Business Tech Africa Speaks to Aftrak Creator Dr Toby Williams about developments in their ground breaking Agri solution for Small Scale African Farmers.
The History Aftrak began as a university funded project that set out to create improvements in small scale farming. The team, led by Dr Toby Williams, developed a multi-solution product that combines a solar array with an electric powered mini-tractor. The combination allows for the implementation of the Deep-Bed Farming (DBF)technique, and also provides an off-the-grid energy supply that powers the mini-tractor as well as supplying a valuable and stable energy supply for general use.
The Aftrak mini-tractor is powered by a 10Kw electric motor providing enough power for farmers to break the hard-pan crust earth down to a depth of 400mm with the front ploughing tool on the unit. “This”, explains Toby, “is the key to successful small scale farming as it has been proven to increase crop volume significantly and reduce the requirement for expensive fertilizer use”.
Traditional small scale farming more frequently simply plants in the top layer of softer soil, and this reduces the root depth and likewise the crop volume produced. Aftrack works alongside a Malawian charity group called Tiyeni Malawi that is focused on educating farmers on the value of DBF.
DBF is a hybrid form of Conservation Agriculture and is based on a well-established and successful set of methods which involve minimal soil disturbance, cover crops and crop rotation. In several test sites in Malawi, DBF, was tested by farmers to replace conventional ridge farming. Results showed that It increases maize yield from an average of 1.7 tonnes per hectare to over 8.0 tonnes per hectare – a gain of 470%. In an independent study done in 2021, the adoption of Deep Bed farming, increased the average crop yield in nut farming by 125%.
Dr Williams stresses that all Aftrak future developments, will go hand-in-hand with education and support for farmers.
The other big success has been the innovative solar array panel units that provide an impressive 1,3KW of Solar charge power providing 7Kwh of electricity per day with 5Kwh of energy storage per single module – enough to power a complete household and still get the mini-tractor charged.
The solar array module will sell for around 2700 Pounds ($2100) per unit and is completely DIY enabled with nothing more than a hammer required to construct it. The units come in a flat-pack form and includes the full structure, a wiring harness and the solar panels that are simply clipped into place. Toby indicates that the units are incredibly hardy and the structure is very stable, providing a solid platform for the power units. They will be available within the next 6-months.
The solar panels have a lifespan of 10-years and the Lead-Acid batteries will have a lifespan of 5-years. They have chosen these batteries for two reasons, namely that they are 98% recyclable and that there is an effective supply chain available throughout Africa for replacements.
“The commercial benefit of the Aftrak system is self-evident, with massive potential for farmers to have a system that pays for itself via increased crop production that will hopefully also lift communities out of conducting pure subsistence farming into growing crops that have commercial value”, says Williams
Future developments
The new Aftrak units being developed will have a full range of uses with add-on implements that will provide for the unit to pull a trailer, be used for weeding, harvesting and most other uses found in traditional agricultural power implements.
Toby provided details on further growth saying that “We are looking to scale-up production and this will be a process where we initially produce the Aftrak units in the UK, but are looking further on at establishing an African based manufacturing facility”. “Our Solar panel arrays will be available in the next few months as we have seen the need for these as stand-alone units”.
