• Ghana partners with Hattat Traktör to set up a tractor assembly plant.
• Aim to boost agricultural mechanization, with 78% of work still done manually.
• Part of a broader national support program for farmers.

Ghana has finalized an agreement with Turkish equipment manufacturer Hattat Traktör to establish a new agricultural tractor assembly plant within the country. Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku announced the deal on July 4 via his Facebook page.

Under this partnership, Hattat Traktör will provide technical assistance to 10G Globaltech Ltd, a Ghanaian firm selected to lead the industrial project alongside the Ministry of Agriculture.

Once operational, the assembly unit is expected to significantly boost Ghana's ability to supply tractors to farmers. Further information regarding the start date, construction timeline, production capacity, or specific location of the plant has not yet been disclosed.

The announcement follows Opoku’s June unveiling of the "Farmers Service Centres." This government program aims to equip each agricultural district in the country with fully stocked centers containing machinery and inputs to boost farm productivity. For authorities, enhancing local tractor assembly capacity is a major strategic priority, especially since mechanization in Ghanaian agriculture remains limited.

A 2022 study found that approximately 78% of agricultural operations in Ghana are still performed manually. This low level of mechanized farming is one of the main obstacles to expanding cultivated land in the country. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Ghana has 10 million hectares of arable land, of which 7.4 million hectares were being used in 2022.

Moreover, several factors must be addressed to meaningfully advance agricultural mechanization in Ghana. A 2020 report by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) highlighted the lack of well-structured mechanization services in the country. The organization cited high equipment costs and limited access to credit as major barriers for both farmers and the development of the local supply market.

Stéphanas Assocle