Africa-Press – Tanzania. CRDB Bank has issued at least 494bn/- direct loans to farmers between 2019 and 2020, being the highest amount offered by a single lender in the country to benefit smallholders.
CRDB Bank Plc Head of Corporate Banking Prosper Nambaya said this during a handover ceremony of 50 computers donated by the bank to the Federation of Cooperative Unions at the weekend.
“We continue supporting agricultural sector in the country. As stakeholders, we notice improvements in the sector that tally with the bank’s vision,” he said, noting that the loans had so far benefited 472 Agricultural and Marketing Cooperatives Societies (Amcos).
He said societies had 650,000 members leading in strategic crops, including cashew nuts, sugarcane, cotton, coffee and tobacco.
He urged government authorities to consider other best performing crops, including sesame, palm trees and green beans.
Mr Nambaya, who had represented CRDB Bank Managing Director Abdulmajid Nsekela, said the bank was ready to support the establishment of Amcos for three new crops.
It is on record that CRDB Bank recently supported Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union (KNCU) with 10bn/- to establish the only surviving cooperative bank in the country.
Out of 52 registered banks in Tanzania, CRDB Bank commands 40 per cent of the total loans issued to smallholder farmers.
He announced that the bank was also working with other stakeholders so that they too could access loans.
“We have become more flexible to support farmers,” he said, adding that the bank was working hard to revisit its interest rates.
Tanzania Cooperative Development Commission (TCDC) Executive Director and Registrar of Cooperative Union, Dr Benson Diege, said it was high time the government empowered TCDC to produce anticipated results.
Dr Diege said at the ceremony that existing challenges, including a shortage of equipment and transport facilities, were limiting TCDC from supervising and monitoring KNCU effectively.
“These computers will now help regional coordinators to register all Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (Saccos) on time,” he said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Gerald Kusaya said the government was committed to addressing challenges facing TCDC.
He hailed the bank for donating 50 computers, saying they would address the technological challenge that had been slowing cooperatives.
