ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company (PMIC) and GrowTech Services Ltd. here on Saturday signed the agreement for the Technical Assistance Grant under PMIC’s Challenge Fund.

GrowTech Services Ltd. was selected through a competitive and transparent process. Under the first round of Challenge Fund the thematic area “Accelerating access to finance and increasing income of small farmers” would help 1,000 small farmers receive crop-related information through extension services.

Satellite imagery, soil testing, efficient water, fertilizer and pesticide usage, linkages with input providers and facilitating farmers in crop sales, as well as, provision of financial services are part of the package offered by GrowTech to farmers on a sustainable basis. These interventions would ultimately result in lower input costs, increased crop yield, positive environmental impact, and higher incomes of the farmers.

Speaking on the occasion, Yasir Ashfaq, CEO of PMIC iterated PMIC’s commitment to financial inclusion and social impact in the country, saying Challenge Fund is part of the strategy to build new institutions and models that would accelerate access to finance to the underserved segments of the country.

He said that the upon successful implementation of the pilot project, the model will be replicated across the country to improve crop yield, lower input costs, and improve the incomes and livelihoods of small farmers.

Faisal Bilal, the CEO of GrowTech Services expressed his gratitude for the support offered by PMIC and shared the plans for implementing the pilot and adding new services to facilitate the farmers in their crop cycle. On-boarding new suppliers, grading services for buyers and linking financial institutions with farmers are part of the expansion plans of GrowTech and they see a long-term partnership with PMIC in scaling up the services for the rural economy at large.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022