A cooperative that runs machinery for its members is only as strong as the suppliers standing behind it. That is the test NUTOFA SACCO LTD applies to every new equipment conversation, and it was on the cooperative’s mind this week during a visit to Agro Corner Ltd at its premises on Plot 3-7 Old Port Bell Road, Bugolobi, Nakawa Division, Kampala.
It was a welcoming visit and an informative one. Agro Corner has supplied tractors, implements and spares in Uganda since 2012, and the yard visit gave the cooperative’s team a direct look at what the company has on the ground rather than a catalogue conversation.
The main item on the agenda was an orientation on the products and services for agricultural mechanization that Agro Corner plans to roll out to farming communities across the country, starting the following week.
Among everything on the ground, one tractor caught attention: the YTO tractor. Agro Corner told the cooperative it has recently taken on the Uganda distributorship for YTO, a tractor manufacturer based in Luoyang, China, direct from the manufacturer. Two models were parked in the yard for a closer look, the EX754 and the EX954, alongside rows of tractor-mounted boom sprayers and other implements.
No agreement was signed at this visit. It was an orientation, and the cooperative is measuring it the way it measures every new supplier: a machine is only as good as the parts and the hands behind it once it is out working in a member’s field. Genuine spares, real service and after-sales support that a member can actually reach come before any conversation about a partnership goes further.
Much appreciation to the Agro Corner team for hosting the visit and walking the cooperative through what is coming down the line this season. For mechanization partnership enquiries, contact the secretariat.