Solar-powered micro electric tractors bring light to farmers in Malawi | CNN

An electric tractor that’s entirely powered by the sun could boost crop yields for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and in doing so, improve access to electricity. Developed by Aftrak, a business spun out of Loughborough University, in England, the waist-height “micro electric tractor” powers itself forward, while a farmer steers it as they walk behind. It features a steel “hardpan breaker” that pierces the layer of compacted soil commonly found at the surface of manually farmed fields in sub-Saharan Africa. Breaching this layer and making deep furrows allows roots and rainwater to penetrate the soil, which slows soil erosion and maxmizes water absorbtion, making the soil more resilient to droughts. It’s part of an agricultural technique dubbed deep bed farming (DBF), developed and promoted by Tiyeni, a nonprofit addressing food security and poverty. Tiyeni claims DBF can more than double crop yields and increase farmer revenue up to nine-fold. The tractor is part of Aftrak’s wider work to introduce easily assembled arrays of solar panels to rural African communities, beginning in Malawi, where only 15.6% of the population had access to electricity in 2023. In rural area