Dashen Bank is working with Lersha, an indigenous agricultural technology organisation, and Suflet Malt Ethiopia to modernise agriculture and improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia’s Arsi Zone.
The initiative aims to empower farmers by giving them access to credit, skill development, and equitable market opportunities. The International Finance Corporation also provides technical support.
Farmers’ empowerment progress
The farmers’ empowerment, which was announced on Saturday, is making significant progress in this zone.
166 smallholder farmers have already benefited from the pilot project, which is presently taking place in four woredas of the West Arsi Zone.
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The project has given the farmers a total loan of 3.78 million birr without the need for collateral. It’s impressive that these loans were paid back in full in just nine months.
The loan size is anticipated to rise from 27,560 birr to 47,000 birr as part of the scale-up project, which intends to reach 3,500 farmers in 10 woredas in the Oromia and Sidama regions.
Dashen Bank’s commitment to smallholder farmer support and financial inclusion
Dashen Bank’s Senior Manager of MSME, Wondmagegn Getachew, highlighted the Bank’s dedication to smallholder farmer support and financial inclusion.
He pointed out that the project is being carried out in collaboration with Lersha, a cutting-edge digital platform for Ethiopian smallholder and commercial farmers.
A farmer from the West Arsi Zone named Girma Bedaso remarked, “This opportunity created by the collaboration of these institutions has enabled us to become more productive,” as she considered the improvements the initiative had brought about.
In order to help farmers increase their productivity, Dashen Bank is offering loans under this program that cover vital agricultural inputs like fertiliser, agrochemicals, and premium seeds.
The majority of Lersha (Green Agro Solution) agents are farmers’ children, which encourages community participation in the project even more.
24% increase in production, 39% increase in income
Lersha’s research indicates that this support has resulted in an average 24 per cent increase in production and a remarkable 39 per cent increase in income for participating farmers.
According to Wondmagegn, Dashen Bank’s initiatives in the agriculture sector are a component of its larger plan to guarantee financial inclusion and uphold its social obligations.
Dashen Bank intends to extend these financial inclusion initiatives to other parts of the nation as the project continues to show encouraging results during its pilot phase.
This reaffirms its dedication to uplifting smallholder farmers and promoting sustainable economic growth in Ethiopia.