Agricultural Loan To Dairy Farmers

Family Bank has got a Sh20 million loan guarantee facility from Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) to back its lending to dairy farmers, co-operatives, dairy companies and inputs suppliers.

According to a statement from the lender, the two-year credit guarantee facility will support the purchase of farm inputs including fodder, concentrates and minerals, as well as aid in the provision of artificial insemination services and propagation of feeds.

Family Bank chief executive Rebecca Mbithi decried the adverse impact of the prolonged drought that saw the cost of animal feeds grow by a large margin reducing milk production in the country.

“Through this credit facility, Family Bank will scale up lending to the dairy industry and help them bridge these existing challenges. With partners such as FSD, we are also able to widen our capital base to support more dairy industry players such as smallholder dairy farmers by extending credit at favourable terms,” said Mbithi.

In February, Kenya Dairy Board managing director Margaret Kibogy told Business Daily that milk production in the country had dropped by 27 percent due to drought, a situation that has pushed the cost of imported butter up significantly with a half-kilogramme packet retailing as Sh900 from Sh700 previously.

By KABUI MWANGI