Econet launch Uber for tractors

By Staff writer | 14 Feb 2019 at 09:17hrs
EcoFarmer
It takes a farmer 40 days to prepare his land for planting, a smart tractor can do it in eight hours - this can increase small-scale farmers' yields by 200%. The Nation's Lekan Otufodunrin reports.

For small-scale farmers in Zimbabwe getting access to tractors for use on their farmlands to boost their yield has always been difficult.

Many farmers can't afford to buy one due to the high cost, while the government, which is the major supplier of tractors, is not able to meet more than 4% of their requirements.

You've probably taken an Uber, Lyft, or Grab Taxi. You may have used AirBnb. I know I have. I've taken Uber in South Africa, UK, and the USA, and found it to be easier and more transparent than taxis in all three countries, and Airbnb is now my go-to for short-term housing.

This is all part of the "sharing economy," and regardless if you think its entrepreneurial or exploitative, it is now fully part of developing country economies.

Cassava has launched is Tractor platform to address the prevalent problem of crippling poverty and poor crop yields among small-scale farmers.



Farm machinery is never cheap, and for many smallholder farmers, a simple tractor can be beyond their capacity to own and maintain. That's where new services are allowing farmers to rent equipment from one another, reducing the cost of ownership and increasing access to needed farm machinery.

Is Uber for Tractors Sustainable?

Many of these efforts only exist through donor funding. And while that's fine for start-up - in fact its exactly what development organizations should be investing in - can "Uber for tractors" efforts live on past the initial donor darling stage?

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