Economy
Agricultural Bank Set to Begin Operations Within Three Months
Capital Ethiopia · 3 hours ago · Read the Full Story on Capital Ethiopia
AI SUMMARY
Ethiopia's planned Agricultural Bank is expected to launch within three months to provide dedicated financing for farmers and agricultural businesses.
- Ethiopia's planned Agricultural Bank is expected to begin operations within the next three months.
- The Ministry of Agriculture states that the lack of a specialised financial institution is a major obstacle to modernising agriculture.
- Agriculture contributes about 33 per cent of Ethiopia's GDP.
- Banks provide only around two per cent of the estimated 2.5 trillion birr needed annually to finance the agricultural sector.
- The government plans to mobilise up to one trillion birr under the 10-year National Agricultural Finance Implementation Roadmap.
- The new bank will allow borrowers to use assets such as crops and livestock as collateral.
- Dairy mechanisation equipment costs between 4 million and 15 million birr, while combine harvesters can cost up to 30 million birr.
- The Agricultural Bank is being established as a state-owned institution under the National Bank of Ethiopia.
- Preparations are under way to establish six agricultural mechanisation service centres at a total cost of one billion birr, with support from the African Development Bank.
- The six centres will be located in Bale, Salale, around Bahir Dar, Erikum, and sites in the Afar and Somali regions.
- The ministry plans to establish 250 agricultural mechanisation service centres over the next decade, with nine currently operational and six under construction.
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