This 9 months old Startup is now the largest farm equipment rental service in Nigeria.
From a humble beginning of just a few tractors to aggregating the largest number of tractors.
Farm4Me was launched on a mission to help middle class Nigerians have a stable alternative source of income.
But the major challenge was access to modern farm equipment to enable mechanized farming.
The clientele outgrew their farm equipment. So they went out looking for tractor owners across Nigeria. Through a strong online network and referrals, Farm4Me was able to aggregate the largest number of farm equipment in Nigeria.
In their inventory, they now have over 3000 tractors for ploughing, harrowing and ridging, D8 bulldozers for land clearing, planters, harvesters, sprayers and irrigation sets.
This great feat was achieved through strategic partnership with farm equipment owners across Nigeria. They enlist tractor owners directly through human networks and online platforms.
There is no size of farm in Nigeria that Farm4Me cannot provide farm equipment for. From a Client in Oyo with 4700 hectares of farmland for double ploughing to 700 hectares in Benue and 500 hectares in Niger State, Farm4Me is powering a great farm mechanization movement in Nigeria.
Asked what the future holds for the farm equipment rental service, the CEO said "right now, the demand for farm equipment is more than we can supply. We are looking forward to partnering with Farm Equipment Manufacturers in Asia to supply over 10, 000 farm equipment with a flexible payment options. We also call on Federal, State Governments and Commercial Banks to team up with us to work out a long term procurement arrangement that will make more farm equipment available for Farmers in Nigeria".
Mr Adama J. Adama also quipped that Nigerian youths are interested in Agriculture but are looking for mentors who will guide them on what to know and how to go about it. He said "I receive emails and WhatsApp messages everyday of young Nigerians asking me to mentor them on agribusiness. I will continue to share what I know with and inspire them to participate and innovate agriculture in Nigeria".
We asked how affordable it is to lease farm equipment. The CEO of Farm4Me said " it is cheaper and faster to use farm equipment than engaging human labour. With N40, 000 per day, you can hire a tractor for ploughing. A sound tractor can plough 5 hectares a day. That is N8, 000 per hectare. This is far cheaper than what human labour will charge per hectare and it will take them days to plough a hectare. So it is cheaper and faster to engage in mechanized agriculture. But many Nigerians don't know this. It is hard labour without commensurate profit that discourages younger Nigerians from farming. With mechanized farming, they are seeing agriculture as a viable alternative.
On the challenges of mechanized Agriculture in Nigeria, Mr Adama said there is shortage of manpower to man the farm equipment. So they are training many youths on farm equipment operations and mechanized farming. In the coming months, we want to train and empower thousands of Nigerian youths to power farm mechanization in Nigeria.
