Coop movement calls for an agro bank

–The Northern Province Cooperatives and Marketing Union has appealed to government and the private sector to partner and come up with a bank to address the financial needs of farmers around the country.

Union Vice Chairman, Obed Kampamba, made the appeal in an interview with the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) in KAsama over the weekend.

Mr Kampamba said farmers were finding a lot of difficulties in accessing finance, hence the need for an agricultural bank to be established in the country.

He said in the past the country had Lima Bank which used to lend money to farmers, saying the absence of the lending institution for the agricultural sector in the country was adversely affecting investments in the sector.

Mr Kampamba added that it was difficult for farmers, especially small scale farmers, to access funding because most financial institutions were demanding collateral, which the farmers did not have in most cases.

He appealed to government to go back to the basics if the agricultural sector was to tick again.

‘’We need to support and intensify crop production and livestock rearing for us to create jobs and fight poverty,’’ he said.

Mr Kampamba also appealed to government to increase funding to agriculture.

He said the sector had a huge potential to support the economy if fully revamped.