- Farm power in the form of animal and mechanical traction is declining in sub-Saharan Africa due to factors like population growth, urbanization, and disease. This threatens the sustainability and intensification of smallholder agriculture. - Conservation agriculture reduces power requirements and makes smaller, cheaper power sources like two-wheeled tractors more viable options. A business model approach can strengthen private sector markets for two-wheeled tractor services. - The project aims to promote the adoption of two-wheeled tractors for conservation agriculture and other tasks like transport, threshing and shelling through technology demonstrations, strengthening local supply chains, and supporting rural entrepreneurship. It is projected to benefit hundreds of thousands of smallholder households.

1. Frédéric Baudron, Bruno Gérard, John Blackwell, Rajiv Pradhan,
Siobhan Kelly, Moti Jaleta, Saidi Mkomwa, Pascal Kaumbutho,
Wilfried Mariki, Girma Moges, Raymond Nazare
Farm Power & Conservation Agriculture for
Sustainable Intensification

2. The Need for Resource Use
Efficiency in SSA

3. Emphasis on Seeds, Nutrients
& Water

4. Farm Power: the Forgotten
Resource?

5. 0
40
80
120
160
Densityoftractors
(numberper100km2)
India
Kenya
Tanzania
Zimbabwe
Declining Farm Power in SSA
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
Densityofcattle
andbuffaloes
(headsperha)
0
2
4
6
8
10
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Populationdensity
(numberofpersons
perhaofarableland)

6. Labour Constraints & Drudgery
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
EstimatedHIV/AIDSprevalence
ofadultsaged15-49(%)
Kenya
Tanzania
Zimbabwe
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Female-headedhouseholds(%)
0
1
2
3
4
5
Urbanization(%annualgrowth)

7. Addressing the Issue of
Declining Farm Power
Decreasing power demand:
Conservation Aggriculture
Increasing power supply:
Mechanization

8. Power
demand
4WT,
2WT
Animal
traction
Manual
systems
e.g.
Western
Kenya
e.g.
Ethiopia, Zi
mbabwe
e.g.
India, Bangl
adeshDesirable
space
CA systems Conventionnaly-tilled systems
Powersupply

9. Mechanizing CA in SIMLESA
Lack of appropriate implements is a major barrier to the
adoption of CA (Hobbs, 2007; Giller et al., 2009; Johansen et al., 2012)
???

10. CA-2WTs Synergies
The suppression of inversion tillage reduces power
requirements by 50%, allowing for the use of smaller and
cheaper sources of power

12. CA with a 2WT

13. Other Operations for Profitability

14. Importance of Transport
(from FAO, 2009)

15. Gender Implications

16. A New Look at Mechanization:
the Case of Bangladesh
 80% of land preparation is
mechanized
 1988: removal of duties, sale
taxes, standardization
restriction
 350,000 2WTs (vs. 15,000
4WTs)
 Rural entrepreneurs
 Only 1 in 30 farmers owned a
tractor
 Equity: even the poorest access
2WTs services
Importer
Retailer
2WT owner
Contract farmer
Farmer
Mechanic Driver
Spare parts’
provider
Diesel and oil
provider
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
1988 1989 1990 1992 1994 1998 2003
Numberof2WTsin
Bangladesh(thousands)

17. Social and Economic Impacts
(after Adam et al., 2003)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
2WT
owners
Hired
drivers
Mechanics Diesel
shops
Spare
parts
shops
1990
2003
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Rice and wheat
milling
Rice parboiling Oil seeds crushing
mill
Small
Medium
Large
2WT owners 2WT users

19. The Business Model Approach
 Utilizing private sector service
providers to support market
systems
 Services (e.g.
information, training, output
aggregation, access to dealers and
traders) embedded in the price of the
product
 The case of the treadle pump
(1.5 million units distributed in Bangladesh)
 Linkage to output market (increase of
purchasing power)
 Promotion (branding),
 Capacity-building of private service
providers (manufacturers, installers).

20. 2WTs &
ancillary
equipment
Smallholder
farmers
Direct seeding /
Transporting /
Threshing/
Shelling
Services
SUPPLY DEMAND
SUPPORTING FUNCTIONS
Finance
Information
Promotion
Knowledge
& Skills
Coordination
Government
policy /
subsidy
REGULATORY FUNCTIONS
Regulations
on machinary
imports
Informal
rules /
norms
Standards

21. Importer Manufacturer
Ethiopia
Agricultural Equipment &
Technical Service Share
Company
Agricultural Equipment &
Technical Service Share
Company; Amio Engineering
PVT
Kenya Sheik Ali Traders Ndume
Tanzania Highland Estate
Intermech Engineering;
Nandra
Zimbabwe Fiver Motors (PVT) Grownet
Stengthening, not Creating, Market
for 2WT-based services

22. On-farm
evaluation of best
bet technologies
On-station
component
technology trials
①
Mechanics
&
workshops
Credits &
insurance
institutions
②
Marketsandpolicyoptions
③
Best bet 2WT-
based
technologies
Refined 2WT-
based
technologies
Importers &
manufacturers
Service
providers
Smallholders
Knowledge
Platform
④
Experience from
Africa, South
Asia & Australia
Mentoring
Platform

23. Projected Adoption Pathway
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
0 5 10
Projectednumberofrural
entrepreneurs
Year
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
0 5 10
Projectednumberoffarmhouseholds
benefiting(thousand)
Year
From 2WT-based CA
From 2WT-based
threshing, shelling
and transporting

24. Conclusion: Why Should it Work
This Time?
 Supporting infrastructure (e.g.
repair services, replacement
parts, fuel and lubricants) has
developed
 Agriculture is SSA has become
more commercially-oriented
 Past focus on 4WTs:
inappropriate for small and
fragmented fields, and too
costly for African smallholders
 Past public sector focus:
inefficient and uneconomic
government-run tractor hire
schemes
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
2001 2003 2005 2007 2009
Motorcyclesregisteredin
Kenya(thousand)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2003 2005 2007 2009
Borrowersfrom
commercialbanks(per
thousandadults)
Kenya
Tanzania
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
1994 1998 2002 2006 2010
Valueofagriculture
(currentUSD)
Ethiopia
Kenya
Tanzania

25. Thank you!