1,000 Smallholder Farmers Set to Access Digital Credit to Increase Maize Production in Embu

09 October 2023

Embu, Kenya, 9^th October 2023 – At least1,000 smallholder maize farmers in Embu County are set to benefit from access to digital credit for inputs and insurance to boost agricultural production.

Through a financing agreement between Family Bank and DigiFarm, the farmers based in Mbeere North and South sub-counties will be able to borrow and access the funds digitally through the agri-tech platform. The smallholder farmers, with a maximum of two acres each, will receive financing depending on acreage size and crop cycle.

In addition to financing, the farmers will receive innovative insurance, training on sustainable agricultural practices, market linkage and financial literacy to promote farming resilience and produce.

“The last five years, we have been running a similar programme that supports farmers and those farmers have since graduated from subsistence to commercial farming. We are therefore happy that those farmers can graduate to this partnership and get credit in form of farm inputs,” said Runyenjes Sub-County Agricultural Officer Stephen Njagi.

Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL) counties such as Embu often face low agricultural produce due to production shocks such as droughts and diseases. According to the Economic Survey 2023 released by the Kenya Bureau of National Statistics, the production volume of maize in Kenya declined by 6.5 per cent to 34.3 million bags in 2022.

“Despite the high vulnerability to the impacts of climate change and market inefficiencies, farmers continue to face a lack of access to efficient and convenient funding to buy essential farming products. However, technology adoption and such multisector partnerships are increasing financial inclusion, especially for smallholder farmers,” said Family Bank Lead Digital Transformation Aristarichus Kuria.

“As a Bank, our focus has therefore been to always provide end-to-end value to our customers. We are confident that through this partnership we will not only improve farmers’ financial resilience to these shocks but through technology we will reduce their costs and improve profitability that will help break the cycle of low investment and low returns,” he said.

Through this partnership, registered farmers will be able to redeem their credit vouchers to receive farm inputs from the DigiFarm partner agrovets in the county.

“Digifarm will continue to leverage technology and partnerships to reduce the financing gap faced by smallholder farmers, and drive climate resilient solutions. Through our platform, farmers are able to access a full range of services to drive production improvements. They receive agronomy advice, credit for inputs, insurance and other services and can then connect with buyers during harvest. We are committed to transforming the agriculture sector through technology,” said Seema Gohil, Director, Digifarm.   

Family Bank and DigiFarm will further extend the partnership to sorghum farmers in Meru County. This partnership comes following a program spearheaded by the International Food Policy Research Institute which has set out to implement a risk-contingent credit program to assess whether innovative insurance products can increase access to finance by smallholder farmers.

ABOUT FAMILY BANK

Family Bank is a financial institution that prides itself in growing a strong retail customer base with a key focus on SME banking anchored on the positive transformation of people’s lives in Africa. Family Bank is the fifth-largest bank in Kenya, as of Dec 2020, in terms of branch network with 93 branches across 32 counties. The Bank has over 750,000 customers, 4,800 bank agents, and over 8,000 merchants countrywide with total assets of KES 128 billion and a deposit base of KES 100.8 billion as of 30 June 2023.

Family Bank prides itself in being a digitally innovative bank having been the first bank to introduce paperless banking through smart card technology and mobile banking, PesaPap, in Kenya and the first to launch the mVisa service in Africa. 

In 2021 Family Bank received two awards; Financial Communication Campaign of the Year and Overall Public Relations Campaign of the Year at the 2021 Public Relations Society of Kenya Annual Awards for Excellence for the Corporate Bond Campaign where the Bank raised KES 4.42 billion via public placement marking a subscription of 147.3%. In 2021, Family Bank was voted as the Best Overall Bank and Best Tier Two Bank for Customer Responsiveness and Satisfactory Digital Experience. Previously in 2020, the Bank was voted Best Tier Two Bank and the overall second-best bank in Digital and Customer Experience in the Kenya Bankers Association Customer Satisfaction Survey.

Other awards include Best SME Bank in Kenya at the annual Banker Africa Awards 2017, East Africa –an award initiative for financial institutions in Africa, Think Business Fastest Growing Bank Award three years in a row between 2013 and 2015 and the Think Business Best Bank in Micro-Finance Award, 1st Runner-up in 2013 and 2014. For more information about Family Bank, please visit: www.familybank.co.ke