Business Reporter
LEADING global agricultural equipment manufacturer, CASE IH, has opened an academy in Harare for the provision of hands-on technical and operational training to farmers to improve farm productivity through mechanisation.
This comes at a time when Zimbabwe is striving to improve agricultural productivity to regain food self-sufficiency and is will play an important role to that end.
The Case IH Training Academy was officially opened in Chinhoyi last week by Matthew Foster, CASE IH vice president in charge of Agricultural Commercial Development for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The academy will provide hands-on technical and operational training to help farmers improve productivity through wider adoption of mechanisation. The ceremony, on 14th of this month, was attended by over 100 visitors from Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, South Africa, Kenya, Sudan and Egypt.
Guests included farm operators, agricultural equipment dealers and distributors, directors, senior managers of Case IH, and senior representatives of Case IH’s Zimbabwean distributor Agricon Equipment.
With 2 000 hectares of land, mostly dedicated to maize and wheat, the training academy is owned by local farmers in Mashonaland West Province and leased and operated by BlueSky Farms.
Training activities at the farm will be run in partnership between BlueSky, Case IH and Agricon. To enable farmers to gain or strengthen a wide variety of skills, the academy gives access to an impressive array of Case IH agricultural equipment.
The equipment tested on the farm includes a JXT 75 utility tractor; high-horsepower Puma 210 multi-purpose tractor, state-of-the-art Magnum Rowtrac 380 CVX Drive tractor with continuously variable transmission and tracks in the rear; industry-leading Axial-Flow® 7140 rotary combine harvester, Patriot 3230 sprayer; and a 24-row Early Riser seed planter.
Many of these machines were put into operation at the academy for guests to try-out in real-world work conditions. “This was a great opportunity to gain in-field training with practical operation of machines I cannot drive back home,” said Lana Saeed, sales engineer with CTC Engineering in Sudan. “Handling the machines in a real working environment and exchanging ideas with participants from all over Africa was very useful.”
Jacobus Bezuidenhout, an agricultural equipment service manager from Botswana agreed, saying, “Involving specialists from different markets across Africa in commercial training at a working farm is a great concept and was well appreciated.”
This on-field equipment training concept was also praised by Hassan Elkadawy, sales manager for Case IH in Egypt who said; “Interaction with commercial specialists from various regions broadens horizons and shows how to approach solutions from different angles.”
Mr Foster, vice president in charge of Agricultural Commercial Development for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, commented: “If people’s reactions on the opening day were anything to go by, this new training academy is a very welcome addition to Zimbabwe’s agricultural industry.”
Mr Foster said that it was critically important to help operators of the equipment to get the best from their machines, and this new initiative recognises that. Working with Agricon and BlueSky Farms, we will be able to train Agricon’s technicians and commercial team, show customers how to maximise productivity from agricultural equipment, introduce new products to customers, and share latest thinking on efficient agricultural practices.”
Jason Smith, chief operating officer of Agricon Equipment, said, “Agricon strives to deliver to the market the latest technology in agricultural equipment. “With this comes the responsibility to support this equipment, which is why we have invested in this new facility to train our technicians and commercial team. And we hope that in our future provision of training and education to local farmers, we can contribute to a more productive Zimbabwe.”
Daniel Bosman, managing director of BlueSky Farms, said: “Farming principles in Africa are often outdated and there’s a need for better understanding of principles of mechanization, technology, and management practices.
“This is due to a lack of exposure to modern concepts, lack of training, and limited access to the latest technology – all things that the new training academy can address.”
The full line of Case IH agricultural equipment includes small, medium and high-horsepower tractors up to 670 hp, Axial-Flow® rotary combine harvesters, round and square balers of all sizes, hay and forage equipment, tillage, seeding and spraying tools, and a complete line of specialised equipment such as advanced sugar cane harvesters and cotton pickers.