The cooperative has signed a renewed multi-year cooperation agreement with USAID’s Feed the Future initiative, anchored by mechanization for smallholder market systems in Northern Uganda. Working through implementing partners NURDEF and Farm Africa, the programme will support three workstreams over the next 24 months.
1. Operator training. A scheduled cycle of certifications for new tractor operators drawn from member groups in Acholi and Lango. Trainees are added to the SACCO dispatch roster on certification and earn from contract services. The first cohort is intended to be 22 trainees, starting Q1 2026.
2. Agronomy extension. Twelve field officers will be funded for paired extension work across the farmer groups, focused on the crops the cooperative consolidates for off-take: sesame, groundnuts, maize, sorghum, soya bean. Each field officer is paired with a SACCO field volunteer.
3. Tractor-placement window. A targeted asset-finance window for paid-up members purchasing through vetted dealers. Members put down 20 % from savings; the cooperative co-signs with the dealer-side finance line. Repayment is harvested from contract revenue earned by the placed tractor.
The funding does not replace member savings as the cooperative’s core capital, it adds to programmes that members would otherwise have to either skip or fund out of dividend retention. The SACCO retains full operational control of the Lakang hub.
For members interested in the operator training cycle or the tractor-placement window, applications open at the secretariat at the start of each calendar quarter. Forms are also available on the /careers and /membership pages.