About this module
One tractor makes an operator. A well-run fleet makes a business, and a team of trained women makes it last.
Who it is for. Women who have finished Tractor Operation for Women Level 2, or who can show the same skills. In Ghana's framework, National Proficiency II leads to National Certificate I, which covers complex work with minimum supervision. This module sits at about that level.
CTVET status. CTVET lists Agriculture Mechanisation at National Proficiency I and II and higher levels, but the unit standards are not online. This module is not a CTVET curriculum.
Bridge from Level 2: what you already know
- Field capacity and efficiency sums; avoiding compaction
- Setting tillage implements; calibrating planters and sprayers
- Trailers, PTO shellers, pre-trip checks; licence questions answered with DVLA
- Hour-meter services; the simple fault table; knowing your limits
- Cost per acre, break-even, price lists; why ploughing alone does not pay
- Business models, Farmer Service Centres and marketing as a woman operator
Level 2 left major repairs, combines and running a fleet for later. Level 3 covers fleet management, diagnosis, harvest services and supervising others. Major engine and hydraulic overhauls stay with qualified mechanics. For general bookkeeping and business skills, see the Hub's Money Skills Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2; this manual goes deeper for a tractor-hire business.
How the module works
Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, the range and the evidence your assessor needs. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent. About 70% of the time is practical, following CTVET's Oil Palm programme split of about 30% school and 70% workplace.
Safety first
- ROPS up and seat belt on, for every operator, every time. Together they prevent almost all rollover deaths.
- PTO shafts and guards: never clear a blockage while the drive is running.
- Lockout before any repair: engine off, key out, moving parts stopped, raised implements lowered or blocked, stored hydraulic and spring energy released. Repair work must be trained and supervised.
- Refuel only with the engine off and cool; no smoking.
- Many farm workers work alone and far from first aid: every rig carries a first-aid kit and every operator has a phone check-in plan.
Unit 1 · Run a hire fleet: scheduling, dispatch and utilisation
Tractors earn only when they work. Every idle day and every empty kilometre costs you.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 1.1 Plan and dispatch | plans the season, takes bookings, issues job cards and groups fields to cut travel |
| 1.2 Measure utilisation | records acres and hours per tractor and works out cost per hour |
| 1.3 Control fuel | logs every refuel against the hour meter and spots waste or theft |
Range. At least two tractors over four weeks. Evidence. Season plan; job cards; utilisation and fuel sheets.
Why utilisation matters
- Private tractor owners in a Ghana study averaged about 450 acres a season, but government mechanisation centres ploughed only 168 acres per tractor a year in the north and 206 in the south.
- Northern providers ploughed about 312 acres per tractor, far below the 973 acres needed to break even for a new 75 hp tractor used only for ploughing.
- Planning figures from that study: about 10 acres a day ploughing; planting about 20 acres a day; shelling about 100 large bags a day.
Booking and dispatch
- Hello Tractor uses more than 2,000 booking agents and groups demand so tractors move efficiently; farmers are told the date, the tractor and the operator's name, and pay after the work. Its fleet tools offer GPS tracking, fuel monitoring and maintenance alerts.
- TROTRO Tractor, a Ghanaian service, lets farmers request, schedule and prepay, and lets owners track tractors.
The job card
- Job number, farmer, phone, location
- Service and acres booked
- Tractor and operator
- Hour meter start and finish
- Fuel added
- Acres done and signature of the farmer
- Amount charged, paid or owed
Cost per hour
Cost per hour falls as yearly use rises. Split costs into ownership (depreciation, interest, insurance, shelter) and operating (fuel, oil, repairs, labour). Average diesel use is about 0.044 × the tractor's maximum PTO horsepower in gallons per hour, and labour hours are usually 10–20% more than field hours because of travel and servicing.
Fuel check
A 75 hp PTO tractor worked 9 hours. Using 0.044 × hp, how many gallons should it use? The log shows 40 gallons. What do you do?
Run dispatch for a month
- Make a season plan for two tractors.
- Take bookings through an agent or phone and issue job cards.
- Group fields by area each day to cut travel.
- Record acres, hours and fuel per tractor and compare with normal.
Idle days
Count how many days each tractor stood idle this month and why.
Unit 2 · Advanced maintenance, fault diagnosis and the workshop
A tractor waiting for a part earns nothing. A good workshop and parts store keep the fleet moving.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 2.1 Diagnose faults | diagnoses engine, fuel, hydraulic and electrical faults in order and decides what to repair or refer |
| 2.2 Run the workshop | keeps a critical spare-parts stock and a parts and dealer list |
| 2.3 Budget repairs | plans repair budgets from records |
Range. The training fleet. Evidence. Fault reports; parts list; repair budget.
