Kumari Bank & Oxfam team up to help farmers

Kumari Bank Limited (KBL) and Oxfam International, Nepal have joined forces to provide credit financing to farmers in the Mid-Western Region under Oxfam's Enterprise Development Programme (EDP). Radhesh Pant, chief executive officer of Kumari Bank, and Scott Saiia, country director of Oxfam, signed a memorandum of understanding in this regard on Thursday. As per the agreement, the bank will provide revolving credit facilities (up to the defined limit) to agricultural cooperatives identified by Oxfam.

The bank will provide loans to 1,050 farmers through the Janakalyan Agricultural Cooperative, Surkhet. The project aims to boost high-value vegetable seeds and develop market access for their products at both domestic and international levels. The major objective of the project is to encourage women's participation for farmer-led enterprises and boost their income level.

Speaking on the occasion, Pant said that the move would narrow the existing gap between rural people and banking services. "Despite a significant growth in the number of banks and financial institutions in the country, a majority of rural people are deprived of financial access; and such initiatives will help rural people to benefit from financial services," said Pant. He added that they aimed to institutionalise and develop other projects in the coming days.

Source:
ekantipur