News
Plateau State University Receives Tractor to Boost Agricultural Training
Plateau State University has received a tractor donation from the state government, marking a significant step in enhancing its agricultural training and production programs.
The Vice Chancellor, Professor Shedrack Best, expressed gratitude to Governor Caleb Mutfwang for the gesture, which aligns with efforts to modernize agriculture in the state.
The tractor donation is part of the Governor’s agricultural transformation plan, specifically the Agro Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscape Project. The initiative seeks to improve agricultural training and production across the state. Governor Mutfwang on January 20 expressed his administration’s commitment to mechanize agriculture in Plateau State, lamenting only 0.05% is currently mechanized.
“We aim to take away the hoes and cutlasses and bring technology to meet the food needs of Plateau State,” said Governor Mutfwang, represented by Samson Bugama, the State’s Commissioner of Agriculture. The Governor announced plans to acquire more tractors, power tillers, and establish state plantations to encourage youths in agriculture.
“Last year, we cultivated 6,000 hectares but this year we’re looking at cultivating 15,000 hectares for vulnerable communities, schools in particular. So one of the things His Excellency has asked us to do is to go around secondary schools and cultivate their land just so we can build interest in agriculture,” the Governor said.
“But the first thing we need to do is strengthen the institutions that help our young people to learn agriculture and takeaway the drudgery that comes with agriculture,” he said.
The university was among five institutions to receive tractors donated by the World Bank. Despite receiving only one unit, the university’s excitement was palpable. Vice Chancellor Best highlighted the university’s agricultural resources, including a dam, the Agricultural Services and Training Corporation (ASTC), and vast land.
“Our young students will be excited to see these machines. They will use it for learning. It will motivate them and there are other agricultural resources around us,” said Prof. Best.
“We are a rural university and we are located at the hub of agriculture. A lot of farming activity takes place there,” Professor Best said.
“So whether it is in research or in actual tillage of land or in animal husbandry, in all the areas, when we bring our faculty of Agriculture which is young and ambitious and growing into place, we believe that we have a lot to contribute including to other agencies who have benefited today from this gesture,” Professor Best stated.
Policy experts, academics, and researchers have stated that strong public policy implementation and debt management can drive good governance in Africa.
They made these remarks during the just-concluded African Finance and Economics (AFEA) 2026 conference, held in Abuja from 3 to 5 July.
Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, Evans Osabuohein, a professor of economics, said that the discussions at the event focused on public policy and debt management, which are affecting human capital development in Africa.
“It [is] about how public debt can be managed more efficiently in Africa, so that we can tap into the resources for human capital and energy efficiency in this age of innovation. We need human resources that are well-skilled, equipped, and knowledgeable to harness such potential that technology like artificial intelligence present today,” he said.
“Debt is not bad in itself; the issue is when debt is borrowed but is not used for capital investment, the servicing of debt becomes a burden. We have seen this in most African countries where some of the borrowings are not geared towards human capital development.”
Mr Osabuohein, a board member of AFEA, explained that it would be a win-win option for both governments and citizens if public debt is used judiciously, saying that the execution of projects translates into employing the populace to do the labour.
More details
The three-day international conference, hosted by Nile University Abuja’s faculty of arts and social sciences, brought together scholars, policymakers, and industry experts in the field of economics.
Themed ‘Africa’s Geoeconomic Development Agenda in a Global Realignment Era’, it sought to contribute expert input on shifting geopolitics, climate risk, and development finance across the continent, and drew attendees from Canada, Ghana, Nigeria, and other countries.
Emotimo Agama, director-general of the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC); Tope Fasua, an economic adviser to President Bola Tinubu; Tony Okpanachi, managing director of the Development Bank of Nigeria, among others, made up the line-up of dignitaries for the event.
Premium Times monitored breakout sessions at the programme, where participants presented papers on topics including debt sustainability, global financial and health governance systems, digital service delivery, mobile money, financial inclusion, and continental digital markets.
Some sessions also focused on youth, gender, demographic change, and inclusive development; as well as migration, urbanisation, and spatial inequality, with a broad focus on Africa-West relations.
The sessions featured interactive discussions for each paper presenter, including how their research work could be further enhanced.
Participants speak
Abogede Marietu, a PhD candidate of economics at Nile University, described the conference as impactful, adding that it has given her opportunities to learn from scholars in her field.
“Today is actually my first time presenting my work at an international conference, and I think that gives visibility to my work. I have also got to learn from other presenters.”
“It is my earnest desire that the government in Africa would look into the policies that myself and other presenters have come up with, so as to improve the economy, and also aid the livelihood of the citizens of the continent,” she said.
READ ALSO: Africa must act before deep-sea mining becomes a new battleground
Another paper presenter, Ropheka Bot, stated that she found the discussions in the conference “very timely and engaging as experts gathered to discuss current global issues”
Mrs Bot, a lecturer at Bingham University, Karu, said she hopes that governments in Africa would implement some of their research findings to improve development on the continent.
About AFEA
The African Finance and Economics Association (AFEA) is a professional forum for academics and practitioners (government and industry) of finance, economics, and related disciplines interested in the development of Africa.
It seeks to empower the continent through financial growth and sustainable development, with a mission to promote the exchange of information and ideas among professionals and stakeholders in the field while fostering research that advances knowledge on contemporary African development issues.
With Majune Socrates as its president, Gbadebo Odularu sits as the chairman of the board for the organisation.
News
Watch | Karl Toriola: MTN Nigeria is doubling down on fintech, fibre broadband – Technology Times
-
News1 day agoAPC Election Officials Break Silence on Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Primary Dispute
-
Business2 days ago
Plateau Govt Procures 500 Truckloads of Fertilizer, Subsidises 50kg Bags at ₦20,000
-
News4 days ago
PEPSA Intensifies Drainage Clearance and Flood Response Across Jos
-
News2 days ago
‘Africa Deserved Better’ — Engr. Samuel Jackson Laments Heartbreaking Exit of Egypt, Senegal, as Continent Wins Global Respect
