Posted on March, 26, 2019 at 10:09 am
AN estimated 6,000 small scale farmers have received loans of between 500,000/- and 1bn/- to invest in agriculture production and grow their businesses.
The loans which are charged between 3.9 and 6 percent are the cheapest in the market so far where average interest rates range between 10 and 16 percent.
AccessBank Tanzania Limited’s Chief Business Officer, Prosper William said in Dar es Salaam last week during an Eastern Africa Grain Council, (EAGC) organized meeting to discuss agribusiness development in the country that the loan size given was dependent on individual farmers’ needs.
“But the loans were also given depending on the size of the business a farmer has and the ability to repay on time,” William said while also unveiled that repayment is usually done during the harvest season annually.
He noted that the bank has since 2013 been working with the agriculture sector to help speed up growth and modernization as part of backing government efforts to commercialize the backbone of the economy.
“Most of the farmers that we have been working with mainly come from Dar es Salaam, Iringa, Shiyanga and Tabora regions,” said the AccessBank CBO noting that the bank has since extended its services to more regions of the country.
In order to ensure that the loans are well utilized, the bank also gives the farmers and agro-business dealers training on how best to invest the loans and grow their businesses.
“We want to see them grow with our bank which is what we have seen since 2013, many of the subsistence farmers have since become commercial,” he bragged.
AccessBank currently has nine branches spread across the country in Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Tabora, Shinyanga, Iringa and Mbeya with four branches in the commercial capital.
Source: IPP Media