National Bank of Malawi (NBM) on Thursday unveiled the Farm Infrastructure and Implements Loan Facility, aimed at enabling farmers to move from manual to mechanised farming.

NBM Business Development Manager for Agriculture, Samuel Ngwira, attributed the initiative to the bank’s need to fuel agriculture sector growth in order to aid the country’s development. Through the initiative, commercial farmers will be able to access amounts ranging from K5 million to K200 million while smallholder farmers, clubs, societies and salaried farmers will access amounts ranging between K2 million and K100 million.

The loans shall be repaid over a maximum period of six years through annual, bi-annual, quarterly, and monthly installments over an agreed period. “The loans may have a moratorium of up to 18 months depending on project needs. Moratorium shall be aligned with project implementation,” Ngwira said.