects and machinery exhibitions are set to boost food production nationwide.
The Kwara Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Afees Alabi, said the collaboration fits into Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s agricultural plan.
He noted that the state runs weekly farmer training under the Kwara Agricultural Development Project (KWADP).
“Training is the foundation of our mechanisation drive. We are determined to make modern agriculture the new standard in Kwara,” he said.
The National Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Agricultural Engineers, Prof. Joshua Olaoye, commended the state’s progress in agriculture.
He disclosed that a machinery exhibition will be held in Ilorin in November 2025 to showcase homegrown technologies in ploughing, harvesting, irrigation, and processing.
The event is expected to attract farmers from across the country.