200 tractors on the way to smallholder farmers in Tanzania

• Ground-breaking partnership between New Holland and EFTA – Equity for Tanzania – to provide 200 tractors to smallholder farmers
• A deal of 200 new tractors with the cooperation of a bank to provide access to finance without collateral to farmers who wouldn’t have met eligibility criteria from mainstream financial institutions

Starting in February 2023 and the end of April there will be a special training programme in place for farmers to provide them with the technical support they need to raise the bar on productivity and profitability.

For the first time a broad partnership is formed between EFTA, Hughes Agriculture Tanzania Ltd (New Holland’s distributor), CRDB (one of Tanzania’s leading banks) and New Holland Agriculture to significantly scale up tractor access and facilitate mechanisation for Tanzania’s 3.7m smallholder farmers.

New Holland Agriculture, partnered with EFTA (Equity for Tanzania) for the acquisition of 200 tractors to assist the mechanisation of smallholder farmers in Tanzania.

A ground-breaking collaboration between the brand and the leasing company regulated by the Bank of Tanzania with the mission of financing equipment without collateral for farmers that cannot access bank financing.

The operation led to the delivery of 200 TT75 4WD tractors, to help supporting the country’s 2025 vision for mechanisation, increase agricultural production and improve food security.

The transaction has been facilitated thanks to Hughes Agriculture Tanzania Ltd (HAT), New Holland Agriculture’s local distributor in Tanzania, and CRDB, one of Tanzania’s leading banks. HAT and EFTA have been working in partnership for over five years, but this is the first time a broader partnership, including New Holland Agriculture and CRDB, has been formed to significantly scale up tractor access by smallholder farmers.

It is expected to be the beginning of an ongoing partnership to grow mechanization in East Africa, including in Kenya.

After the delivery of the machines, an official training program for farmers has been launched at the end of February and will continue until the end of April 2023 across several districts of Tanzania, to provide the farmers with the technical support they need to raise the bar on productivity and profitability.

Özkan Eren, New Holland Business Director, Middle East and Africa, stated “New Holland has built a strong presence in Tanzania and constantly providing crucial product improvement feedbacks. This plays a key role to enhance New Holland’s commitment to continue innovating and adapting to market demands. Through this partnership, our common objective is to provide the best possible products like TT75 tractor model and services to increase the mechanisation level of smallholder farmers in Tanzania and we are also committed to train the farmers and provide technical support they need to raise the bar on their productivity and profitability together with EFTA. It is certain that we will continue to invest in Tanzania in support of our local partners”

Nicomed Bohay, Managing Director of EFTA, commented: “We have done a deal of 200 new tractors with one of the respected top brands in the world for farmers and SMEs in Tanzanian agricultural sector. This is to reaffirm EFTA’s commitment, [in collaboration with our business partners, CRDB Bank, Hughes Agriculture and New Holland Agriculture]; to provide access to finance without collateral to farmers who wouldn’t have met eligibility criteria from mainstream financial institutions, a special segment of SME’s usually referred to as the “missing middle”, who are too big for microfinance but too small for conventional banks. The delivery of this transaction, and many more to come, confirms EFTA’s position as a leading financial leasing company in Tanzania.”