Farmers reap rich rewards from Sh4bn fund
The fund is estimated to have lent out about Sh1.6 billion to mainly small farmers. Photo/REUTERS
Equity Bank says a revolving fund for lending to small-scale farmers and farm inputs dealers has recorded tremendous success in repayment and improved crop yields.
The Sh4 billion fund was launched in May 2008 by Equity, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra) and International Fund for Agriculture Development (Ifad).
“This is the most successful fund of its nature in Africa and we got an award for it in 2009,” Equity chief executive James Mwangi said on Monday.
“We have loaned cash to 86,000 farmers,” he said.
The fund is estimated to have lent out about Sh1.6 billion to mainly small farmers.
The revolving fund is part of efforts to create a green revolution in Africa led by smallholder farmers and being driven by Agra, an organisation headed by former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan.
Mr Mwangi said the fund has been hugely successful in Eastern Kenya, a region with moderate to dry weather.
“We have given loans to 6,000 small-scale farmers in lower and upper Eastern region who have become contract suppliers of sorghum to East Africa Breweries Ltd,” he said.
In Bura area in the Tana River Delta, small farmers who acquired loans and bought inputs that have improved their maize yield from an average three bags per hectare to 30 bags.
In Trans Nzoia and Bungoma areas of Western Kenya, small-scale farmers have become contract maize suppliers to the World Food Programme, Mr Mwangi said.
