A Report released yesterday by Heifer International has highlighted how tens of thousands of smallholder Nigerians and African farmers have seen their livelihoods transformed by a tech-driven mechanisation initiative.
The report, titled: “Mechanisation for Africa: Innovative Financing for Agricultural Transformation and Youth Job Creation’, examined the role and benefits of agricultural innovation, mechanisation, and catalytic financing in empowering smallholder farming communities in Africa while creating new opportunities in agriculture for Africa’s youth population.
It showcased how Heifer’s support and investment in innovation and youth catalysed the expansion of an agritech initiative to power large scale affordable access to tractors for smallholder farmers.
The resultant increased mechanisation spurred enhanced productivity, leading to improved livelihoods for smallholding farming communities across the pilot countries in Africa.
Commenting on the report, Senior Vice President, Africa Programs, Heifer International, Adesuwa Ifedi said: “Smallholder farmers are the backbone of Africa’s food systems, accounting for up to 80 per cent of food production in sub-Saharan Africa,.
“Equipping them with the right tools and resources, including appropriate and sustainable mechanization, is essential for increased productivity.”
Ms Ifedi added: “As this report shows, access to affordable tractors increased incomes of smallholder farmers by 227 per cent within the beneficiaries’ pool, leading to not just enhanced productivity, but a plethora of critical transformational pathways – increased inclusion, an energised ecosystem, and job creation for Africa’s energetic youth.”
Key findings of the report include the value of catalytic financing and partnerships to scale innovative agricultural solutions, as well as the effect of affordable mechanisation on improved agricultural yields, labour efficiency, and household income for smallholder farmers.
The importance and advantage of incorporating local contexts, farmer needs, and gender equity into new technologies is also emphasised.
The report revealed that the initiative provided service to 21,048 smallholder farmers in need of mechanization services in the three pilot countries of Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, as of December 2022.
A total of 104 farmers became tractor owners through a Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) model. The project also created 368 direct jobs for youth serving as booking agents, tractor operators and technicians, and 784 indirect jobs across target communities
Heifer partnered with Hello Tractor to launch a Pay-As-You-Go (P.A.Y.G) tractor financing service to facilitate affordable tractor rental services to smallholder farmers via a tech platform that enables ease of access for beneficiaries, ease of monetisation and for tractor owners, and overall effective monitoring.
Heifer International is a global nonprofit working to end hunger and poverty through sustainable farming, while
Hello Tractor is an agricultural technology company that connects tractor owners to smallholder farmers in need of tractor services.
Hello Tractor works like the ride-hailing service, Uber, using Internet of Things (IoT) technology via the Hello Tractor app.
The Hello Tractor app is a marketplace that enables smallholder farmers’ access to equipment, while enhancing profitability for equipment owners and building technical capacity.
The app works by identifying and listing equipment owners looking to rent, recruiting booking agents and establishing them as links between equipment owners and farmers’ requests for equipment leasing.
This information available on the app also provides financiers with the data and ability to calculate returns and measure results.