Parts in Ghana
Ghana's mix of tractor brands makes spare parts hard to find; dealers said small volumes for many brands do not pay. Used private tractors often had easier parts than government ones, which waited a long time for repairs. Standardise on brands with local parts where you can.
Workshop rules
- Keep at least one of each critical spare; if you cannot, record its number, name, model and make.
- Photograph and tag parts before taking things apart, put them back in reverse order, and test at slow speed while standing clear.
- Local workshops can fabricate some metal parts; give extra attention to discs, tips, chains, bearings and knives.
- "Do not start a job that cannot be finished in a short lapse of time".
Diagnosis order
- Ask and look: what changed, when, any noise, smoke or leak?
- Simple first: fuel, air filter, battery terminals, fluid levels, fuses.
- Follow the manual's fault chart for the system: engine, fuel, hydraulic, electrical.
- Decide: fix it yourself, or lock out and call a mechanic.
- Record the fault, cause, parts and cost.
Use your tractor's manual. No Ghana source gives step-by-step diesel, hydraulic or electrical fault trees for every model. The maker's workshop manual is the authority.
Repair budgets
Repair costs are low on a new machine and rise as hours build up; your own repair records are the best guide. Servicing costs in Tumu rose from about GH¢400 to over GH¢1,000 in 2022.
Workshop set-up
- Make a critical spares list for one tractor with part numbers and dealers.
- Diagnose a staged fault using the order above.
- Write a repair budget for next season from last season's records.
Dealer map
List the nearest dealers and mechanics for each brand in your fleet, with phone numbers.
Unit 3 · Supervise and train operator crews; lead on safety
Many women are trained as operators and then stop. A woman crew leader can keep them working, safe and proud.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 3.1 Train operators | inducts, coaches and assesses new operators using checklists |
| 3.2 Lead safety | runs risk assessments, uses stop-work authority, enforces lockout and PPE |
| 3.3 Investigate incidents | records, reports and investigates incidents and near misses |
Range. A crew of at least two operators. Evidence. Training records; risk assessments; incident reports.
Supervisors' duties
- Supervisors should be able to plan safe work and assess risks, run a safety system, monitor, correct problems and communicate. Employers should train them.
- Workers must report hazards at once and may stop an unsafe machine; guards stay in place; no alcohol.
- Systems are needed to report, record and investigate accidents and dangerous occurrences.
- Pregnant or breastfeeding women have a right to other, non-hazardous work where available; tractors and threshers carry whole-body vibration.
- Equipment should be chosen so it suits both women and men.
Women in mechanisation
Hello Tractor trained many women operators but employed relatively few, and many stopped working. Ghana's earlier survey found almost all mechanisation centres were run by men lacking safety skills. Your crew can change that.
Training a new operator
- Induction: site rules, ROPS and belt, PTO rules, emergency plan
- Show, do, check on each task from the Level 1 and Level 2 checklists
- Supervised jobs before solo jobs
- A signed record of each competence
- Regular refresher and feedback
Lead a crew
- Induct and coach one new operator for two weeks.
- Do a written risk assessment for a ploughing and a threshing job.
- Run one near-miss investigation and write the report.
Retention
Ask a trained woman operator what would keep her working in mechanisation.
Unit 4 · Conservation, harvest and threshing services; group contracts
Farmers need more than ploughing. Selling services from land preparation to harvest keeps your tractors busy all year.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 4.1 Offer conservation services | sets and uses rippers, strip-till and direct seeders; explains the three principles |
| 4.2 Run harvest services | explains combine basics and tests thresher capacity, efficiency and damage |
| 4.3 Contract with groups | writes service agreements with acres, dates, price and payment terms |
Range. One conservation job; one threshing job; one group contract. Evidence. Job records; thresher test sheet; signed agreement.
Conservation agriculture
- Three principles: little soil disturbance, at least 30% permanent soil cover, and at least three crops in rotation.
- FAO favours tined tools such as rippers over disc ploughs and harrows; strip-till leaves more than half the soil undisturbed and uses far less fuel.
- A subsoiler needs about 60–100 hp per point and is a corrective tool used every couple of years before the soil dries. Direct seeders need tines or cutting discs to seed through residue.
Harvest and threshing
- Combines cut, thresh and clean in one pass but can spill up to 30% of grain, compact soil badly and do not suit small plots.
- Thresher tests: capacity: catch output on a tarp for 15 minutes; efficiency: compare grain from bundles threshed by machine and by hand; damage: check three 100 g samples. Wet grain is damaged more.
- In northern Ghana, a third to a half of farmers wanted mechanised harvesting, planting and shelling.
- The Upper East needed 20 combines and MoFA had none in 2021; help was aimed at groups, especially women and youth, with good records. About 200 women rice farmers in Afadjato risked 3,000 acres when four of five combines broke down.
