DBJ Launches $1-Billion Loan Programme for Agriculture Sector
By: , July 20, 2022
Photo: Dave Reid
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (right), takes a selfie with, from left, Representative from Everything Grand Ideas, Nikolette Williams; Managing Director, Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), M. Anthony Shaw; and Marketing Manager, DBJ, Trisann Crosbie. Occasion was during the launch of the DBJ’s ‘AgriBiz’ facility at the Ministry’s Hope Gardens Complex in Kingston on Tuesday (July 19).
Photo: Dave Reid
– Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (right), engages with (from left) Managing Director, Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), M. Anthony Shaw; Representative from Everything Grand Ideas, Nikolette Williams; and Chief Executive Officer, FarmLinkr, Shelly Heaven, during the launch of the DBJ’s ‘AgriBiz’ facility at the Ministry’s Hope Gardens Complex in Kingston on Tuesday (July 19).
Photo: Dave Reid
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (left), shakes hands with Managing Director, Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), M. Anthony Shaw during the launch of the DBJ’s ‘AgriBiz’ programme on Tuesday (July 19), at the Ministry’s Hope Gardens Complex in Kingston.The Full Story
The Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) is providing $1-billion to bolster the country’s agriculture sector through its new ‘AgriBiz’ facility.
The programme, launched on Tuesday (July 19) at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Kingston, will provide concessional loans for micro, small and medium-sized farmers.
Farmers and agribusiness entrepreneurs will be able to access loans of up to $30 million at 8.75 per cent for up to 10 years.
Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., endorsed the programme as “the type of investment that Jamaica…and the sector need”.
He noted that the facility will serve to boost food security and is aligned with the Ministry’s ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’ campaign.
The Minister informed that the agriculture sector, which currently employs more than 250,000 persons and accounts for some 8.68 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and foreign exchange, is contributing positively to the country’s recovery from external shocks and should continue on this trajectory through the AgriBiz programme.
“The DBJ, with the support of the private sector and with the partnership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, is putting forward a critical tool – a programme that’s packaged to move the conversation in the right direction,” the Minister said.
DBJ’s Managing Director, M. Anthony Shaw, informed that AgriBiz is directly aimed at boosting the agriculture sector’s recovery from the shocks of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
In addition to funding opportunities, the programme will also include technical assistance and financial training for farmers, which will be provided jointly with partners, Agro-Investment Corporation (AIC).
“The aim of the technical assistance is to assist farmers with preparing business plans, financial statements, product formulation, among other related things. The financial training would help them manage their finances and to understand the nature of the commercial banking services in Jamaica, the importance of good financial management and allow them to become loan ready,” Mr. Shaw said.
Funding under the AgriBiz facility will be available through Approved Financial Institutions (AFIs) and Microfinance Institutions (MFI).
Among the institutions are Scotiabank, National Commercial Bank (NCB), First Caribbean International Bank, Sagicor Bank, First Global Bank, Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB), JN Bank, JN Bank Small Business Loans, Access Financial Service, First Heritage Cooperative Credit Union, Community and Workers of Jamaica Cooperative Credit Union and other partners.