MUFINDI:IRINGA Regional Commissioner (RC), Amina Masenza said access to credit for agricultural development in the country is a big challenge, because most loans from financial institutions leaned on the business side of products including large interest on agricultural loans.
RC said this yesterday during the signing ceremony of the agreement on bank loan between Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) and small scale farmers in Iringa Region held at Igomaa village in Sadani Ward, Mufindi District.
The Agricultural Development Bank of Tanzania (TADB) officially begun providing credit to small farmers who are in groups, and to begin with the eight farmers groups in Iringa Region were given a loan of more than one billion shillings.
The bank on Wednesday came to Igomaa Village in Sadani Ward of Mufindi District, Iringa Region and disbursed agricultural loan worth 1.006bn/- to eight out of 89 farmers’ cooperative unions of small-scale farmers from three districts of Kilolo, Iringa and the host Mufindi.
She said the bank opted to start with the Iringa region as a pilot region because there are groups of farmers that are working with many stakeholders who have provided expertise where they began with 89 groups containing 21,526 farmers.
In addition, she said the terms of the bond are a big challenge for many farmers. So, the coming of agricultural development bank is a great opportunity for farmers in Tanzania and especially for the young people who will be able to find employment and thus reduce urban rush of seeking unreliable employment.
Agricultural Development Bank of Tanzania officially begun providing credit to small farmers who are in groups, and to begin the eight groups were given a loan of more than one billion shillings.
“My motivation to farmers is to see farmers using these loans to the objectives as intended. I urge you not to use this money against the goals, since by doing so not only will deaden our bank but we will finish them economically,” RC Masenza incited.
She appealed to beneficiaries (farmers) to line up in earnest in order to fulfill the main objectives of these loans which are bringing a revolution in agricultural productivity in the country.
It should be noted that the importance of the agricultural sector it is an industry that employs more than 75 percent of the population live in rural areas, who depends on farming and fishing for their livelihoods.
On his part, Managing Director, Thomas Samkyi said the aim of TADB is to enable Tanzanians to be secured with food security through helping to affordable credit, technical expertise, marketing and conservation in order to increase productivity.
Samkyi said bank will enable farmers by providing lower interest rates and affordable loans between 8% per annum compared to loans offered by commercial banks.
Emmanuel Fungo a small scale farmers from Nzihi Farmers cooperative (Nzihi-AMCOs) in Iringa district said one of the challenges facing farmers is the lack of a guaranteed market for their crops so the government should also look at ways to expand market because many crop products go to worst due to lack of reliable markets.
But he said with coming TADB it promised them that there is a ready market for their crops as it stipulated in the contract.
Nzihi Farmers Cooperative (NZIH-AMCOS) has been secured with 221 million shillings from TADB Bank which has a total 154 members who are the beneficiaries are cultivating on 554 acres in all.
Fungo said many commercial banks have condition which is complex and an interest rate of more than 16% which is a burden on farmers.
He said that coming of TADB in the region will be savior to small scale farmers who have been crying for higher interest rates charge by commercial banks.
The Board Chairperson Rosebud Violet Kurwijila who is also the member of Board of Directors, said that President Jakaya Kikwete on August 8, 2015 launched the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB).
Kurwijila said that the former president Kikwete challenged farmers to improve their productivity through loans from TADB.
She said agricultural development bank will work with financial institutions, including commercial and community banks, savings and credit co-operative societies and a variety of other groups to extend loans to farmers.
The bank will focus on produce best suited to small and medium farmers. These include maize, rice, fruit, sesame, sugarcane indigenous chicken, horticulture, livestock, fish farming and bee keeping.
She added that bank is also financing the entire value chains in agricultural sector.
“The TADB Bank is supporting modernization and commercialization of small scale farming in the country,” she urged.
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