BoP offers farmers’ financing

LAHORE: Bank of Punjab (BoP) and Haleeb Foods Limited (HFL) on Friday signed an agreement to provide easy loans to dairy farmers as part of Punjab Rozgar Scheme and extension of the Prime Minister Kamyab Jawan Scheme.

Under the agreement, the BoP would ensure easily accessible financing for dairy farmers associated with HFL. Farmers would be able to access financing on soft terms and lowest mark-up rates for expansion and modernisation of their existing dairy-farming businesses.

BoP President Zafar Masud and HFL CEO Syed Mazher Iqbal signed the agreement in the presence of senior management from both organisations, dairy farmers from across Punjab, and other notables.

Masud said, “The BoP will also offer financial assistance under federal government’s Prime Minister Kamyab Jawan Scheme and provincial government’s Punjab Rozgar Scheme which will further strengthen government initiatives to empower the youth to undertake their own businesses.”

HFL CEO Iqbal said, “We are happy to be a part of this initiative of greater public interest, which shall definitely help the otherwise unstructured / small-scale dairy farming community.”

He encouraged traditional dairy farmers to avail the financing facility from BoP to transform and upgrade their dairy-infrastructure. At present HFL milk collection network was operational in 11 districts of Punjab with five main locations in Ellahabad, Arifwala.