New Holland’s New Partnership To Provide Tractors for Farmers in Tanzania

CNH Industrial brand New Holland Agriculture has partnered with leasing company Equity for Tanzania (EFTA) to assist the mechanization of smallholder farmers in Tanzania. The collaboration involves the acquisition of 200 tractors.

The relationship will be regulated by the Bank of Tanzania. Its mission is to lease equipment without collateral to farmers unable to access bank financing.

Tanzania has a vision to bolster its mechanization, increase agricultural production and improve food security by 2025. The delivery of 200 New Holland TT75 4WD tractors will help support this. 

The transaction was facilitated by 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 for smallholder farmers. 

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

Following the machine’s delivery, an official training program for farmers has been launched across several districts of Tanzania. Until the end of April 2023, it will provide the farmers with the technical support they need to raise the bar on productivity and profitability.

Özkan Eren, Business Director, New Holland Middle East and Africa, stated: “New Holland has built a strong presence in Tanzania and is constantly providing crucial product improvements. This is key to New Holland’s commitment to innovation. Through this partnership, our common objective is to provide the best possible products – such as the TT75 tractor model – and services to increase the mechanization level of smallholder farmers in Tanzania.    We are also committed to training the farmers and providing technical support they need together with EFTA. It is certain that we will continue to invest in Tanzania in support of our local partners.”

Stuart Leishman, Managing Director of HAT, commented: “Mechanization is key to ensure the long-term goal of Tanzania becoming food secure. And we are proud to be able to play our part in increasing the number of emerging farmers using tractors and implements to improve their yields. Thanks to our valued partnership with New Holland Agriculture, EFTA and the support of CRDB, we have created a solution for farmers to acquire New Holland tractors at affordable rates. And without the various collateral hurdles that might have prevented them from accessing this equipment previously. Hughes Agriculture will provide after sales support via their expanding network across the region to ensure that our customers receive the services they need to keep their investment running.”

Nicomed Bohay, Managing Director of EFTA, commented: “We have done a deal for 200 new tractors with one of the top brands in the world for farmers and SMEs in Tanzanian agricultural sector. This reaffirms EFTA’s commitment to providing access to finance without collateral to farmers who wouldn’t have met eligibility criteria from mainstream financial institutions. They are a special segment of SME’s 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.”