Contracts with groups
Women farmers often wait until men's fields are ploughed, even with money in hand. Book women's groups first with a written agreement:
- Group name, leader, phone
- Fields, acres and services
- Dates (with a rain plan)
- Price per acre or per bag, deposit, balance date
- What happens if a field is not ready
- Signatures
Farmer Service Centres work through cooperatives, with eleven due by October 2026 and more than 1.2 million farmers registered; fifty are planned.
Thresher test
In 15 minutes a thresher fills 120 kg on the tarp. What is its capacity per hour? Three 100 g samples have 3 g, 4 g and 5 g of broken grain. What is the average damage?
Services
- Rip or direct-seed one field and record fuel and time.
- Test a thresher for capacity, efficiency and damage.
- Write and sign a service agreement with a women's group.
Harvest demand
Ask three farmer groups which harvest service they most need and what they would pay.
Unit 5 · Establish your mechanisation business
Register properly, insure every machine, and employ fairly. Banks, leasing companies and service centres check.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 5.1 Choose a legal form | compares business types and registers one |
| 5.2 Meet tax, road and insurance duties | lists tax, VAT, DVLA, insurance and Assembly duties |
| 5.3 Employ fairly | applies SSNIT, PAYE and Labour Act basics |
Range. Own business plan. Evidence. Registration checklist with costs; payroll sheet.
Choose a legal form
| Type | ORC fee (2026) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Business name (sole proprietor) | GH¢130; GH¢70 renewal | You carry all debts |
| Partnership | GH¢270; GH¢100 renewal | 2–20 partners; written agreement |
| Company limited by shares | GH¢585 + capital duty | 2 directors and a secretary; yearly returns |
| Company limited by guarantee | GH¢490 | For non-profit service groups |
Companies file annual returns (GH¢175) with financial statements. A cooperative of women operators registers separately and gets a tax number from GRA.
Tax, road and insurance
- Your Ghana Card number is your tax number.
- Sole traders may use the Modified Taxation Scheme: 3% of turnover between GH¢20,001 and GH¢750,000. Companies pay 25%.
- Some customers withhold tax on services.
- VAT is 20% in total from 2026; the goods threshold is GH¢750,000, and for services such as ploughing for hire there is no turnover threshold; ask GRA when you must register.
- Tractors on public roads need DVLA registration, a licence and insurance; no more than two trailers and 8 tonnes may be towed. In 2016, DVLA tractor registration cost GH¢62.70 and comprehensive insurance about GH¢571 a year: get today's quotes.
- Buy insurance only from insurers licensed by the National Insurance Commission. Assembly operating permit.
Employing operators
- Pay at least GH¢21.77 a day.
- SSNIT: worker 5.5% plus employer 13%, paid by the 14th; register workers on hiring.
- PAYE: the first GH¢588 a month is tax-free; pay by the 15th.
- Written contract for six months or more; 15 working days' paid leave; 12 weeks' maternity leave.
Accessibility
Ghana's Disability Act bans job discrimination. Booking agent, dispatcher, fuel and records clerk and parts-store roles need no driving. Ask suppliers about hand controls and seat aids for operators with leg impairments.
Register
- Choose a legal form and explain why.
- Make a checklist of every registration, licence and insurance with costs.
- Work out one month's payroll for two operators.
Insurance quote
Get an insurance quote for one tractor from a licensed insurer.
Unit 6 · Bookkeeping and accounting for a tractor-hire business
Each tractor is a small business. Know what each one earns and costs.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 6.1 Keep daily books | keeps cash, MoMo/bank, job card, fuel and repair records |
| 6.2 Produce statements | prepares a monthly profit and loss and balance sheet, and profit per tractor |
| 6.3 Control cash | reconciles MoMo and bank, and forecasts cash across the seasons |
Range. One month of real or example jobs. Evidence. Books; statements; reconciliation; forecast.
The records
| Record | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Job cards | Each job: acres, hours, fuel, charge, paid or owed |
| Fuel log | Every refuel against the hour meter |
| Repair log | Each repair, parts and cost, per tractor |
| Cash book and MoMo book | Every cedi in and out |
| Asset register | Each tractor and implement, cost and depreciation |
| Debtors list | Farmers and groups who owe you |
Keep records for at least 6 years.
Assets = liabilities + owner's equity. Depreciation = (cost − end value) ÷ years of use.
Worked example (all figures are examples)
Efua's tractor service, April
- Efua puts in GH¢30,000 and borrows GH¢120,000 to buy a used tractor and disc plough for GH¢150,000 (expected life 8 years, end value GH¢30,000).
- Ploughs 150 acres at GH¢250 an acre = GH¢37,500. A women's group still owes GH¢7,500.
- Fuel GH¢12,000; oil and filters GH¢1,500; repairs GH¢2,000.
- Operator wage GH¢2,000; booking agent commission 5% of sales.
