Accra, Oct. 10, GNA - The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has procured about 500 tractors to be supplied to farmer groups and district assemblies as way of bridging the farmer-tractor gap. At the moment, the ratio of farmers to tractors stands at 1,800 farmers to a tractor which does not augur well for effective agricultural production.

Mr. Joseph Kwasi Boamah, Director, Agriculture Engineering Services Directorate of the Ministry, said this at a meeting with Robert Lane and his team, manufacturers of John Deere brand of tractors, to discuss a long-term partnership deal in that regard. He said modernizing agriculture to increase food production called for the application of the right methodology and the use of quality equipment.

"John Deere has been a trusted brand and we believe they will leave up to expectation."

Mr. Boamah noted that the directorate would try the tractors on farmer-based organizations, assess their quality, efficiency and after sales service schemes before importing large quantities to meet the market's needs.

The country would need about 9,000 tractors to bridge the farmer-tractor gap by 2015. He said the tractors would be sold on 50 per cent credit basis to enable them to purchase.

Mr. Robert Lane, Chief Executive Officer, John Deere and Company, assured the ministry of quality products to increase Ghana's yields, saying "logistics and make-up of our products are of high efficiency". He pledged excellent after sales service saying they would soon introduce their mobile service unit to cater for technical breakdowns. Mr. Lane therefore called on the ministry to trust the company for quality service delivery to make the partnership a more sustaining one. 10 Oct. 08