2,000 KALUMBILA FARMERS WIN INVESTRUST AID

ABOUT2,000 small holder farmers and 16 Farmer Business Advisors (FBAs) in Kalumbila have been targeted to benefit from ‘invoice discount’ scheme, a new product launched by Investrust Bank Plc.

The scheme which is being supported by International Development Entrepreneurs (IDE) and All Terrain Services (ATS) is a tailored risk mitigating facility to enable FBAs access working capital from Investrust bank through invoice discounting and cash loans.

Investrust Head of Retail and Business Banking, Geoffrey Ndaba, said the project would enable the FBAs to go back to the farmers and buy more produce which would in turn would be supplied to ATS.

Mr Ndaba said the interest of the bank was economic development and uplifting the economic status of the citizenry.

He was speaking during the launch of the scheme in Kalumbila yesterday.

‘’As a bank, we are committed and we are here for this cause. Will remain relevant by partnering with other institutions that are trying to save and improve the lives of our citizens,’’ he said.

Mr Ndaba said Investrust Bank’s role in the scheme was to provide credit to the small scale farmers to help them continue supplying horticultural products to ATS.

The scheme which was at pilot stage, would start with 16 out of more than 50 suppliers of fresh fruits and vegetables to ATS in three chiefdoms of senior chief Mukumbi, Musele and Mumena respectively.

At the same event, IDE country director, Silvester Kalonge, said the institution would strive to address challenges small holder farmers in rural areas were facing.

Mr Kalonge said in trying to address such challenges, IDE would work with local entrepreneurs by selecting and linking FBAs who in turn would help provide services to the farmers. ‘’They also develop linkage with private sector because IDE would like to see a sustainable transformation of the rural population,’’ he said.

North-Western Province permanent secretary, Willies Mangimela, said Government was excited with the innovation and suppoerted the strategies being employed by the parties. Mr Mangimela said the intervention was aligned to national priorities enshrined in the Seventh National Development Plan.