Appropriate Solutions for Mechanisation of Agriculture in Ethiopia

Project number

FDOV12ET01

Country

• Ethiopia

Location

• Nationwide

Sector

• Agriculture

Project budget

Partners

• TGT Enterprise
• Machinefabriek Steketee BV – Rumptstad
• Alterra

Project description

The PPP will enable Ethiopian smallholder farmers and farmer’s cooperatives to lease and buy affordable two-wheel tractors for soil preparation of the seed bed / fields, supported by a business case. Mechanisation in the agricultural and horticulture sector in Ethiopia is still in its infancy stage. The use of the more than 2,000 years old existing practice of oxen using a ‘maresha’ is common practice for most farmers, but is also expensive for farmers without oxen. Four-wheel tractors are on the market but are too costly for cultivating small and scattered plots. Attempts to introduce two WT’s for mechanisation have failed because a successful after-sales and maintenance operation was not established. The Rumptstad two-wheel tractor (two WT RS) is a tractor that can be used for soil tillage, seed drilling, weeding, transport, threshing and pumping on heavy soils. After the successful demonstrations and use of the RS tractors in different sites and demo fields in four regions in the highlands of Ethiopia it is expected that its use will contribute greatly to surplus yields.

Note:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is formal partner in this project.