As a way of easing agricultural practices to boost food production in the country, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, in partnership with STIHL, a German company, on Friday, introduced some agricultural equipment to medium scale farmers.
The Chief Executive Officer, IITA BIP, Frederick Schreurs, while shedding light on the objectives of the partnership on the occasion, said the IITA mechanisation unit promoted STIHL machines that were found suitable for use by African farmers.
Among the tools are chainsaw, sprayer, tiller, earth auger, mist blower, brush cutter, palm cutter and pole pruner.
Schreurs, who was represented by his Personal Assistant, Victoria Ayeni, said that the equipment would enable farmers to work with ease on their farms thereby guaranteeing higher productivity.
According to him, IITA would facilitate the sales of the equipment to farmers through its post-harvest unit.
He said, “We have provided a show room as promised, nominated operators for internal maintenance and they have been supporting this cause greatly.
“We plan to hold different stakeholders’ meeting and farmers’ field day to sensitise farmers on the tools and how they can use them.
“They are easy and affordable especially for small holder farmers who are our target; with such equipment, a farmer can clear a hectare within a day or two.
“We have become an official partner for C. Woermann Nigeria Limited and a dealer for STIHL products in Nigeria.”
Bunmi Cole, Senior Manager, Machinery Business, STIHL, said that the German machines were rugged and the products and spare parts were available in Nigeria.
Cole said, “Our product is well known all over Nigeria and we are there very well because it is rugged and durable. We give a six-month warranty for any of our products such that you are rest assured that the machine is good quality. We also have a service centre in case there are issues so that we can solve the problems. You can bring your product from anywhere you buy in Nigeria to our service workshop.
“We can recommend technicians to you where you are. Of course, in most cases, if you have a small machine and you are in Abuja, it is quite difficult in terms of cost for somebody to travel there. But, if you send it to us by local transport, you will get it back in less than three days.
“Apart from boosting sales, we looked around, we see that we have a lot of youths who are not gainfully engaged. We are of the opinion that if there is a partnership that can be useful to the society, we would embrace that. So, we call on any group, government and parastatals, NGOs and politicians who want to help that we are ready to partner with them knowing that Nigerians need to be on the farm.
“If you go to the market, you will see how expensive food stuffs are now, but if you have a lot of small scale farmers around, prices would definitely come down.
“This will also help farmers produce faster and get more yield, STIHL is after making the work easier as farmers will no longer use manual equipment with these.”
Lekan Oyeniyi and Oluyemi Olufemi, both farmers and users of STIHL products, said, “The equipment that we bought eased our work on the farm. We didn’t labour as before because the equipment proved very effective.”
Also, a farmer, Elizabeth Ayeni, said that the machines were good, affordable and would make the job easier and faster for the farmers.
In a vote of thanks, Diallo Thierno, Post Harvest Engineer, IITA Agric Business Mechanization, said, “We are going to train around 10 people on the functionalities of the equipment.”
Among others, also in attendance on the occasion are Onome Ayide, Sales Manager, STIHL; and Victor Aliyu of Sales Unit, STIHL Outdoor Tools.
