A tractor does not plow alone. For farm equipment to live up to its promise, you need hands that know how to operate, maintain and repair it. This is the bet of the National Rural Development Support Agency (ANADER) and ATC Comafrique, who formalized their collaboration on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, during a ceremony in Abidjan. On behalf of ANADER, the Director General, Kassoum Karamoko, recalled that the modernization of agriculture is not based solely on the availability of equipment. It also requires women and men capable of using them effectively and ensuring their sustainability. This partnership aims to bring the Agency's skills closer to the technical expertise of the agricultural equipment sector.

For his part, the Deputy General Director of ATC Comafrique, Bernard Wackers, shares this conviction. He insisted on the training of operators, mechanics and trainers, a condition for effective and sustainable use of equipment. ATC Comafrique intends to put its expertise at the service of developing mechanization skills. The partnership has already started to materialize. On October 25, the concessionaire handed over two mini-tractors to the Grand-Lahou Agricultural Mechanization Training Center (CFMAG), which reports to ANADER. Learners will be able to familiarize themselves with driving, using and maintaining the machines. The protocol also provides for training programs, capacity building for trainers and improvement of the center's educational content. 

By bringing together a public extension organization and a private equipment provider, this protocol makes training the cornerstone of agricultural mechanization in Côte d'Ivoire. In the coming months, its impact on producers remains to be assessed.