One of the equipment exhibited in the ongoing Daily Trust Agric Conference is the power tiller machine, by Habgito Nig. Ltd Lagos, which caught the attention of many small and medium scale farmers.
Mr. Unula Nwuche, the Executive Officer of the company, said that the power tiller provides solution to many farmers in the country, adding that: “we don’t just sell machine, but we provide solutions for the farmers.”
Mr. Nwuche stated that considering the effectiveness of the machine, which comes in nine and 13 horse powers, a lot of farmers who cannot afford tractors are making huge gains using the technology.
“The power tillers are designed to meet the need of smallholder and medium scale farmers. They are multipurpose tillers which enable the farmers to do more than one thing with the machine. You can till, make ridges, and the machine can also be used for irrigation purposes-pumping water into the farm,” he said.
According to him, before a farmer is given the machine after purchase, engineers from the company will have to train the farmer on how to use the machine after the engineers have certified the one fit for the farmer’s soil, adding that it comes with one year warranty in addition to spare parts availability.
The machine costs N325, 000 for 9 horse power and N400, 000 for 13 horse power.
Engineer Danjuma Bako said the four-litre-tank machine can do a hectare with less than 8 litres, stressing that the machine is simple to use and can be operated even by a seven-year- old child and 60-70 years old man, adding that it is also women-friendly.
Rice, maize, sorghum farmers in the country can use the machine, which does a hectare in three hours and can serve a farmer for a minimum of three years.
The advantage of the power tillers is that a farmer does not need to lose any part using spanner attached for a different purpose, they are all pinned built system.
The machine is a Japanese technology and has efficient fuel system which costs less for the farmers.
