Case IH shares the company’s experience and expertise with visitors at the 5th Commercial Farm Africa summit in Tanzania
The 5th Commercial Farm Africa Summit has brought together industry professionals from all over the continent to share insights into transforming Africa’s agricultural value chain. The two-day event in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (14 -15 March) was a valuable opportunity for visitors to hear experts give talks on a wide range of important farming matters.
Speakers at the summit included Case IH’s Head of Corporate Farming for Middle East and Africa, Tom Davies, whose presentation provided real-world advice on The Modernization and Mechanization of Farming Practice. Case IH also supported the event for the first time this year as Corporate Sponsor.
The summit was opened on behalf of the Minister (His Excellency Hon. Dr Charles J. Tizeba, Tanzania’s Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries) by Mdm. Margaret Ndaba, Assistant Director for Development Assistance & International Cooperation from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. She spoke about opportunities in Tanzanian agriculture and set the scene for issues to be discussed during the event. These looked at how public and private sectors can play a bigger role in transforming Africa’s agricultural sector by modernizing and introducing innovative technology to the farm; increasing farm productivity; investing in agro-related and value-added processing industries; and investing in transport infrastructure and post-harvest storage facilities.
Case IH’s speaker at this event, Tom Davies, leads the company’s Middle East and Africa team responsible for special projects in the agricultural sector. These projects can range from smallholding development to multinational corporations’ requests for advice or support. Davies said: “Our aim is to make the ownership of a large farming enterprise - and in particular the detail mechanizing of it - as simple and economic as possible for the highest returns.”
In his presentation, Davies described Case IH’s successful business approach. He explained how the key elements of this are collaboration with professional producers to develop products, services and complete solutions; focus on productivity enhancements to improve customers’ return on investment; continuous investigation and application of technology to minimize the risks of farming, ensuring a knowledgeable network of employees, dealers and distributors; flexible financial services offerings; and accessible parts and service support.
With such a strong offering, Case IH is well established in Corporate Farming in Africa, but there are plans to build activities further. Davies commented: “We will expand the team and locate members in strategic locations in Africa to be closer to our customers. The scope of activity will also be widened beyond the preparation of projects, with a strong emphasis on support in the field. This will include a permanent presence during the equipment start-up phase and direct support for parts, technical issues, training and advice.
