Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
The Ekiti State Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security and Hello Tractor have agreed on a strategic partnership to boost mechanized farming in Ekiti State ahead of the 2024 planting
season.
The Country Managing Director of Hello Tractor in Nigeria, a leading technology-enabled digital marketplace for tractor contracting in Africa, Dr. Nneka Enwonwu, disclosed this in a statement made available to THISDAY in Abuja on Monday.
Enwonwu, who recently returned from Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, where the agreement was concluded, emphasized that such strategic partnerships are crucial.
He explained that more states across Nigeria are currently making moves to develop programmes around food security, youth empowerment and job creation.
Enwonwu said: “At Hello Tractor, we are excited about this partnership because it will empower smallholder farmers and lead to more efficiency in farming through mechanization.
“From the local government extension agents to the booking agents, all the way to the technicians, moving towards mechanization in line with the Ekiti State Agricultural Development Plan.
“The programme aligns perfectly with our company’s commitment to partner with states that are working on innovative and sustainable agricultural solutions for their people.”
He added that the global standard for mechanized farming is 200 tractors per 100 square kilometres of arable land.
He said countries in sub-Saharan Africa have a meagre 27 tractors for the same area, with Nigeria’s average being far less.
According to Enwonwu, “For the last ten years, Hello Tractor has been working to connect more smallholder farmers with mechanized services to help them increase their productivity.
“The company has digitized and serviced over 1.1 million farmers and has over 3.3 million acres under management.”
