The Private Agricultural Sector Support Trust (PASS) has introduced new products to stimulate smooth growth of the sector, with the views of strengthening its services to Tanzania?s agriculture sector.
PASS Managing Director Iddy Lujina announced the new products at a seminar in Dar es Salaam on Monday, naming the products as lender?s option guarantee, linkage banking guarantee, modified traditional guarantee and fixed equity hire purchase product. ?All these new and revised products focus on PASS?s goal to stimulate investments and growth of private commercial farming and agribusiness,? Mr Lujina told reporters.
He said under the lender?s Option Guarantee, the lender will decide whether or not to guarantee loans to their borrowers based on predetermined guarantee criteria and a guarantee product policy contractually agreed with PASS.
According to the MD, the linkage banking guarantee product will guarantee loans from highly liquid institutions including large banks and pension funds to prequalified rural financial institutions to be used only for loanable funds supporting those institutions? agribusiness portfolios.
?Fixed equity hire purchase product is a meaningfully departure from PASS?s traditional way of doing business but maintains our vision and mission. It is a method for us to take an equity stake in a medium to large scale agribusiness by providing that business access to critical fixed assets without obligating that business to a commercial lender,? he said.
A PASS consultant from Inspired International, Mr Richard Pelrine said although PASS has been performing well in recent years, the challenge has been to have an effective mechanism to multiplying funds to many people.
?We want to have greater access,? he said, adding that it was his hope that the new products will double or triple from the current 600 PASS beneficiaries in the next three years.
A representative from CRDB bank, Mr Musa Lwila hailed the products, saying that they will help many people and interested groups benefit from PASS funds.
So far, PASS offers business development services; strengthen farmers? organizations and financial services. It collaborates with seven banks but plans are to partner with more banks. PASS has active branches in Morogoro, Dar es Salaam, Mbeya and Mwanza regions.
It plans to open a branch in Kilimanjaro and Mtwara regions later this year to cover all zones of the country. ?Over 35,000 farmers have been supported by PASS and have obtained loans amounting to 95bn/-,? said Mr Lujina.
PASS?s target is to assist farmers and agribusiness with 200bn/- in the next three years in areas of crop and livestock production, agro inputs supply, crop trading, rural transportation, irrigation, agro-processing and improved storage and warehousing.
Source Tanzania Daily News
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Source: http://in2eastafrica.net/tanzania-pass-set-to-benefit-agriculture/
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