I made a mistake buying tractors for farmers – John Mahama

Former President John Mahama says he made a mistake buying tractors for farmers when he was in office.

“I realised some of the things that we did, we made mistakes, we imported tractors and agricultural equipment, and we gave it to farmers,” Mahama said at a Munich Security Conference.

Adding that, “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. But we gave the tractors to the farmers, and in a year or two the tractor had broken down because he [farmer] doesn’t know that every six months you must change the engine oil, you must change the filters, you must grease the tractor, he [farmer] doesn’t know that. So, we will approach it differently.”

The 59th Munich Security Conference (MSC) took place from 17th to 19th February 2023 at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich. Dubbed the Davos of Defense, the Munich Security Conference attracts heads of state, generals, intelligence Chiefs and top diplomats from around the world.

The conference provides a platform for high-level debates “on key foreign and security policy challenges.”

The Tana Forum in collaboration with Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e.V. (BDI) on Saturday, hosted a side event, an MSC Regional Breakfast on “Africa’s Place in a multipolar world: Moving from strategy to action.”

The session was opened by President Mahama as Chair of the Tana Forum and addressed by the Chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, and Wolfgang Niedermark of BDI, the Federation of German Industries.

South Africa’s Minister for Defence, Thandi Modise, delivered the keynote remarks.