• CAR signs $98 million mechanization deal with UK-based DSR Group
• Programme to deploy tractors, equipment, and expand agro-processing infrastructure
• Project aims to boost productivity, benefiting about 2.6 million people

The Central African Republic’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has signed an agricultural mechanization agreement with UK-based DSR Group, authorities announced on Wednesday, March 1.

The project is backed by $98 million in funding over 10 years, the presidency said on Facebook.

The programme includes restoring and developing 335,800 hectares of arable land, providing mechanization services to 418,000 farming households, and deploying 850 fully equipped tractors along with 5,925 units of modern farming equipment.

It also includes infrastructure development across the country’s seven regions, including seven cotton ginning plants, 10 wet coffee processing stations, four industrial cassava processing units alongside 100 community-level units, four milling centres and five export-oriented cleaning facilities.

In total, the programme is expected to benefit around 2.6 million people, the presidency said.

A key sector facing persistent challenges

Agriculture accounts for about 40% of GDP and employs more than 70% of the workforce, according to the African Development Bank’s 2025 country report. However, the sector has been constrained in recent years by underinvestment, limited modernization and weak infrastructure.

With support from the International Trade Centre, the government has launched the PAPEUR Rural project to strengthen mechanization, notably by organizing farmers into cooperatives to foster entrepreneurship.

Separately, the government signed another agreement to supply ultra-modern buses as part of efforts to upgrade public transport. The deal, signed between the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation and British partners, includes the delivery of 300 buses with an average capacity of 60 passengers, backed by $30 million in funding.

Lydie Mobio