Interest-free loans, Agricultural bank to revitalize agricultural sector: BAB

Manama

Establishing a Bahraini agricultural bank to help farmers with interest-free concessional loans for agricultural projects and livestock production will boost national capacities in the field of food industries and the proportion of local production, a top Bahraini banker has said.

Explaining, Dr Waheed Al Qassim, CEO of Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB), said, “Self-sufficiency in food products has become a crucial issue in peoples ’lives, not only because of threats, turmoil, and wars but also for reasons that may not be taken into account, such as the emerging coronavirus.”

He was speaking about a discussion with banks regarding providing concessional financing, along with the idea of estab - lishing a Bahraini agricultural bank. “We saw many countries place restrictions on the movement of travellers, as other countries initiated to prevent the export of health care products, and as long as control of this virus has not been successful until now, it is not surprising that the import and export movement of food commodities will be negatively affected in the region and around the world,” he stressed.

The new bank, Dr Al Qassim said, will operate similar to the Egyptian Agricultural Bank, or the Saudi Agricultural Bank, which later became known as the Agricultural Development Fund. “The mission of this bank is to finance various areas of agricultural activity in Bahrain to help develop the Agricultural sector and raise its production efficiency, by providing interest-free concessional loans to farmers to secure the necessary equipment, pumps, agricultural machinery, and equipment for raising cows, poultry, sheep, beekeeping equipment, fish, etc,” added Dr Al Qassim.

He further indicated that several Bahraini banks recently initiated an agreement with “Tamkeen” regarding providing financial and credit facilities for renewable energy projects. “We seek to formulate a similar agreement to develop national capacities in the field of food industries and raise the proportion of local production, and to maintain the experts in these sectors to be an important part in the success of these projects, and activating the role of innovation and applying modern technology in developing agricultural production”, Dr.Al Qassim added.

Bahraini banks, Dr Al Qassim said, always play their responsible role within the framework of national plans related to sustainability and prosperity, according to the royal directive of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. “This is beside the interest and care of the agricultural development shown by Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, Wife of the King, the President of the Consultative Council of the National Initiative for Agricultural Development.