TheCable

The Ekiti ministry of agricultural development and food security has partnered Hello Tractor, a technology-enabled digital marketplace for tractor contracting in Africa, to boost mechanised farming ahead of the 2024 planting season.

Nneka Enwonwu, Hello Tractor’s country director,  who spoke on Monday, said the “strategic partnership” would empower smallholder farmers and lead to efficient farming and food security in Ekiti.

Enwonwu said the Ekiti government’s plan on agriculture aligns with the firm’s commitment to working on sustainable solutions in the agriculture space.

“At Hello Tractor, we are excited about this partnership because it will empower smallholder farmers and lead to more efficiency in farming through mechanisation,” the country director said.

“From the local government extension agents to the booking agents, all the way to the technicians, moving towards mechanisation in line with the Ekiti State Agricultural Development Plan aligns perfectly with our company’s commitment to partner with states that are working on innovative and sustainable agricultural solutions for their people.”

She said the global standard for mechanised farming is 200 tractors per 100 square kilometres of arable land, adding that countries in sub-Saharan Africa have a meagre 27 tractors for the same area.

Enwonwu said Nigeria has way less number of tractors per 100 square kilometres of arable land.