Kanwal Naseer

Farmers always face a lot of difficulties in storing their produce due to which they sell it at very low prices in the market. Considering this problem, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has introduced the Electronic Warehouse Receipt Financing (EWRF) for Crops. This mechanism will now help farmers to keep their goods at a suitable place and also meet their liquidity need, as these receipts can also be utilised as security while applying for bank funding, reports WealthPK. In an interview with WealthPK, Rehan Malik, Branch Manager Allied Bank of Pakistan at the Islamabad Exchange Tower (ISE), said, ‘’the SBP wants to accomplish a number of things through this project, including the goal to promote and broaden the reach of agricultural production and financing offered to farmers nationwide through the EWRF.”

“The (EWRF) facility offers a seamless and dependable procedure in terms of storage of the produce and supply of credit, which will not only preserve farmers' produce, but also enable them to achieve a higher price in the market,’’ said Rehan. He further said, “the main difficulties that farmers encounter are caused by the structural lack of a market for agricultural products. They want to sell their produce immediately after the harvest time, which forces them to sell their crops at a low profit.’’ He said the ware house scheme came to address these issues and would allow farmers to store their produce so that they would not have to rush to the market and sell it at an appropriate time.

The primary goal of the EWRF is to retain and safeguard farmers' produce. The ware house also helps meet the standards and ensure that farmers’ products or commodities are adequately stored and safe. Farmers are being encouraged in every manner by the extensive effort of our branches in distant areas, he added. According to WealthPK, financing models like the electronic warehouse receipts is a very productive step taken by the central bank, as it will not only boost the agriculture and farming sector, but also contribute towards the country economic development.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk