• ANPEJ inaugurated an agricultural mechanization skills center in Podor on December 13.
• The center will train youth in operating, maintaining, and managing farm equipment.
• It supports Senegal’s drive to boost mechanization and youth employment.

In Senegal, the National Agency for the Promotion of Youth Employment (ANPEJ) inaugurated an agricultural mechanization skills center in Podor on December 13.

According to the Senegalese Press Agency, the facility, whose installation cost was not disclosed, was developed under the Youth Vocational Training and Self-Employment Support Project (PAFPAJ), with support from Andalusian cooperation in Spain.

According to ANPEJ Director General Sinna Amadou Gaye, the center aims to develop technical skills in jobs related to the operation, maintenance, and management of agricultural equipment. It is expected to create 40 direct jobs and to incubate and support around 1,000 young people each year, with a focus on self-employment and local entrepreneurship.

“This center is far more than an infrastructure investment. It is a strategic bet on Senegalese youth and a concrete response to youth employability challenges, particularly in areas with strong agricultural potential such as the Podor department,” she said.

The launch of the center comes as the Senegalese government rolls out initiatives expected to generate growing demand for skilled labor in agricultural mechanization in the coming years.

In August, the Ministry of Agriculture announced the official start of a project to build a national tractor and agricultural equipment assembly plant to strengthen local access to mechanized tools. Implemented in partnership with Turkey’s Albayrak Group and other partners, the project also supports the “Allo Tracteurs” program launched in April 2025. The program aims to expand access to mechanized agricultural services through the planned creation of 13 Agricultural Equipment Use Centers (CUMA) in the regions of Tambacounda, Kédougou, Kolda, and Matam.

The initiative is particularly strategic given that agricultural production in Senegal still relies largely on human and animal labor. Data from the Directorate of Agricultural Analysis, Forecasting, and Statistics show that only 11% of farming households used motorized agricultural equipment during the 2022/2023 farming season.

Stéphanas Assocle