OUR BRAND LAUNCHES THE WORLD'S FIRST ACCESSIBLE AGRICULTURAL TRACTOR
Produced at our Curitiba plant in Brazil, the Accessible New Holland TL5 delivers greater independence and autonomy to people with lower limb disabilities.
New Holland Agriculture has unveiled the world’s first accessible farm tractor. The TL5 ‘Acessível’, produced at the brand’s plant in Curitiba, has been designed for people with lower limb disabilities, enabling them to work in fields independently.
First presented as a concept tractor at Rural Coopavel and Expodireto Cotrijal in 2020 – two of the main agricultural fairs in the country – it received both public and press acclaim. The final product was created in partnership with the inclusive mobility company Elevittá, Arteprima and Senai from São Leopoldo (state of Rio Grande do Sul).
The development of the Accessible TL5 involved the participation of a New Holland customer, Fernando Dalmolin, who uses a wheelchair.
In 2022, having suffered a serious accident after being hit by a falling tree trunk, Fernando faced surgery, and experienced a serious infection – which led to becoming paraplegic. Determined to continue his work in the field, Fernando was delighted to be involved in the development and release of the TL5 Acessível.
“This launch is everything that we, people with disabilities, needed in the field,” says Fernando, “It is a very big evolution, since we do not have accessibility. It is a valuable and ground-breaking project. I am very happy and excited.”
According to the 2019 National Health Survey, published by the Brazilian Ministry of Health together with the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, Brazil has 17.3 million people over the age of two with some type of disability (8.4 % of this population), with 7.8 million having physical lower limb disabilities. Of the total number of people with a disability in Brazil, 2.9 million live in rural households.
Following the concept’s success, New Holland has sought to make the commercialized unit financially viable. An opportunity was identified through a Brazilian government financing line – the ‘Rota 2030’ (Route 2030), which sees most of the investment absorbed by the government to support and encourage innovation projects in the field of social inclusion.
Alongside new TL5 units, those from model year 2019 onwards can also have the accessibility platform retrofitted.
“With the launch of this accessible tractor, we want to empower people. It is not just a question of making new technology available in the agricultural machinery market, but also enabling people with disabilities to carry out their occupations with independence”, says Paulo Máximo, director of Commercial Marketing for New Holland Agriculture for Latin America.
CNH Capital, in partnership with New Holland and its dealership network, will offer customers attractive financing conditions to facilitate the purchase of an accessible tractor, this is in addition to the government lines available through the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES).
At CNH, we are proud to provide high end agro-tech to people of all abilities, and to further unlock the potential of our farmers around the world.
