NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Hadassah Egbedi

In a presentation at the World Economic Forum in June 2016, Kenyan-born Calestous Juma, a professor at Harvard University, explained the world’s perception of African agriculture. “From newspaper editors to TV anchors to bloggers, the default symbol of African agriculture is an African woman holding a hand hoe. This imagery highlights the drudgery African women face in farming,” he stated.

Mechanization is an important input for agricultural crop production, but now, mechanization levels on farms across Africa remain low. There are an estimated 33 million smallholder farms in Africa, and the farmers who work on them contribute up to 70 percent of the continent’s food supply. A significant number of these farmers do not engage in mechanized farming, resulting in lower productivity and income.

To help mechanize the continent and provide farmers with essentials such as tractors at a low cost, Jehiel Oliver founded Hello Tractor in 2014. Through a tractor sharing application, Hello Tractor aims to connect tractor owners and smallholder farmers in need of tractors. The application collects tractor service requests to assist farmers with limited access to resources in obtaining convenient and affordable tractor services while also providing additional income and enhanced security for tractor owners.

Photo courtesy of Hello Tractor.