The Bankers Association of Zambia – BAZ has confirmed that the banking industry has K5.6 billion (US$43 million) of assets allocated towards the agriculture sector with 17.2% of the total loan book in the commercial banking industry sitting with the Agro sector.
Speaking at the official opening of the 2019 National Symposium on Agriculture organized by the Center for Trade Policy and Development – CTPD attended by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, BAZ Chief Executive Officer Leonard Mwanza said the banking sector has provided platforms which bring together farmers, Agro traders, other private sector players and government that can help the Agro industry come up with sustainable and effective solutions that address challenges farmers are facing to produce at full capacity.
He said the banking sector is interested in ensuring that structural issues and export policies for small and medium scale farmers are taken into account when thrashing out regional integration into the Common market for Eastern and Southern Africa – COMESA and the Southern African Development Community – SADC regions.
“The financial service sector is already a step ahead, we have integrated the payment systems under SADC that will enable the movement of money from and to Zambia and any SADC country, we will soon be launching after piloting, a programme that will enable farmers move funds by use of mobile phones to pay for goods and services across the border,” he said.
Mwanza noted that the sector has had challenges with farmers that do not give a complete story of their Agro businesses and lifestyle, making it difficult for lending institutions to support them financially. He added that the sector with the help of the central bank is working to improve on gender based support by dis-aggregating data statistics that will showcase the number of customers segregated into youths, women and men.
At the same event CTPD Executive Director Isaac Mwaipopo said the symposium will help increase financial inclusion for farmers and address financial hiccups that farmers face in the agricultural sector. Agriculture finance especially for local and emerging farmers has been difficult to model with limited success rate of farmers graduation from small to emerging and finally commercial farmers status.
