Former President John Dramani Mahama has stated that he would rather supply farmers with tractor services than give them tractors.
He stated that during his presidency, he made the mistake of purchasing tractors for farmers rather than providing them with specialised tractor services.
He said that hiring someone to maintain the tractors and perform tractor services will ensure that they last longer than giving them over to farmers, lamenting that tractors given over to farmers broke down sooner than intended.
"We imported tractors and agricultural equipment, we gave them to farmers…The farmer does not need the tractor, he does not need the agricultural equipment, he needs the services of a tractor…So somebody who knows how to maintain that tractor must have a service centre, where he provides the services to the farmer," he said.
"But we gave the tractors," he continued, "to the farmers, in a year or two the tractor had broken down because he doesn’t know every six months you must change the engine oil, you must change the filters, you must grease the tractor, he doesn’t know that…So we will approach it differently," he said.
Hundreds of tractors were purchased and distributed to farmers under John Mahama's presidency to enhance agricultural productivity in the country.