Family Bank targets dairy farmers with Sh1bn loan

Family Bank has partnered with a dairy farming investment advisory firm in a deal that targets about 100,000 farmers with Sh1 billion loans for fodder production.

The lender Thursday said that it will advance the credit through the advisory firm, Performeter Agribusiness Limited, to help dairy farmers meet costs of fodder production.

Family Bank chief executive Rebecca Mbithi said the funding will boost dairy farmers’ working capital at a time Covid-19 has hurt their businesses.

“This is why Family Bank in partnership with Performeter has set aside Sh1 billion as financing to enable farmers to access working capital and other financial services to support the dairy value chain and unlock its growth potential to the entrepreneurial dairy farmers,” said Ms Mbithi.

The lender did not immediately disclose the terms of the Sh1 billion financing in a sub-sector that is generally associated with risks such as livestock diseases and poor milk preservation.

Farmers who access the funding will be expected to use it for activities such as land preparation, planting, weed control, harvesting, ensiling and baling.

The funding aims at ensuring that the dairy farmers have all-year-round access to fodder to boost their incomes through increased milk production.