Source: CNN
An electric tractor that’s entirely powered by the sun could boost crop yields for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and in doing so, improve access to electricity.
Developed by Aftrak, a business spun out of Loughborough University, in England, the waist-height “micro electric tractor” powers itself forward, while a farmer steers it as they walk behind. It features a steel “hardpan breaker” that pierces the layer of compacted soil commonly found at the surface of manually farmed fields in sub-Saharan Africa.
Breaching this layer and making deep furrows allows roots and rainwater to penetrate the soil, which slows soil erosion and maxmizes water absorbtion, making the soil more resilient to droughts.
It’s part of an agricultural technique dubbed deep bed farming (DBF), developed and promoted by Tiyeni, a nonprofit addressing food security and poverty. Tiyeni claims DBF can more than double crop yields and increase farmer revenue up to nine-fold.
The tractor is part of Aftrak’s wider work to introduce easily assembled arrays of solar panels to rural African communities, beginning in Malawi, where only 15.6% of the population had access to electricity in 2023. In rural areas, that number dropped to 6%.
Tiyeni says that efforts to introduce solar power can face problems when people don’t feel a sense of ownership or economic benefit. Solar power paired with the tractor could boost farmers’ incomes and in the longer-term, allow them to pay for the electricity and the maintenance of the solar panels — what Aftrak calls a “self-sustaining model for decentralized energy access.”
Aftrak’s project lead, Dr. Jonathan Wilson, a lecturer in sustainable energy systems at Loughborough University, said any energy solution must economically empower a community.
“We need to address the lack of revenues,” he told CNN. “We need to address the lack of food, and then we can address the lack of electricity.”
The tractors will each cost around $3,500 and the solar arrays around $1,500 per module. The plan is to sell them to farming cooperatives, independent farms and nonprofits — sometimes at a discount, to ensure the technology remains accessible.
Aftrak says it is also exploring introducing an “Uber-like leasing app,” where farmers can rent a tractor by the hour, powered by a central solar array.
Boosting productivity
Since 2005, Tiyeni has been developing DBF to boost crop production in Malawi. Done manually with pickaxes, the technique can be time-consuming and arduous, said Isaac Monjo Chavula, director of Tiyeni Malawi, which has partnered with Aftrak. With mechanization, “farmers will now produce more surplus for the market that will lift them out of chronic poverty [in] which they have languished for decades,” Chavula said. “I believe that with Aftrak and deep bed farming, that will be achieved.”
Aftrak was awarded the $1 million Milken-Motsepe Green Energy Prize in 2024. With the help of funding from the prize, donors and Tiyeni’s connections, Aftrak began testing its system in Malawi. It has installed solar panels at a primary school and a maternity clinic, and has been testing the combination of tractor and panels in Mzamu, a farming village of 58 people in the north of the country.
“Before Aftrak we used hoes to dig the soil and it was a hard job. It could take us three to four days,” Mzamu village chief Arnold Soko, 74, who cultivates maize, beans and pumpkins, told CNN. “Now it may take one to two days using a tractor.”
After a day in the field, farmers charge the tractor using a module from a solar grid hub. Each module generates 7.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per day — enough to charge one tractor or provide power for up to five houses. It can allow people to access the internet and connect to mobile banking or educational material online. Additional power can be generated depending on size of the community by connecting multiple modules “like Lego,” said Wilson.
With sunset in Malawi around 6 p.m., Tiyeni says that electricity drastically lengthens hours of productivity and education opportunity, and opens doors for small businesses like seamstresses or barbers.
The solar array has introduced lights, television, refrigerators and electric irons to Mzamu village. “Our children are happy because they are using light and studying well,” said 63-year-old farmer Elizabeth Gondwe.
“We were living in darkness, and (now) we’re living in light,” added Soko.
Aftrak says it has 100 tractors in production in the UK, and intends to start manufacturing in the city of Blantyre, Malawi, partnering with INFLO Inc, a Malawi-based renewable energy manufacturer. Local artisans will be trained to assemble tractor kits and perform repairs.
It plans to roll out its system elsewhere in Malawi and then in Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria. Wilson said, “our goal is to be sustainable at scale.”
