The National Bank of Commerce (NBC) has initiated its fifth "Wekeza NBC Shambani Ushinde, Tunakuona Mbali Mkulima" campaign, focusing on financial inclusion for farmers in Mtwara, Lindi, and Tunduru. The campaign aims to encourage farmers to save, utilize formal banking services, and reinvest their agricultural earnings to enhance production and household finances. This edition places particular emphasis on the cashew sector, providing farmers with financial literacy, banking, insurance, and investment services.
Launching the campaign in Mtwara, Tandahimba District Commissioner Retired Colonel Michael Mtenjele urged farmers to adopt a culture of saving, highlighting its benefits for both farmers and the national economy. He also stressed the importance of health insurance, given that farmers' incomes are largely dependent on seasonal agricultural production. Mtenjele emphasized that financial literacy is crucial for managing expenditure, purchasing inputs, and reinvesting in production.
NBC Director of Retail Banking Elibariki Masuke stated that the campaign supports the Government's 10/30 agricultural agenda, which aims to increase agriculture's contribution to the economy from 5% to 10% by 2030. Masuke noted that agriculture is a business and that NBC continues to develop products and services responding to farmers' needs, enabling them to increase production, manage their income, and invest more in their agricultural activities.
NBC offers various services for farmers, including NBC Shambani accounts without monthly maintenance fees, crop and health insurance, agency and digital banking, agricultural input loans, tractor and truck financing for Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Societies (AMCOS), warehouse construction financing, and advance payments against warehouse receipts. Masuke reported that the campaign has led to increased use of formal financial services among farmers in Mtwara, including bank deposits, digital banking, and crop and health insurance.
The campaign features monthly draws for individual farmers, AMCOS, and cooperative unions. Individual farmers can compete for bicycles and motorcycles, while AMCOS will compete for bag-sewing machines, and cooperative unions will compete for two double-cabin pickup trucks. To qualify for the draws, farmers and participating organizations must open NBC Shambani accounts and channel their funds through these accounts.
Masasi-Mtwara Cooperative Union (MAMCU) General Manager Biadia Matipa expressed the union's readiness to participate in the competition, with confidence that they could win the grand prize of a double-cabin pickup. RUNALI and KCJE Ltd Chairman Odas Mpunga highlighted the importance of banking agents in making financial services more accessible to rural farmers, as well as the value of health insurance and bag-sewing machines for farmers and AMCOS.
NBC Head of Agriculture Raymond Urassa encouraged farmers to utilize agency and digital banking to reduce the time and cost of traveling to branches. Acting Assistant Regional Registrar of Cooperative Societies for Mtwara Robert Nsunza believed that the campaign could expand formal banking among farmers while strengthening the cooperative movement. The campaign aims to promote financial inclusion and improve the livelihoods of farmers in Tanzania.
Key points
- NBC's campaign targets farmers with financial literacy, banking, insurance, and investment services to improve production and household finances.
- The campaign supports the Government's 10/30 agricultural agenda, aiming to increase agriculture's contribution to the economy.
- Farmers can compete for prizes, including bicycles, motorcycles, bag-sewing machines, and double-cabin pickup trucks, by opening NBC Shambani accounts and channeling funds through these accounts.
