Chairperson of the Agricultural Bank of Egypt (ABE) Alaa Farouk said that the bank’s total credit portfolio recorded about EGP 60.204bn at the end of August 2022, pointing out that the total financing granted to the agricultural sector and its related activities was about EGP 43.535bn or 72% of the portfolio size.
This includes EGP 7.752bn granted to finance crops service, which benefited 218,397 farmers to cultivate about 969,012 feddans.
He added that the volume of financing animal production at the bank amounted to EGP 16.082bn, from which about 176,041 clients benefited to raise about 633,680 heads of livestock. Furthermore, the volume of funding directed to financing agricultural industrial activities and service activities related to agriculture amounted to EGP 18.353bn.
He pointed out that the bank is witnessing a major boom in the volume of its business as a result of the development plans it is currently implementing with the aim of providing banking and financing services in accordance with the highest levels of quality.
This came during a meeting held by Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation El-Sayed El-Kosayer with Farouk last Thursday to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between the ministry and the bank to achieve agricultural development and support the state’s efforts to maximise the agricultural sector.
The two officials also reviewed the efforts of the ABE to support and enhance the productive capacities of small-scale farmers and livestock breeders to increase agricultural and livestock production by expanding the availability of loans for agricultural crops and animal production. It is also seeking to expand projects to shift from traditional irrigation to modern irrigation and stimulate investment in establishing and developing milk collection centres in all governorates.
Additionally, they discussed the role of the bank in increasing the volume of business and expanding the granting of funds for productive activities, helping farmers, encouraging them to work, enhancing their productive capacities, and removing any challenges they may face with the aim of increasing their income and profits.
For his part, El-Kosayer said that the meeting comes within the framework of the state’s interest in the agricultural sector and President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s directives to provide support to farmers. He also praised the role of the bank in the field of agricultural financing.
He added that the meeting discussed preparing for the wheat cultivation 2022/23 season and ways to motivate farmers to increase the productivity of strategic crops, especially in light of the repercussions of the current global events, as well as increase the quantities of wheat that are supplied to the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade.
Previously, the Cabinet set an indicative price of EGP 1,000 for an ardeb of wheat during the next season, provided that farmers benefit from the higher price at the time of purchasing the crop. The agriculture ministry also seeks to provide support by providing seeds, as well as expanding the extension fields and issuing technical recommendations on an ongoing basis to educate farmers throughout the growth season.
Within this framework, it was announced that the credit category for wheat feddans provided by the bank to farmers would be increased to EGP 12,000 per feddan that is cultivated by traditional irrigation methods, and EGP 15,000 per feddan irrigated by modern irrigation methods according to mechanisms and controls that ensure farmers’ commitment to supply to government outlets and storage capacities.
Furthermore, El-Kosayer said that the meeting tackled removing all obstacles for farmers to benefit from the financing facilities provided for agricultural projects.
He also revealed that the funding of the national project for veal has so far reached over EGP 7bn, from which 41,000 beneficiaries have benefited to finance more than 463,000 heads of livestock in 156 districts.
Moreover, the two parties discussed expanding the financing of similar projects in accordance with the 5% concessional financing initiatives offered by the bank to support small breeders and producers and motivate them to increase their production.
