Morning maintenance and check over
Introduction
Katina Phiri was born in 1980 in the Nyimba district of the Eastern province. She was the first born in a family of five and now has two children of her own, both attending school.
Farming profile
Starting her farming career in 2001 Katina grew 1.5 Ha of maize, ground nuts and soya beans. This production remained stable until 2009 when she managed to raise sufficient funds to join the Ngozi cooperative. This gave her access to fertiliser enabling her to increase her production to 3 Ha which increased to 30 Ha by 2019.
Impact of the four-wheel tractor
Katina signed a finance lease with AgLeaseCo in 2019 and immediately increased her planting from 30 to 35 Has with plans to increase this to 100 Has.
2020/2021 season’s crops
Increased yields
Having her own tractor to use has enabled Katina to work her land at the optimum times each year as she no longer has to search for suitable animals to pull a plough. This advantage has been reflected in her maize crop yields which have grown from 2.4 to 4.9 tonnes per hectare.
Increased income
Katina is also now an established and respected agricultural services provider and uses her additional income to invest in her farm, school her children and support her relatives. Additionally, Katina has put a wire security fence around her main house and built a store for her crop harvest. She has also built a grocery and agro shop which she opened using the proceeds from her 2020/21 crop. Furthermore, Katina has purchased two residential plots in Nyimba town on which she intends to build houses to rent out to local families.
Her mindset
Katina understands how mechanisation and finance leasing have combined to change her life and that of her family members. Her diversification gives her the comfort of not relying on one crop being a success every year. She now plans to use leasing again very soon to finance her plans to purchase more tractor drawn equipment.
Impact on the community
Katina’s success at providing services to her neighbours has converted them to the many benefits of mechanisation especially increased incomes! Katina is now very well-known and respected in her community for being a pioneer in mechanised farming. Well done Katina everyone at AgLeaseCo supports you!
