Meet Eji Christopher, CEO of Eji Christopher Tractor Services. His tractor operations are a land preparation enterprise bridging the gap in access to mechanization services for smallholder farmers in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Smallholder farmers work on less than two hectares of land and comprise roughly 70 percent of Nigeria’s farming population. Studies show that smallholder farmers produce most of the food in developing countries, and in Nigeria, they are the backbone of the food supply in many regions. Smallholder farmers face many challenges, such as land degradation, farming with rainwater rather than irrigation, and adopting agricultural mechanization. Smallholder farmers typically cannot afford modern machinery and lack the enhanced skills to adopt and profitably manage the equipment. Eji Christopher Tractor Services is attempting to fill the gap by providing mechanical resources to farmers in this category.
Although he was providing a valuable tractor-hiring service to those who needed it but could not afford to obtain their own machinery, Christopher’s enterprise struggled to remain in business due to low patronage and sales. Enter the USAID Feed the Future Agricultural Extension and Advisory Activity (Extension Activity) in 2021, which taught Mr. Christopher to also offer value-added extension services. Upon engaging with the Extension Activity, the CEO of Eji Christopher Tractor Services, received training for six months on business development practices, demand stipulation, the most impactful agricultural practices, financial literacy, and record-keeping, which helped the firm to engage in mechanization campaigns in farming communities in Ebonyi State. As a result, the firm customer base grew from less than 70 in 2021 to over 200 smallholder farmers in the 2023 farming season, leading to over 200 percent growth in revenue from about N2.5 million (USD 1,683) in 2021 to over N7.5 million (USD5,050 ) in 2023. With increased patronage and sales, the firm acquired rice threshers to diversify and expand its business service offerings to the farmers.
Mr Eji Christopher said, “I thank Extension Activity for providing us the knowledge to incorporate extension services in our business. It is a game changer for me. My farmers are happier with my tractor-hiring services. I have had higher patronage since I started partnering with Extension Activity. I thank USAID for this initiative.”
Mr. Simon Anigor, a client of Eji Christopher Tractor Services, added, “I used the services of Eji Christopher Tractor Services for my rice production last farming season. I cultivated my 5-hectare landholding using the mechanized land preparation services from the company, as against the 2ha I did in 2021 with manual labor. Mechanization of land preparation saved me time and labor for other agricultural activities. It has also increased my productivity from 2.4 to 3.8 tonnes per hectare and improved my net profit”. Mr. Simon Anigor thanked the Extension Activity for the opportunity provided for his business to use the most impactful agricultural practices in his farming business operations.
The Eji Christopher Tractor Services’ story is not a one-off success story. The Agricultural Extension Activity partnered with over 300 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), providing extension and advisory services to over 1.5 million farmers across seven states in Nigeria, resulting in improved agricultural productivity, rural employment opportunities, and livelihood.
Feed the Future