John Deere has announced the S.M.A.R.T campaign to bring together the company’s established initiatives and programmes designed to improve and advance productivity in African agriculture

John Deere has previously launched a range of affordable tractors for smaller African customers.

This announcement was made together with the company’s sponsorship of the US-Africa Business Summit which took place in in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during February.

“John Deere has previously introduced a complete line of tractors and implements that have the features and affordability required for smaller African customers,” said Lafras Cronje, marketing manager for sub-Saharan Africa.

“Mechanising for higher yields, the second part of S.M.A.R.T, leverages the Small Farmer Solutions to put more income in the farmer’s pocket,” said Cronje.

According to Cronje, yield increases of three or more times are possible as farmers take up mechanisation and roll out new farming practices.

“We recognized quickly that our customers needed to be able to work with banks that understood agriculture, understood mechanisation, and could relate to these customers who would soon have higher yields and new income from offering contracting services,” said Jason Brantley, managing director for sub-Saharan Africa.