By Emeka Amaefula
MEET IBIFIRI BOBMANUEL—MECHANIZE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTIONIST IN NIGER DELTA
The Niger Delta region is known for its rich in hydrocarbon derivatives including crude oil and natural gas production. But one citizen who has revolutionized mechanized farming in the Niger Delta is Mr. Ibifiri Bobmanuel who is the Chief Executive Officer of Bobtrack Tractor Nigeria Limited whose tractors supply to most large-scale mechanized farmers in this region is a new face of putting food on the tables of Niger Delta people. His company Bobtrack Tractor Nig. Ltd is currently into assembling and supplying spare parts of tractors designed and modelled for the Nigerian climate. He has a plant yard for 5 years situated at Iriebe axis of Port Harcourt where his company operates from. On Monday 18th of December 2023 he engaged the Media at Hotel Presidential Poolside Port Harcourt into unveiling of his latest product 120 Horsepower BobTract machine which he terms the game changer in mechanized farming in Niger Delta.
He is the first indigenous Nigerian Manufacturer of tractors and allied agro based machineries that help reduce the harsh working environment from tilling the soil, planting of seedlings and weeding the farm and harvesting and trashing packaging processes. Ibifiri Bobmanuel is the President Rivers state Entrepreneurs and Investors Forum REIF from 2005 to date, having studied for his masters of Business Administration MBA from Abubakar Tafawa Belewa University of Technology Bauchi, Bauchi state. He was also the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Rivers Renaissance and Development Ltd from 2015 to date. Truly an industrious gentleman he remains the Managing Director of Exeat Logistics Ltd and Bobmanuel IAC Construction Company and Managing Director Compliant Freighters Ltd. In all his campaign for fast tracking business development in Niger Delta and Nigeria remain “Diversification away from Oil” and this has led him to engaging in agricultural equipment supplies and leasing to mechanised farmers and in alliance with TAGBank and other financial institutions with better options in facility provisions for low interest or with rebate that allow investors in the agriculturally based businesses profit yielding.
His Equipment manufacturing and assembling base at no.9 TAP Road Iriebe Town in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers state remain a serious venture that has attracted foreign nations such as Rwanda and Ghana and Cote D’ Ivoire all in a bid to making farming and agro-allied businesses better than subsistence farming mechanisms.
The unveiling of Bobtrack Tractor 120 horsepower is the game changer in farming automotive tools which has more spare parts and working man hours. The interior has an air-conditioned facility and several digitalized electronic devices such as Bluetooth compact communication that makes interconnectivity real time for operators including Geo-positioning mapping devices that connects the agro based operators to several individuals and investors in the value-chain.
Speaking to Journalists at the Presidential Hotel, Ibifiri Bobmanuel said “It’s a game changer. I shared a story of how all we have been practising is subsistence farming for a very long time and for you to embark on a profitable farm you have to go for mechanized farming. This Bobtract tractor120 horsepower is a game changer and that is why you have not just Rwandan President but he instructed that the Ambassador in Nigeria must be present because it is one of our conditions that for us to come to Rwanda you need to send somebody to come and represent Rwanda in this programme today and that’s why they are participating here. So, every other country in Africa recognizes the potential of agriculture and around the world they recognize the potential of agriculture. And knowing that doing it manually you can do it for the rest of the year and you will not be able to attend to the farm. But with the mechanization that we have provided now, we are making it very cheap and very affordable in such a way that it will encourage the very serious-minded agriculturalists to be able to expand their businesses. So, it’s a new dawn for agriculturalists in the Niger Delta, in the states and in the country to be able to begin to dream big because agriculture is big business. We have always done agriculture and we see agriculture like a philanthropic gesture where you go and suffer. Agriculture is business. So that’s why if you listen to my own talk I am not talking about the government, yes, I want Government to encourage agriculture. But the Government will benefit a lot if they encourage agriculture. The individual farmer will benefit a lot if we invest in Mechanization and this is what we are providing for it. So, agriculture will be having more tons of produce coming out from our farms with the capacity and quantity of produce coming out from our farms will even be more than what we currently have. This is because what we are currently having, we are having it through a tedious and very discouraging discomforting process. But with mechanization we are providing now we find out that our farmers will be smiling.
