18 Oct 2019

The National Development Bank (NDB) has launched a six-month product promotion for its two products: Temo Bokamoso and Ntlhatlosa ko Morakeng.

The bank’s chief executive officer, Ms Lorato Morapedi, said the product was part of the bank’s strategy to improve agriculture.

She said the loans that the bank offered were meant to improve farming.

Ms Morapedi said the product was tagged to loan products where a farmer, who applied for a loan from October to March 2020, would stand a chance to win solar energy equipment worth P50 000.

She said what made it even more special to the bank was that 2019 marked 55 years of its existence.

She said Letsema strategy placed agriculture as one of the niche sectors, along with ICT and tourism.

Ms Morapedi further said the strategy also put emphasis on the need to work hand in  hand with stakeholders, to harness the use of technology, innovation and partnerships, to improve yields and returns, throughout the entire value chain.

“Over the years, we have been at the centre of development for this country and naturally, since Batswana are traditionally farmers, NDB has had a hand in supporting their dreams and therefore developing the country,” she said.

Ms Morapedi said innovation could include integration of agro-technologies into a complete digital production system, such as drones and adoption of conversation agriculture, which was critical to mitigate the effects of climate change and high production costs.

She said the campaign aimed at making farming more appealing and accessible to both aspiring and experienced farmers and also encourages farmers to adopt innovative ways of farming as this would enable them to equip their farms with the latest and greatest technology.

She said the bank believed that agriculture had not been explored to its full potential, mainly due to lack of interest from younger generations and the bank has therefore taken deliberate steps to attract the younger generation to farming.

Ms Morapedi said it was a well-known fact that agriculture was the backbone of any successful nation globally, for self-sustenance and economic stability.

She said the campaign stated that serving farming was not just what they do, it was the difference their customers see every-day. ENDS