This isn't directly about Kesho Leo but it is about something important to Africans - the desire to have a part of the pathway to development that they can call their own. That something is a tractor that was invented for African conditions and would be manufactured/assembled in Africa.
When you hear the name of the inventor, a Scotsman by the name of Roger Stephenson, you may think "What is African about that?", but the future of Africa (and many regions of the world) is about people immigrating and bringing ideas that mesh with the local culture. And there is no idea more powerful here than Africa producing its own machinery for its own development.
Roger and the chassis of his "Tractor for Africa", back in February.
I have watched Roger's tractor being built here in Arusha for the past eight months, and then watched it unveiled at the national trade fairs in Dar es Salaam and Arusha. It has generated a lot of excitement. (He built one in the UK first and shipped it to West Africa.)
How would this tractor compete with the likes of Massey-Ferguson, Ford, John Deere, and the many other tractors made by Asian, European, and American companies? Because it is designed for the African farmer, that's why. The average owner of a small to medium-sized African farm who can afford a vehicle, a growing sector of the population, can buy either a car or a tractor - but not both. The RS-22 goes a long way towards filling both needs. It has a high speed gear box that will allow use on roads and in town, a bucket seat for driver plus 2, a trailer for hauling, plus a suspension to make it ride more like a truck (it has been called a "trucktor") yet still do tillage.
Don Lotter and Roger's assistant engineer, Noella. Noella was indispensable in the making of six tractors for display at the national trade fairs in July and August.
Additionally, the RS-22 has power attachments at the back that will fill a number of needs in rural Africa, i.e. a flat-belt pulley for driving milling machinery, a generator, or a water pump. All of these things are much in demand in rural Africa. The tractor also has the standard power-take-off (PTO) for tillage implements and an air pressure connection for spraying.
The 22 horsepower engine by Lister-Petter is one of the most common engines used in rural Africa for generators and mills. Other parts are standard off-the-shelf items. The RS-22 can till an acre of land with less than half of the fuel used by a standard tractor here, plus it is well-equipped to help pioneer the zero- and conservation-tillage practices that research shows is much needed here.
Roger, who has been a tractor engineer his entire career and has worked in Asia, Europe, and Africa, initially came up with the idea 35 years ago.
See more at this web page I did for Roger to help him get funding to demonstrate the tractor.
I wish the best for Roger and for the Africans in progressing towards producing their own agricultural technology.
Half-way done, in April.
The flat-belt pulley is the round flat object.
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