Poland to help Tanzania make tractors

Agri-Business 

Monday, March 03, 2014 

BY KENAN KALAGHO, EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK, KAMPALA, UGANDA

QUALITY: The Polish are among the leading global tractor makers.

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - Finishing touches are being put to a proposed tractor assembly plant in Tanzania.
Sources say it would be the first of its kind in East Africa and would boost both agriculture production as well as improve incomes.
The multi-million dollar deal follows an agreement with Equator Suma JKT Company which has a share with Jeshi la Kujenga Taifa (JKT) signing a contract with Farmers Company from Poland.
This means that once the production starts, Tanzania is likely to be a major exporter of tractors.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam last week the Chairman of Equator Suma JKT Ramesh Patel said the two companies have secured a $70 million loan from Poland for the project.
“We have been in talks with Poland for a long time in order to implement the government’s initiatives of kilimo kwanza that was initiated in the fourth phase government,” Patel said.
Tanzania has for the past years advocating for kilimo kwanza to woo the majority population into the agricultural sector but the limited resources and high costs of farming implements have been draw backs.
Patel said production is expected to begin on a smallscale in order to allow for trials to take place at Centre for Agriculture Mechanization and Rural Technology (CARMATEC) in Arusha.
Robert Parcia, a representative from Farm Company, said they expect to assemble about 1,200 tractors by 2017 and that these will be of high quality just like those manufactured in European countries.
“We are optimistic that the assembling plant will kick off in Tanzania because of the assurances we have from the government of Poland in funding the project,” Parcia said.