Volkswagen Group Africa is piloting a modern farming project with e-tractors in Kigali, Rwanda.

The GenFarm project is a comprehensive ecosystem of e-powered mechanised farming services for rural Africa that is proclaimed by the company to be dependable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly.

The project culminates in June 2023. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Volkswagen Group Africa and the Government of Rwanda to provide land for the GenFarm Project.

“We are growing our footprint in Africa and regard Rwanda as a key growth market. The GenFarm Project fosters technological innovation and aligns with Volkswagen Group’s strategy to generate meaningful value for both society and the environment through sustainable mobility,” said Martina Biene, Volkswagen Group Africa chairperson and managing director.

The GenFarm Project is piloted in Rwanda in partnership with Volkswagen Mobility Solutions Rwanda and Volkswagen Group Innovation Centre Europe.

Also, the company said preparation for the construction of Empowerment Hub (e-Hub), a key component of GenFarm, is underway and is expected to be operational by the first half of 2025.

It added that equipped with photovoltaic power system and the energy storage system, the e-Hub will supply clean energy, storage space and business space to the cooperatives.

This includes space for their service operations, e-tractor services, and e-scooter services.

Volkswagen Group Africa facilitates the stakeholder steering committee and reviews post pilot expansion possibilities.

While, Volkswagen Group Innovation Centre Europe supplies the e-tractors and provides equipment for the project from Wolfsburg in Germany and  Volkswagen Mobile Solutions Rwanda is the catalyst in operating the pilot hub and provides input and support to the operations.

Managing director of Volkswagen Group Innovation, Dr. Nikolai Ardey, described how the GenFarm operates, saying: “We want to offer various services in the empowerment hubs. Farmers can book an e-tractor including a trained driver for affordable sustainable farming. 

"The unique selling point of the project is the use of the battery swap system. In this way, the battery becomes part of the hub's energy infrastructure as well as energy storage for the tractor.”

The GenFarm Project is supported jointly by the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.