Sri Lanka's leading private sector bank, HNB PLC, recently announced its strategic partnership with the Sri Lanka Agripreneurs' Forum (SLAF) and Agro World (Pvt.) Ltd aimed to empower small and medium scale farmers participating in the Smart Village Programme

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the trio at HNB Towers with the participation of SLAF and Agro World. This collaboration aims to provide these farmers access to financial needs, latest technology and new markets.

The initiative supports agricultural enterprises facing low productivity, lack of diversification, lack of market linkages, non-availability of inputs and limited access to much needed credit facilities.

"Establishing new marketplaces, understanding global trends and adopting latest technology is paramount for Sri Lanka to succeed. Our objective is to support farmers across the country to have affordable funding, adopt new techniques to improve productivity and   to access new marketplaces, be it at home or across the globe," HNB Deputy General Manager, SME & Microfinance, Rajive Dissanayake said.

"The last few years have been challenging, especially for farmers battling evolving market conditions and the impact of changing weather patterns. We are delighted to be working with HNB in empowering the agriculture industry by strengthening supply chains and establishing sustainable marketplaces for our farmers," Agro World (Pvt) Ltd, Founder, CEO & Director, Dr Selvanathan Anojan said.

Selected farmers will receive comprehensive support from HNB, SLAF, and Agro World, facilitating access to grants, low-interest loans, state-of-the-art farming techniques, and a market to sell their produce.

Agro World, and Sri lanka Agro Forum in conjunction with the Department of Agrarian Development, will facilitate the provision of a grant for each participating farmer. As outlined in the agreement, HNB will provide concessionary loans to further empower farmers and Agro World will provide technology and market access.

 Image Caption : (From left to right) HNB Janani Gamage, HNB Senior Manager - Microfinance, Pujitha Jayawardena, HNB Senior Manager - Business Banking, Jude Pillai, HNB Head of SME Products and Partnerships, N Kethiswaran, HNB DGM - SME & Microfinance, Rajive Dissanayake, Agro World (Pvt) Ltd Founder, CEO & Director, Dr. Selvanathan Anojan, Sri Lanka Agripreneurs' Forum Honorary Treasurer, Kulendran Sivaram, Sri Lanka Agripreneurs' Forum Executive Committee member, Parakrama Jayasinghe, Agro World Asst. Manager - Operations, Nimasha Perera, Agro World Executive - Agriculture, Dinesh Wijeweera, Sri Lanka Agripreneurs Forum Chief Executive Officer, Ruwin Mapa