Tata opens Nakuru dealership for John Deere farm machinery

What you need to know:

The new dealership is targeting farmers in the South Rift region —a significant contributor to the country’s food basket.
Tata Kenya has held the dealership rights for John Deere equipment since 2012.
The new John Deere facility will see competition in this sector increase, as manufacturers jostle for customers.

Tata Africa Holdings has opened a new dealership in Nakuru that will exclusively sell agricultural equipment manufactured by Chicago-based firm John Deere.

Tata Kenya, a subsidiary of India’s Tata International, says the new dealership is targeting farmers in the South Rift region —a significant contributor to the country’s food basket.

Demand for agricultural equipment like tractors is mainly driven by farmers, the private sector, national and county government.

“The roll-out will see the introduction of a new business centre in an area that has substantial agricultural activities where agricultural machines are used to facilitate and improve efficiency in food production through mechanisation,” said Tata in a statement.

John Deere manufactures plows, tractors, fertiliser spreaders, self-propelled sprayers and combine harvesters among several other highly specialised farming equipment.

Tata Kenya has held the dealership rights for John Deere equipment since 2012.

Government-sponsored agricultural projects like the Galana-Kulalu irrigation scheme at the Coast and large scale projects by individual farmers have increased demand for farming equipment.

This demand has seen automotive firms like Toyota Kenya venture into the business, with last year’s launch of the Yanmar and Case tractor brands in a diversification strategy aimed at cushioning it from a sluggish saloon car market.

Other firms in the tractor business include CMC Motors which sells the New Holland and Bobcat brands and FMD East Africa which deals in the Massey Ferguson brand.

The new John Deere facility will see competition in this sector increase, as manufacturers jostle for customers.

In February, John Deere signed a deal with Chase Bank to offer operator training, business training and agronomic skills as well as affordable credit to equipment purchasers.

“The dealership’s commercial, after-market, technical support and service teams are committed to ensuring that all customers enjoy and maintain real machine uptime so that they can enjoy proper return on their investment,” said John Deere in a statement.

“The John Deere solutions for land preparation, seeding, crop care and harvesting introduce complete solutions for the farming future.”