Heifer International, a non-profit organisation working to end hunger and poverty through sustainable farming, has as outlined innovative ways of financing and empowering smallholder farming communities in Africa.
This is in addition to creating new opportunities in agriculture for the youth population.
In its new report released recently in Nairobi, Kenya, it disclosed how tens of thousands of these smallholder African farmers have seen their livelihoods transformed by a tech-driven mechanisation initiative.
The report made available to The Nation and titled ‘Mechanization for Africa: Innovative Financing for Agricultural Transformation and Youth Job Creation’, examined the role and benefits of agricultural innovation
Heifer Africa and Hello Tractor co-designed a mechanization programme to ensure maximum impact and sustainability. Heifer provided additional funding of US$3.5 million in grant financing to pilot the model in three African countries—Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda. This grant financing further unlocked commercial capital of over US$7 million for increased tractor penetration and ecosystem development.
“The partnership with Heifer and Hello Tractor was the first of its kind,” Jehiel Oliver, Founder/CEO, Hello Tractor, noted, adding, “by injecting capital at the base of the pyramid and empowering traditionally unbanked entrepreneurs to become tractor owners, we are driving economic growth and transforming livelihoods. This investment has unlocked commercial capital for Hello Tractor and has contributed to the prosperity of our tractor owners and the thousands of smallholder farmers they serve every season.”
Senior Vice President, Africa Programmes, 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.
She also believes that equipping the smallholder farmers with the right tools and resources, including appropriate and sustainable mechanization, are essential for increased productivity.
Ifedi added that the impact of this project, as shown in this report, has exceeded expectations. “We are happy to have catalysed the unlocking of commercial capital that Hello Tractor needs to scale this innovation. We encourage stakeholders, including policymakers, development organisations, and the private sector to join us to promote responsible and inclusive agricultural mechanization in Africa,” she said.
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It also showcased how Heifer’s support and investment in innovation and youth helped the expansion of an agritech initiative to power large scale affordable access to tractors for smallholder farmers, revealing that the resultant increased mechanization spurred enhanced productivity, leading to improved livelihoods for smallholding farming communities across the pilot countries in Africa.
“As this report shows, access to affordable tractors increased incomes of smallholder farmers by 227 percent 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,” she added.
Among other key findings, the report highlights the value of catalytic financing and partnerships to scale innovative agricultural solutions, as well as the effect of affordable mechanization on improved agricultural yields, labour efficiency, and household income for smallholder farmers.