Equity Bank and farm equipment maker John Deere have signed an agreement to offer tractors into the Kenyan market.
With the agreement, both large scale and small-scale farmers will be able to acquire tractors from John Deere through well-defined and affordable finance programmes.
The agreement, signed during the US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman’s Investor Roadshow, supports Kenya’s long term ambition of boosting agricultural production through increased mechanisation.
It was signed by John Deere Head of Business for Africa, Asia and the Middle East, Jason Brantley and Equity Group Holdings Chief executive officer James Mwangi.
Mwangi noted that Kenyan farmers will benefit from state-of-the-art technology which will equip them with capability to scale and grow their yields and businesses for larger markets.
Equity Bank will provide finance products to customers initially in Kenya for a current term of two years under the agreement. The equipment dealer MASCOR who has dealerships throughout East Africa will be the partner dealership.
Equity, John Deere and MASCOR will conduct joint training and marketing campaigns to enhance farmer education on the usage of the Deere equipment in order to enhance agriculture productivity and to understand the value of mechanisation in yield improvements.
For farmers, including emerging and commercial farmers, part-time contractors, full time contractors and farmer groups the intention is to support profitability by improving revenues linked to yields, reducing losses, and reducing operational costs related to agriculture production.
Equity’s ‘Africa’s Recovery and Resilience Plan’ is committed to supporting the advancement and scaling of Africa’s small-scale farmers with training, mechanisation, and market access.