FARMING SECTOR CAN GROW WITH SUPPORT FOR VALUE CHAINS, SAYS STANBIC

Zambia’s largest agribusiness bank says increased growth in the agro sector can help Zambia achieve its economic goals sooner rather than later

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – Financial institution support for value chains can help farmers grow a boost the local agricultural sector, says Stanbic Bank.

Agriculture and agribusiness as a whole is one of the most vulnerable sectors of the economy due to persistent market fluctuations, and COVID-19 has exacerbated this vulnerability as commodity prices plummet and value chains are disrupted.

But with support from banks, there is hope for the sector and opportunities for growth, said the bank.

Stanbic Bank Zambia Head of Agribusiness Edith Chuma says the social distancing rules have negatively affected traffic in restaurants, which in turn has reduced their demand for farm produce, impacting the farmer’s revenue stream.

“Restrictions on public gatherings means that restaurants are forced to operate at a fraction of their capacity which has had a significant impact on farmers’ revenue streams as demand for their produce shrinks,” she said.

“In addition, farmers are unable to get the same volumes of inputs across the border as they used to before the partial lockdown. Further, the devaluation of the kwacha has resulted in increased input costs for the farmers despite the lower volumes.”

Mrs Chuma noted that financial institutions had the responsibility to intervene on behalf of the farmers both on a small-scale and commercial level to help offset their ballooning costs and shrinking yields.

She explained that instead of focusing only on providing relief to farmers in their individual capacity, banks needed to put in place measures that would help support the value chain through the difficult times and allow them to thrive when things returned to normal.

“As the country’s largest agribusiness bank, we have decided to take a leading role on this. Not only are we providing relief support to our clients in terms of loan repayment and working capital refinancing, we have also increased our support for the entire agricultural value chain,” she said.

“We have made sure the bank has a role to play at every stage of farming, from input acquisition, planting, and crop insurance to harvesting and processing all the way until the produce gets to the end consumer. The farmer or agri sector player can lean on us for support whenever and wherever they need us.”

And Stanbic Bank Zambia Head of Vehicle and Asset Finance Horis Mainza added that for customers to successfully navigate the current tide and continue growing their businesses during and after the COVID-19 outbreak, they needed to improve efficiency in their operations by mechanising.

Mr Mainza explained that mechanisation was a critical ingredient to unlocking entrepreneurship at all levels of the agro value chain adding that there was a direct link between use of machinery and the size of the yield.

“While mechanising may seem like a distant dream for most farmers, particularly small-scale farmers during these challenging times, Stanbic Bank has created strategic partnerships with leading farming equipment suppliers to enable farmers have access to modern equipment at negotiated prices through our vehicle and asset finance preposition,” he said.

“The equipment itself serves as collateral for its financing meaning that even small-scale farmers with few assets can still access this facility and mechanise their operations for a bigger yield at a lower input cost which is critical in the current climate.

Our goal is to promote sustainable growth for farmers at all levels by providing modalities by which they can overcome challenges inherent in their sector. 

We have partnered with other institutions to train farmers in areas of record-keeping and running their farms as profitable businesses to make them viable candidates to receive financial support from other banks aside from Stanbic.”

Mr Mainza noted that agriculture was a big part of the country’s growth strategy as outlined in the Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP) hence the need for all stakeholders to support its growth.

“If we support the growth of the agri sector, then we accelerate our country’s progress towards its development targets. It is up to all of us to make sure we realise the vision outlined in the 7NDP because Zambia is our home, we must drive her growth.”  

-Ends-

About Stanbic Bank Zambia

Stanbic Bank Zambia is part of the Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest bank by assets.

Standard Bank Group reported total assets R2.3 trillion (about USD163 billion) at 31 December 2019, while its market capitalisation was R277 billion (USD20 billion).

The group has direct, on-the-ground representation in 20 African countries and in 5 global financial centres. Standard Bank Group has more than 1 100 branches and 9 000 ATMs in Africa, making it one of the largest banking networks on the continent. It provides global connections backed by deep insights into the countries where it operates.

Stanbic Bank Zambia is the largest bank in Zambia by balance sheet and provides the full spectrum of financial services. Its Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) division serves a wide range of requirements for banking, finance, trading, investment, risk management and advisory services. Corporate and Investment Banking delivers this comprehensive range of products and services relating to: investment banking; global markets; and global transactional products and services.

Standard Bank’s corporate and investment banking expertise is focused on industry sectors that are most relevant to emerging markets. It has strong offerings in mining and metals; oil, gas and renewables; power and infrastructure; agribusiness; telecommunications and media; and financial institutions.

Stanbic Bank Zambia’s Personal and Business Banking unit (PBB) offers banking and other financial services to individuals and small-to-medium enterprises. PBB serves the increasing need among Africa’s small business and individual customers for banking products that can meet their shifting expectations and growing wealth.

For further information, go to http://www.stanbicbank.co.zm/

Gillian Langmead at Langmead & Baker Ltd;

+260 979 060705;

[email protected]