For subsistence farmers to transit to mechanized farming they need to access financial capacity through bank loans and grants for Ibifiri Bobmanuel in his reaction to this admitted “ it’s not very difficult for a bank to wake up on their free volition and come all that they’re doing to be here and sit down with us all through this discussions as they have closed from work and they could have been in their houses sleeping or attending to their families but the owners of the bank instructed that they must come here, they must not come here and see how they will network with the people seated here to see the serious minded farmers that could partner with them. They’re willing to give you funds. Because they know that if they give you funds there’s a guarantee that they will get back their funds because you are going to farm with it. If you are going to farm with it, it’s not a long story as in a couple of months down the line you are going to harvest and if you harvest, they are going to take back their money. So, it’s a win, win for the bank as the bank is not doing you a favour and it’s a win, win for you the farmer and it’s a win, win for the government and everybody is happy. So, my call is for us in the Niger Delta to begin to look beyond Oil as Oil is a wasted resource, we have. It has really taken us away from where we should have been, because if you look at when the Nigerian economy was doing well, it was all centred-on agriculture. Agriculture was our main stay as we had a Groundnut pyramid, we had Coca and we had palm Oil. We had all of them. Where are all of them? They’re all gone Because we have invested and had much interest in oil that has not taken us anywhere.”
On the issue of producing other farm equipment and machinery for agricultural value end products, Mr Bobmanuel said “Yeah, we do the complete value chain, we do the ploughs, we do harvesters, thrashers, processors for garri, rice and other complete gamut value chains. We do anything that has to do with agriculture and farming. We produce all of it. And our customers that have been patronizing us have really had a leap in their businesses because we come with products that are designed for our market. This is because over the years just like as I mentioned we have tractors that are brought from Europe that are not meant for Africa. Our terrain is very hot. Look at Niger Delta development Commission NDDC at a time they brought in over twenty thousand tractors, where are those tractors? they all evaporated because those tractors are not meant for Nigeria. They are not meant for Africa. They just go out and buy them and come as they are meant for a cold environment. But when you bring them to Africa because we have more heat here most of them have requirements for less resistance to heat so, if you are not bearing that in mind with less few months that you bring them, they will begin to develop overheating problems as the top cylinders will all begin to blow hot. With what we have here we have double fitted top cylinders regardless of the kind of works the tractor works in the farm it will never get overheated because it is built for Africans but if you take those tractors to Europe and it is to be working in Europe it will be a different ball game because it is not designed for Europe but for Africa it is designed for Africa and for Africa. So, this is what we have here.
We have automated cassava planting equipment. If you have a farm as big as Port Harcourt, if you go to Ibadan Oyo State, see what Oyo state is doing as most of our products are being used there. You don’t need to get people to start till the ground and begin to plant Cassava. Gone are those days. You just hook it on to the tractor as you are driving the tractor at the back, the planter is planting it. That’s the way agriculture is done. If you’re done with planting and they’re all grown up and you want to harvest you hook on the harvester and you just drive the harvester for the whole of Port Harcourt. It can take one day and you finish harvesting the whole of Port Harcourt. For weeding you hook on the splasher you don’t need to go find the whole of your community to come and weed your farm you just use the splasher and do it.”
The Rwanda President sent in Second Counsellor From the Embassy of Republic of Rwanda in the person of Mr. Vianney Rubagumya who spoke eloquently in the interest of his country in getting the services of Bobtract Tractor Company for East African countries including Rwanda. While Mr. Jerry Cunningham Managing Director and Chief executive Officer American West African Agro Ltd talked about his over 25 years stay in Nigeria developing the Machinery for agro-allied businesses in order to ensure food security and job placement for the citizens.
—————–Emeka Amaefula ————+234(0)8111813069
