NMB BANK PLC AGRICULTURE LENDING RISES TO 500BN/-

NMB Bank Managing Director, Ms Ineke Bussemaker.

NMB Bank is expected to spend 500bn/- in the next two years to boost agriculture development in the country.

The bank’s Managing Director Ms Ineke Bussemaker, said at the peak of the national farmers’ day ‘Nanenane’ held in Simiyu Region on Wednesday that the bank spent more than 100bn/- in 2017/18 for agriculture development.

“Since agriculture is the back bone of nation economy, it needs a joint support from different stakeholders to support the government drive of implementing industrialisation agenda,” she said.

She said it is difficult to attain the government’s industrialisation police if agriculture gets minimal attention from other development stakeholders such as NMB bank as the largest bank responsible in agricultural value chain financing.

“Apart from agricultural financing, we also provide trainings to farmers so that they can realize enormous agriculture opportunities while making use of the banking sector as the key driver to their development,” she added.

In 2017, NMB Bank managed to train more than 1,000 Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Societies (AMCOS) on financial management for farmers to see agriculture in the agribusiness angle.

“As you know it is very difficult to meet every farmer in the country and since government has been insisting on the formation of these AMCOS so we decided to use the Amcos as a proper channel to meet large number of farmers at once and train them on issues affecting agriculture for greater contributions towards industrial economy through agriculture “ Ms Bussemaker underlined On a separate interviews, Simiyu residents commended NMB on its move to support agricultural sector in the country calling on other financial institutions to emulate NMB Bank.

They also advised the bank to focus more on rural areas as a way of assisting rural farmers transform from subsistence farming to agribusiness for sustainable development in their areas and the country at large.

Mr Mokili Samson a resident of Simiyu said NMB has been supporting agriculture in the country through different channels including financial support but the most beneficiaries of the services were found in urban areas insisting that it is high time the bank to concentrate more on meeting the rural areas.

“Yes there are many NMB branches in the country but most of them are found in urban areas, I suggest that can come up in rural areas even by using this Bank On Wheels we are seeing it here at Nanenane grounds, it will have a big impact in the agri sector as you know Industrial economy does not depend on big investors but also smallholder farmers like those who are in rural areas, “ said Mr Faustine Budodi.

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