Financial literacy, banking access Drive NBC’s latest farmer campaign

MTWARA: The National Bank of Commerce (NBC) has taken its financial inclusion campaign to farmers in Mtwara, Lindi and Tunduru, urging them to save, use formal banking services and reinvest agricultural earnings to improve production and household finances.

The fifth edition of the “Wekeza NBC Shambani Ushinde, Tunakuona Mbali Mkulima” campaign has placed particular focus on the cashew sector, targeting farmers with financial literacy, banking, insurance and investment services.

Launching the campaign in Mtwara, Tandahimba District Commissioner Retired Colonel Michael Mtenjele, representing the Regional Commissioner, urged farmers to make saving part of their financial planning.

“Farmers need to develop a culture of saving. Savings are not only beneficial to farmers and their families; they also contribute to the growth of the national economy,” Mtenjele said.

He also called for greater use of health insurance, noting that farmers’ incomes depend largely on seasonal agricultural production. Financial literacy, he said, was necessary for managing expenditure, buying inputs and reinvesting in production.

NBC Director of Retail Banking Elibariki Masuke said the campaign supports the Government’s 10/30 agricultural agenda, which seeks to raise agriculture’s contribution to the economy by increasing agricultural production from five per cent to 10 per cent by 2030.

“Agriculture is a business. Recognising this, we continue to develop products and services that respond to farmers’ needs, enabling them to increase production, manage their income and invest more in their agricultural activities,” Masuke said.

He said NBC’s services for farmers include 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 said the campaign had contributed to greater use of formal financial services among farmers in Mtwara, including bank deposits, digital banking and crop and health insurance.

“We are proud to see farmers’ money increasingly being kept in banks, while many are also embracing digital services and taking up crop and health insurance. These are the changes we set out to achieve through these campaigns,” he said.

The campaign also introduces monthly draws for individual farmers, AMCOS and cooperative unions. Individual farmers will compete for bicycles and motorcycles, AMCOS for bag-sewing machines, while cooperative unions will compete for two double-cabin pickup trucks.

Farmers and participating organisations must open NBC Shambani accounts and channel their funds through the accounts to qualify for the draws.

Masasi-Mtwara Cooperative Union (MAMCU) General Manager Biadia Matipa said the union would participate in the competition.

“We are fully prepared to benefit from these rewards, and I am confident that the grand prize of a double-cabin pickup will come to MAMCU,” Matipa said.

RUNALI and KCJE Ltd Chairman Odas Mpunga said banking agents were making financial services more accessible to rural farmers. He also cited health insurance and bag-sewing machines as important to farmers and AMCOS.

“Health insurance is important for farmers because good health enables them to work effectively. The bag-sewing machines will also be extremely useful to AMCOS in our cashew storage operations,” Mpunga said.

NBC Head of Agriculture Raymond Urassa urged farmers to use agency and digital banking to reduce the time and cost of travelling to branches.

“We want farmers to access banking services close to where they carry out their production activities. Agency banking and digital services help farmers save both time and the cost of travelling to bank branches,” Urassa said.

Acting Assistant Regional Registrar of Cooperative Societies for Mtwara Robert Nsunza said the campaign could expand formal banking among farmers while strengthening the cooperative movement.

“This campaign is a valuable opportunity to encourage more farmers to embrace formal banking services and strengthen their participation in the cooperative movement,” Nsunza said.