The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), John Deere, and Mascor have launched a competition for Kenyan based youth SMEs for a chance to win a tractor.
The business plan writing runs closes on March 31, and is open to groups operating in the agriculture sector for the last three years, and whose members are aged between 18 and 35 years old.
“We are supporting youth groups in Kenya to build a business from mechanising farming operations. Africa has the least mechanised solutions compared to the rest of the world." said John Macharia, AGRA's country manager.
Each participating group will be required to write a business plan for running and managing a mechanisation service provision business.
The winning plan will be awarded the John Deere tractor (50 horsepower, 5050D TWD) to start the business.
According to Macharia access to finance is probably the biggest obstacle to African smallholder farmers interested in adopting mechanised farming solutions to boost productivity.
The profits they typically earn are insufficient to purchase tractors directly or even access a financing facility.
The competition will offer youth in the country an opportunity to start a business with a catalysing tool for agricultural development.
Despite early gains, the uptake of tractors in the region has not kept pace with demand.
In 1960, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania had more tractors in use than India but by 2005 India had 100 times more tractors in use.
Mascor, the John Deere dealer in Kenya, will support the competition winner with Aftermarket services, parts and more.
The joint competition follows a recent partnership between AGRA and John Deere to support successful mechanisation service providers based on the John Deere SMART Model.