Interview
Solutions for
increasing Nigeria’s
agricultural
productivity
Nigerian farming needs affordable mechanization
and Case IH can help
N
igeria’s 58th National Day and the 60th anniversary
of diplomatic relations between Nigeria and India
are a good time to spotlight the two nations working
together. A great example can be found in agriculture: Nigeria
needs to improve productivity and Indian-made machinery
is helping achieve this. At the forefront of this mutually
benefi cial relationship is Case IH, the global agricultural
equipment leader. We asked Antti Ritvonen, the CEO/Country
Manager for Case IH’s Nigerian distributor Dizengoff , about
the potential for improving agricultural productivity.
Why is Case IH’s presence in Nigeria important?
Gushing oil wells might seem more exciting, but
agriculture is still the base of the Nigerian economy. That base
needs to be stronger. Agricultural productivity isn’t increasing
as quickly as it could be and food-crop production is failing to
keep pace with population growth. Even though Nigeria has
80 million acres of arable land and two-thirds of the nation’s
employment is in farming, there is dependence on imported
food. Case IH can help Nigerian farmers change this, to the
benefi t of the Nigerian economy as a whole.
How, then, can we meet the challenge of improving
agricultural productivity?
The key is modernization. We have seen elsewhere in
the world how the adoption of modern, mechanized farming
methods greatly improves effi ciency and productivity. At the
heart of modernization is machinery, but good knowledge is
also important.
To help with mechanization, Case IH manufactures
world-class agricultural equipment. To help with knowledge,
Dizengoff provides customers with expert technical advice
and training. Case IH’s full product off ering and knowledge-
sharing complement government schemes assisting farmers.
40 • Nigeria-India• 2018
Surely aff ordability is the biggest challenge?
We applaud government initiatives to make
mechanization more affordable and are proud to be
involved in these. Tractor service business providers are
also helping. Through both the public and private sectors,
farmers are now buying or leasing machinery they would
not otherwise have access to. Case IH recently supplied
70 tractors to such a service business provider.
But it’s not just aff ordability that matters, it’s also
return on investment. Unfortunately, many Nigerian farms
are too small to benefi t from the most effi cient farming
practices or economies of scale. To address this, we are
actively encouraging farmers to create cooperatives and
clusters.
What types of CASE IH machinery can help here?
Mostly, it’s tractors – and this is where we can celebrate
Nigeria’s long-standing relationship with India, because
Case IH’s plant in Greater Noida, near New Delhi, is
manufacturing the kind of aff ordable tractors that Nigerian
farmers need. These are two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-
drive 55 hp and 75 hp models from the JXT series. These
utility tractors are perfectly suited to smaller-scale farms
which need total reliability and high performance for a
variety of root crop and harvesting applications. Also
popular is the more powerful, 125 hp Maxum tractor and
soon we will start delivering our 140 to 240 hp Puma
tractors, perfect for bigger farms. In addition to this, we
recently delivered two Case IH 8240 Axial-Flow harvesters.
Just as important as the machinery, however, is service
and technical support. The modernization of Nigerian
agriculture will be a long journey and both the Case IH
and Dizengoff teams will be there to support customers
every step of the way.