Accelerating Investments for an Agricultural Revolution

Rob Smith, AGCO Senior Vice President & General Manager 

Europe, Africa and Middle East, John Agyekum Kufuor, 

Former President of Ghana & Chairman of The John 

A. Kufuor Foundation and Martin Richenhagen, AGCO Chairman, 

President & CEO at the AGCO Africa Summit 2014. 

(Photo: Business Wire)

20 January 2014. Berlin, Germany. Third annual AGCO Africa Summit. The Summit is a joint initiative of
AGCO, Bayer CropScience, DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, Rabobank, De Lage Landen, and the John A. Kufuor Foundation. This year’s Summit focused on innovation – the application of technology and science to tackle and overcome the challenges inherent in Africa’s agriculture, and to exploit the opportunities to raise Africa’s agricultural productivity levels for all farmers.

AGCO plans to continue to collaborate on establishing further demonstration farms and training centers in different African countries. These facilities will allow local farmers and dealers to be trained on new farming technology. Currently, Zambia has an AGCO Future Farm and Training Center already operating, and it has yielded its first harvest of maize and soybeans in the last year. A key component to the success at Zambia’s Chalimbana Farm and Training Center are the strong partnerships that have been forged. The purpose of these partnerships is to bring together subject matter experts from various backgrounds that can create a roadmap to educate and train farmers on how to increase their agricultural productivity.

Through its global tractor brand, Massey Ferguson, AGCO has more than 50 years of experience in African agriculture. During this time African farmers have come to rely on the quality, reliability and support provided by Massey Ferguson, which was a major player in the power farming revolution, mechanizing and increasing farming efficiency across the continent.