DULUTH, Ga.--()--AGCO, Your Agriculture Company (NYSE: AGCO), a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment, today presented its vision for agriculture in Africa at the G8 Summit in Washington, D.C. “Our mission is to provide comprehensive agricultural solutions for African farmers,” said Martin Richenhagen, Chairman, President and CEO of AGCO. “Africa offers tremendous growth opportunities in the agricultural equipment sector and AGCO is committed to growing its presence within Africa by investing in distribution infrastructure and new training sites. We plan to invest US$ 100 million in Africa over the coming years.”
AGCO is committed to the Grow Africa initiative and the G8’s New Alliance for Food and Nutrition Security. “A continent like Africa has significant potential for growth in the agricultural sector: With 11 percent of the world’s arable land (86 percent of which is uncultivated) Africa would benefit from modern, mechanized farming techniques,” explained Hubertus Mühlhäuser, Senior Vice President, General Manager, Europe, Africa, Middle East. “AGCO’s technology-driven products will contribute to the modernization of the African agricultural market, and the local presence will allow AGCO to better serve African customers with high quality products and services. Our commitment is a response to the African Union, NEPAD and the World Economic Forum’s commitment to promote Grow Africa and the commitments of G8 Members to align their support to the countries agricultural development objectives as well as the Government’s commitment to promote a business enabling environment that provides confidence to both the domestic and international private sector to achieve these objectives.”
With over 50 years of experience in Africa through its Massey Ferguson brand, AGCO already leverages alliances with governments, foreign investors and donors to improve agricultural practices in Africa. Hubertus Mühlhäuser: “The solution for African agriculture is to develop a systematic approach that develops a strategic partnership to deliver crops that feed an increasing population in an economically, environmentally and socially responsible way. With decades of dependency on food aid and the world’s fastest population growth, Africa’s long-term prospects will require increasing degrees of self-sustainability. While the challenge is enormous, the opportunities are both substantial and achievable. Local farmers are among the main beneficiaries of agricultural development and are at the very core of the solution.”
In Africa, AGCO is focusing on increasing the scope of its product offering and improving its distribution and training of local farmers. The company plans to fund the development of Future Farms and Training Centers in Zambia, Ethiopia, Morocco and South Africa that will allow local farmers and dealers to be trained on new farming technology to enhance productivity and efficiency – and in this way create better food security. AGCO also plans to assist in providing equipment-financing solutions for small farms with little to no working capital. In addition, AGCO is investing in its after-sales service infrastructure in Africa by establishing a master parts warehouse in Johannesburg to ensure excellent parts availability, machine uptime, and better service levels to their local distribution partners and customers.
AGCO intends to provide a complete set of regionally specified agricultural solutions and modern technologies to more than 25,000 smallholder farmers in the next few years. The focus will be on localization, customer centricity, access to technology and mechanization, and capacity building. AGCO will partner with local African countries and support the modernization of African agriculture to improve food security.
ABOUT AGCO
AGCO, Your Agriculture Company, (NYSE: AGCO), is a global leader focused on the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural machinery. AGCO supports more productive farming through a full line of tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage equipment, tillage, implements, grain storage and protein production systems, as well as related replacement parts. AGCO products are sold through four core machinery brands, Challenger®, Fendt®, Massey Ferguson® and Valtra® and are distributed globally through 3,100 independent dealers and distributors in more than 140 countries worldwide. Retail financing is available through AGCO Finance for qualified purchasers. Founded in 1990, AGCO is headquartered in Duluth, GA, USA. In 2011, AGCO had net sales of $8.8 billion. http://www.AGCOcorp.com
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements which are not historical facts, including expectations regarding the development and sales of products in this region, are forward-looking and subject to risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the statements. These risks include possible declines in demand for products as a result of weather, demand and other conditions that impact farm income, actions by producers of competitive products, and the general risks attendant to acquisitions. Further information concerning these and other factors is included in AGCO’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. AGCO disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by law.