BRAC Bank recently organised a series of awareness programmes across the country to disseminate knowledge of efficient farming among the cattle farmers.
At the sessions, Upazilla Livestock Officers (ULO) discussed about feed, disease, design of cattle shed and other important issues for successfully running commercial cattle farming venture. Financial management, easy access to loan and insurance were also discussed, read a press release.
The awareness sessions were organised at its agent banking premises at Mirsharai, Lohagara in Chattogram, Pekua and Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar and Homna, Titas, Brahmanpara, Chauddagram, Laksam, Monohargonj and Barura in Cumilla.
SM Saiful Islam, head of Agricultural Finance of BRAC Bank, Maruf Hossain, AVP, Green Delta Insurance and respective Upazilla Livestock Officers attended the programmes.
Cattle farming is fast emerging as a vibrant sector with a number of SME entrepreneurs venturing into this growing and potential sector.
The sector is taking flight but not without plight of the entrepreneurs. The small-scale farmers are often compelled to shut down business and go bankrupt due to death of cattle. The grassroots farmers often find it difficult to get bank loan for risk factor of this agriculture business.
As a trusted partner of SMEs, yet again BRAC Bank has come forward to introduce the country’s first livestock loan packed with insurance facility. This solution solves two burning problems of the farmers – easy access to finance and death of cattle much to the delight of the farmers.
BRAC Bank partnered with Green Delta Insurance Company Limited, Swisscontact, the Embassy of Switzerland, Microinsurance Market Development Programme (BMMDP/Surokkha) to launch the microinsurance services for the livestock farmers in the rural areas. The project will facilitate 600 farmers with unique cattle outreach of 1,600.
Commenting on the initiative, Syed Abdul Momen, deputy managing director and head of SME banking at BRAC Bank, said: “Since its inception, BRAC Bank has a particular focus on SME financing with a broader vision of financial inclusion and pro-poor growth.”
“This insurance coverage will boost country’s cattle rearing sector and encourage more people to start the farming commercially in bigger scale. It is to be an important tool for poverty alleviation and job creation, particularly in the rural areas of Bangladesh as it safeguards the interest of the farmers. We will continue to organize such awareness sessions to help the farmers cope with the challenges and make the business viable in the long term,” he added.
