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Business Reporter

CASSAVA Smartech’s EcoFarmer Vaya tractor has clinched strategic corporate partnerships with CBZ, the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco) and farm equipment suppliers, William Bain and Agricon, to provide tillage equipment for farmers and boost agricultural productivity.

Cassava launched EcoFarmer Vaya Tractor earlier this year to help boost agricultural output and farm yields by providing farmers easy and convenient access to farming equipment such as tractors, combine harvesters and other key farming and tillage implements. 

The Vaya Tractor platform allows farmers to request the services of a tractor or other farming equipment from their mobile phones. 

Cassava Smartech chief executive officer, Mr Eddie Chibi, lauded the corporate partnerships, saying they would help boost agricultural output by capacitating farmers.

“These partnerships will help capacitate the farming community and move the country towards restoring its bread basket status,” said Mr Chibi. 

He said harnessing technology by using mobile phones and utilising the Vaya Tractor platform would provide convenience, speed up processes, lower costs and directly boost farm productivity.

The Vaya Tractor platform already boasts more than 2 100 tractors registered on its system and has to date prepared more than 20 000 hectares of land this season alone.

Mr Chibi said the partnership with CBZ bank will result in EcoFarmer Vaya Tractor being allocated significant hectares of tillage land to prepare this season. The bank has already partnered the Government in the Smart Agriculture Programme. 

Similarly, Cottco, which, among other things, seeks to promote contract farming, also partnered with Ecofarmer  in order to extend tillage services to farmers they contracted this year.

Farm equipment suppliers William Bain and Agricon came on board by registering their tractors and other farming equipment onto the EcoFarmer Vaya Tractor platform to facilitate tillage services to farmers, including those contracted under this year’s Smart Agriculture programme.