Bank of Kigali Pledges To Enhance Farmers’ Agricultural Manufacturing – KT PRESS

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This was introduced on Tuesday throughout a farmer’s outreach discussion board carried out by Bank of Kigali (BK), that was aimed toward sensitizing cooperatives members on the “Kungahara na BK” product.

The “Kungahara na BK” is a specialised financing facility designed to financially empower cooperatives within the agribusiness sector. In this product, BK gives loans of as much as Rwf50 million to cooperatives that develop rice, tea and maize to repay inside 12 months with produce insurance coverage as collateral.

These boards began final week within the Southern Province the place the financial institution held sensitizations classes with maize farmers’ cooperatives from varied districts.

The marketing campaign reached the Eastern Province on November 26, 2024, and is anticipated to go throughout the nation reaffirming the BK’s dedication to steer different banks in rising agricultural financing and creating tailored agricultural merchandise.

Theophile Hakwiyimana, a Bank of Kigali official, within the division of Agriculture and Livestock, Eastern Province mentioned that this division, established for 2 years, has helped farmers receive loans in a short while and at low rates of interest.

Specifically, beneath the Kungahara na BK, Hakwiyimana said that they’ll collaborate with cooperatives dealing in maize, rice, espresso, potatoes, tea and dairy farmers to supply them with fast loans.

Hakwiyimana mentioned that they’ll assist farmers and livestock cooperatives to acquire loans at an rate of interest of 8%, throughout the planting, harvesting, amassing and storing produce, irrigation gear amongst different actions.

“We have loans for farmers to plant or harvest, to collect produce. There are also cooperatives that need vehicles to take their produce to the market, to store crops, to obtain tractors. These are loans that we provide quickly and at low interest rates,” Hakwiyimana mentioned.

The president of KOHIKA maize farmers’ cooperative in Nyagatare district, Jean Chrysostome Twiringiyimana mentioned that they used to accumulate common industrial financial institution loans and repay at excessive rates of interest.

Twiringiyimana said that discovering a financial institution that gives loans at low rates of interest, would assist them enhance their agricultural actions.

“Financial services were a burden to us because often the application process took three months, but here they promised us three weeks,” Twiringiyimana mentioned.

“Also, regarding infrastructure, they (BK) assured us that we would get a loan for drying and storage facilities. So, if we are honest with the Bank, we can further develop our agriculture.”

Bank of Kigali has taken an extended step in the direction of monetary inclusion for farmers in Rwanda.

Eugene Ntaganda, the president of KOPETIBAJU Cooperative, which grows maize in Juru Sector, Bugesera district, mentioned that since BK has trusted and agreed to work with them, they’d get good yields and promote on good market costs.

“Compared to other banks that we worked with, here (at BK) there is something new because they will give us long-term loans that we pay twice a year. This will allow us to store our produce and sell it when a good market is available,” Ntaganda mentioned.

The Bank of Kigali additionally states that in addition to cooperatives, which will likely be granted loans after offering collateral, these working within the seed trade is not going to be required to supply any collateral.

IKOFI improves producers’ monetary entry and makes it simpler for producers to realize loans and different monetary companies.

Such incentives, amongst many BK led merchandise (such because the “IKOFI”, a revolutionary common pockets that gives monetary companies with deal with Rwandan farmers) will allow Rwanda to enhance agricultural financing, which is a part of the Second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), a 5-year technique (2025-2029).

This is in opposition to the truth that even when agriculture stays the spine of Rwanda’s financial system, and 70% of individuals reside off agriculture actions, contributing to 30% of the GDP, solely lower than 6% of the full industrial loans in Rwanda is allotted to this sector.

Primary reporting by: Emmanuel Gasana Sebasaza