Equity, Car & General Join Forces to Boost Farm Productivity Through Mechanization

Equity Bank and Car & General Trading Kenya have partnered to expand access to agricultural mechanisation, targeting farmers who struggle to acquire equipment needed to increase productivity and cultivate more land.

The partnership will see Equity Bank finance up to 90 per cent of the cost of Kubota tractors, with farmers required to raise a 10 per cent deposit. Repayment will be structured around farming cycles, including monthly and seasonal payments, as the two companies seek to make mechanisation more accessible to farmers.

Kagiso Moloi, commercial director at Equity Bank Kenya, said the partnership was part of a broader effort to strengthen the agricultural ecosystem rather than simply increase the number of tractors sold.

“Our intention is not to measure the units, but necessarily to measure how we transform the lives of the people around us. We don’t only look at the tractors alone. We look at how we can unlock that whole ecosystem and ensure that it’s not painful for the farmer,” Moloi said.

George Rubiri, general manager of Car & General Trading Kenya, said the partnership sought to address Kenya’s low level of agricultural mechanization, which he put at about 30 per cent.

“Agri-mechanization in Kenya is only 30 per cent and we come in to bridge this gap. Equity Bank provides flexible financing of up to 90 per cent, which makes it exciting and easy for the farmers. To our farmers out there, we’re inviting them to any equity branch, any Car & General branch to come and ask for Kubota tractors so that we can boost farming,” Rubiri said.

For Narok farmer and agricultural teacher Cecilia Moshiri, the value of mechanization can be seen on her own farm.

Moshiri bought a Kubota tractor two years ago and has used it to cultivate previously untouched land, transport farm inputs and produce, and provide ploughing services to neighboring farmers.

“I had virgin land which was not broken before. Because of its robust energy, it has worked through a very rough, rugged land and nowadays the land is very fine. I’m able to do a lot of ploughing for people and I’m able to get some income and therefore it is improving my life,” she said.

Moshiri added:

“There was not much harvest in Narok this year, but I think I was almost one of the farmers who produced most. With the good experience that I’ve gotten from Kubota, I’m looking forward to continuing to partner with Equity so that I can have another machine in future.”

Beatrice Nyambura, head of asset finance at Equity Bank Kenya, said the financing terms had been designed around the seasonal nature of farming.

“The farmer will only need to raise a deposit of 10 per cent. We acknowledge the seasonality of farming, meaning that the farmer can pay depending on their crop; either monthly or we can also do it in a season,” Nyambura said.

She added that the package includes first-year insurance and a two-year extended warranty, while subsequent insurance premiums have been negotiated at up to 1.5 per cent.

Moses ole Koila, a farmer and seed merchant from Olokurto, Narok County, said mechanization could improve efficiency in labor-intensive farming, particularly potato production.

“There’s nothing that beats a farmer with all farm implements. It gives efficiency in terms of work and for us who are doing seed production and especially potatoes. Potatoes is more of a manual work and with these implements it really gives a lot of efficiency from planting, harvesting, taking the seeds to the warehouse for grading.,” Koila said. “

He said mechanization could support farmers across the production cycle, from planting and harvesting to transporting produce for grading.

George Macharia, head of food and agriculture business at Equity Bank Kenya, said the partnership fitted into the bank’s wider ambition to increase financing for agriculture.

The bank is targeting agriculture to account for 30 per cent of its loan book by 2030, he said, with mechanization among the interventions expected to improve farm efficiency.

“The goal is that by 2030, agriculture will be contributing 30 per cent of the entire Equity Bank’s loan book. The technology that we are bringing for Kubota Tractor is coming with the implements that are supporting the farmers and the agricultural community to implement what we are calling climate-smart agriculture,” Macharia said.

He added that mechanization could create opportunities for young people trained in agriculture to earn a living by offering services to farmers.