Africa has the least mechanized agricultural system in the world today. Yet, there are several examples across the continent where innovative technologies and successful mechanization practices are improving the capacity of smallholders and other operators to grow, store, process, transform and transport their crops and products. During this meeting, Prof. Noble Banadda discussed that Mechanization is not just about tractors. Successful mechanization along the whole value chain will have to be a priority in future development and growth agendas for African smallholder agriculture. Mechanization is also not just about technology either. Rather, its success depends on investment in research and development, technical capacity to build and operate machines, availability and maintenance of spare parts, financing, adaptability to local needs, application to different environmental conditions, and impact on local employment. Increasing the uptake of mechanized technologies along agricultural value chains therefore requires a comprehensive, systemic approach. The discussion draws on the Malabo Montpellier Panel’s second report, Mechanized: Transforming Africa’s agriculture value chains, which systematically analyses the steps taken by seven countries at the forefront of progress in mechanization.

1. Professor Noble Banadda
Abidjan, 18 March 2019www.mamopanel.org
MALABO MONTPELLIER PANEL
Mechanized: Transforming Africa’s
agriculture value chains

3. ©MaMo Panel
Overview
Potential and status of
mechanization
Opportunities and risks
Policy lessons from country
case studies

4. Low mechanization slows development
Africa’s creative farmers lack
machinery capital, and that
keeps labor productivity low
Lack of machinery keeps output
growth low
But simply more machinery is not
the solution
©MaMo Panel

5. New Dynamism: Drivers of mechanization
Changes in agriculture
•Labor shortages
•Medium-scale farms
•Services for
mechanization on small
farms at low cost
Changes in the food
system
•rapid urbanization
•demand for processed
products

6. Mechanization Potential in the Whole Food Value Chain
Photos by KickStart, ZEF and Alliance for Rural Electrification

7. ©MaMo Panel
Mechanization for a better food system - Benefits
Reduced drudgery
Timeliness and efficiency of farm
operations
Reduce post-harvest losses
Processing and transformation of crops
Value addition
Employment and entrepreneurship
opportunities

8. Farm size as a key driver
©MaMo Panel
Medium-scale farms account for a
rising share of total farmland
20% in Kenya, 32% in Ghana, 39% in
Tanzania, and > 50% in Zambia

9. Growth and urbanization as a key driver
Un-processed Processed Low value
Added
Processed High value
Added
Non-Perishable 4x
(8%)
5.5x
(17%)
7x
(23%)
Perishable 6.5x
(20%)
8X
(18%)
10X
(15%)
The rise of processed food sectors
Projected Demand Growth 2010 – 2040
(Estimated Purchased Food Budget Share in 2040 in parenthesis)
Source: Tschirley, D et al. 2014.

10. Successful Mechanization Practices: Production
The Pedal Pump
• Burkina Faso, Uganda
Rice thresher-cleaner
• Senegal River Valley
Two-wheel tractor
• Kenya, Tanzania
Tractor Hiring Services
• Malawi, Ethiopia, Nigeria

11. Successful Mechanization Practices: Post-harvest
Solar cold station / dryer: Nigeria
Motorized Tricycle: Ghana
Tricycle milk collection: Senegal
Staples processing:
Cereals: millet, Senegal
Fruits: mango, Kenya
Roots & tubers: cassava, Nigeria

12. Mechanization and employment
Mechanization contributes to
job creation if:
• Responsive to labor shortages
• Focused across the value chain
• Coupled with training and skills
development
• Triggers domestic manufacturing ©MaMo Panel

13. ©MaMo Panel
Mechanization risks
Misuse/mismanagement of machinery
Rise in rural unemployment in areas with no
labour shortage
Risks of soil erosion and compaction
Exclusion of smallholder farmers
Underinvestment in R&D and testing leading
to ill-adapted technologies

14. Where progress has taken place
Sustained agricultural growth above 4% requires machinery growth above ca. 2.5%
Source: Kirui and von Braun (2018)
High
Machinery
Growth
Low
Machinery
Growth
Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia,
Malawi, Mali, Morocco,
Niger, Rwanda, Tanzania,
Togo, Zambia
Burkina Faso, Burundi,
Gambia, Senegal, South
Africa, Former Sudan
Algeria, Benin, Cameroon,
Chad, Ghana, Mozambique,
Sierra Leone
High Agricultural Growth Low Agricultural Growth

15. Where progress has taken place
Country Machinery Growth* Agricultural output* Biennial Review**
Ethiopia 2.75 5.20 6.03
Malawi 2.69 6.20 3.90
Mali 4.65 4.70 4.56
Morocco 3.67 4.00 7.46
Rwanda 2.73 5.50 6.05
Tanzania 2.88 6.60 3.67
Zambia 3.12 8.50 5.74
*Source: Based on data from World Bank, OECD, FAO, USDA Economic Research Service, and national
statistical offices.
** Malabo Commitment #3.1 “Access to agriculture inputs and technologies” had a minimum score of 5.53 in the
2018 African Union Biennial Review.

16. Successful actions – experiences from 7 countries
Actions at three levels:
1. Institutional
2. Programmatic
3. Implementation
With attention to specifics
Dedicated government programs
PPPs
Attention to downstream value
chains
R&D, skill development and
training
Hiring services / Uberization
New technologies

17. Who has done what right?
Ethiopia
• Hiring services
• Parts and maintenance
• Training and skill
development
Mali
• Local manufacturing
• Incubation centers targeting
youth
Morocco
• Subsidies and partnerships
with banks
• Partnership with equipment
importers
Rwanda
• Village level mechanization
services
• Research and Development
Selected Successful Actions by Leading Countries

18. Conducive business and services environment in Ethiopia
©MaMo Panel
An emphasis on hiring
services driven by public
and private sector
engagement in agricultural
technology supply system.
©Ethiopia News Agency

19. ©MaMo Panel
Capacity building and skill development in Mali
Institute of Training and Applied Research
• design and manage drying, storage, and
primary processing;
• cold circuits and transport;
• use and maintenance of equipment,
• design and implement mechanization
programs;
• how to develop a business plan.

20. Supportive fiscal measures in Morocco
Subsidized agricultural
equipment acquisition
program through the
Agricultural Development
Fund and Plan Maroc Vert.
©Valentin Munitsa

21. ©The New Times
Private sector involvement in Rwanda
Rwanda Agriculture Board
Development Bank of Rwanda invests
US$170m (2017-2022) in agro-processing
development program
FDI by Nigerian investor BlackPace Africa
Group on potato value chain development.

22. The MaMo Panel’s 7 recommendations on mechanization
(1/2)
Prioritize national agricultural mechanization investment
strategies within countries’ NAIPs
Prioritize mechanization in every segment of the agriculture
value chain
Design socially sustainable mechanization pathways
Empower smallholder farmers and women groups

23. The MaMo Panel’s 7 recommendations on mechanization
(2/2)
Increase investments in supportive infrastructure and training
facilities
Create a conducive business and services environment
Develop an African agricultural machinery industry

24. @MaMoPanel MaMoPanel The Malabo Montpellier Panel
Thank you!
Download our reports and
subscribe to the newsletter
www.mamopanel.org