- Volkswagen Group Africa has launched operations at its multifunctional facility in Gashora, Rwanda, to pilot modern farming with e-tractors in Africa.
- The group announced the GenFarm project, a comprehensive ecosystem of e-powered mechanised farming services for rural Africa that it claims is dependable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly.
- The project is piloted in Rwanda in partnership with Volkswagen Mobility Solutions Rwanda and Volkswagen Group Innovation Centre Europe. It also provides mobility services for the transportation of goods and people.
Martina Biene, Volkswagen Group Africa Chairperson and Managing Director, stated that the project fosters technological innovation and aligns with the group’s strategy to generate meaningful value for society and the environment through sustainable mobility.
In June 2023, the group signed an agreement with Rwanda to allocate land for the project to provide clean energy and business space to local farming cooperatives.
The project also includes the Empowerment Hub (e-Hub), expected to be fully operational by 2025. It will provide storage and operational space for e-tractors and e-scooters.
Dr Nikolai Ardey, Managing Director of Volkswagen Group Innovation, stated that farmers can book an e-tractor, including a trained driver, for affordable, sustainable farming through the project.
“The unique selling point of the project is the use of the battery swap system. In this way, the battery becomes part of the hub’s energy infrastructure as well as energy storage for the tractor,” he added
VW Group Innovation Centre Europe will supply the electric tractors and other equipment from Germany, while VW Mobility Solutions Rwanda will oversee operations at the pilot hub.
The Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (Rica) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) support the project. RicaICA focuses on research and education to train Rwanda’s future farmers, while GIZ will procure machinery and assess the services the hub will offer to local farmers.
According to the World Bank, renewable energy consumption in Rwanda was reported at 79.9% in 2022. To accelerate the transition to electric cars and motorcycles and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Rwandan government renewed a zero-rated import duty on electric and hybrid vehicles, extending the tax exemption until the end of the new fiscal year 2024/25.
Recently, e-mobility providers in the country have witnessed major growth. IZI Electric just received a $222,000 grant from the Rwanda Green Fund to expand its operations, while BasiGo Rwanda also received a $225,000 recoverable grant to upgrade its charging infrastructure to support its fleet of electric public transport buses in the country.
