AGRICULTURAL NEWS - This figure was also well below the five-year average for the corresponding period of 4 671 units sold.
These low figures can mostly be blamed on the difficult financial situation many farmers find themselves in due to low commodity prices and the impact of drought.
But the situation should start changing again if producer prices start improving, and if the main cropping areas experience a season or two of average to above-average rainfall.
Despite the recent dip in sales, South Africa remains miles ahead of most other African countries in terms of on-farm mechanisation.
According to the report, ‘Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization: A Framework for Africa’, published last year by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in 2000 the tractors in use in Africa were concentrated in a small number of countries, with 70% in South Africa and Nigeria.