- Loan repayment GH¢4,000, of which GH¢1,500 is interest.
- Insurance for the month GH¢400.
- Efua takes GH¢1,500 (drawings).
Work out: (1) depreciation for the month; (2) net profit; (3) cash at the end of April; (4) the balance sheet; (5) cost per acre.
Seasonal cash forecast
Tractor income comes in peaks (land preparation, planting, harvest) and falls in between, but loan repayments and insurance continue. Forecast 12 months: when cash comes in, when it goes out, and which months need savings set aside.
Software and the calendar
Use a spreadsheet, or a free plan such as Zoho Books or Wave.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| 14th | SSNIT |
| 15th | PAYE and withholding tax |
| Last working day | VAT (if registered) |
| Within 4 months of year-end | Annual income tax return |
| Yearly | Insurance and roadworthy renewals; Assembly permit by 31 March |
Month-end close
- Keep job cards, fuel and repair logs and books for one month.
- Reconcile MoMo and bank.
- Prepare a profit and loss and balance sheet, and profit per tractor.
- Build a 12-month seasonal cash forecast.
Price check
Is your price per acre above your cost per acre in the slowest month?
Unit 7 · Grow and sustain the business
Grow by adding services, keeping tractors busy all year and building a team of women operators.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 7.1 Find finance | identifies leasing, loans and support |
| 7.2 Lead quality and people | keeps service quality and develops staff |
| 7.3 Plan and pitch | presents a one-page plan with a 12-month cash forecast |
Range. Own business plan. Evidence. Business plan; cash forecast; pitch.
Finance and support
- The Agricultural Development Bank's equipment finance covers tractors, harvesters, planters and milling equipment for farmers, groups and registered businesses, with repayments aligned to harvests.
- Hello Tractor offers pay-as-you-go tractor ownership to booking agents who first book about 500 hectares, with incentives for women.
- Adding a planter and sheller costs only about 15% more investment but cuts the acres needed to break even sharply.
- A Ghanaian agri-trade firm found each extra combine paid through service margins.
- The Ghana Enterprises Agency has Business Advisory Centres in Takoradi and nearby districts. The 2026 Budget set aside GH¢401 million for the Women's Development Bank. The Bank of Ghana policy rate was 14%.
Costs and prices to check
- In Tumu, ploughing rose from GH¢100 to GH¢200 an acre in 2021–22.
- Diesel prices rose in 2026 and were cut by GH¢2 in August. Check today's prices with the NPA.
Location settings that give good returns
- Rice valleys and maize areas short of tractors and combines
- Near a Farmer Service Centre or cooperative
- Near parts dealers and mechanics
- Fields grouped close together to cut travel
- Where women farmers are organised in groups
Business ideas and ingenuity
- Harvest and threshing services for women's rice groups
- Mobile shelling at the homestead
- Ripping and direct-seeding services
- Fleet manager or dispatcher for a service centre or owner group
- Training other women operators for a fee
Market yourself
- Book women's groups first with written contracts.
- App or USSD booking with the operator and tractor confirmed in advance.
- Before-and-after field photos and group references.
Capstone
Present to a panel: a one-page business plan and a 12-month seasonal cash forecast.
Pitch
- Write a one-page plan.
- Build a 12-month cash forecast.
- Pitch to a panel for ten minutes.
Lender visit
Visit a bank or leasing company and ask what they need for tractor finance.
Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Dispatch | Sending the right tractor to the right job |
| Job card | A record of one job |
| Lockout | Locking off energy before repair |
| Ownership costs | Costs you pay even if the tractor sits idle |
| Strip-till | Tilling only narrow strips where seed goes |
| Utilisation | How much of the year a tractor actually works |
Logbook
- Safety: daily ROPS and belt checks for the crew
- Unit 1: season plan; job cards; fuel and utilisation sheets
- Unit 2: fault reports; spares list; repair budget
- Unit 3: training records; risk assessments; incident reports
- Unit 4: job records; thresher test; signed agreement
- Unit 5: registration checklist; payroll
- Unit 6: books; statements; seasonal forecast
- Unit 7: business plan; pitch
- Every homework, dated
Self-check quiz
- Why does utilisation decide profit?
- Name five items on a job card.
- How do you check fuel use for a tractor?
- What are the five steps of fault diagnosis?
- Why keep a critical spares list?
- What must happen before any repair?
- What rights do pregnant operators have?
- Name the three principles of conservation agriculture.
- How do you test thresher capacity?
- Why book women's groups with written contracts?
- Is loan principal an expense?
- Write the depreciation formula.
Further reading and sources
Best next reads: your Level 2 manual; your tractor's operator and workshop manuals; the FAO farm machinery manual; the Hub's Money Skills Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2.
What this module does not cover: major engine and hydraulic overhauls, combine operation (operator training needed), and GPS guidance systems.
Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.