National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) signed a Commitment of Collaboration (CoC) with Pakistan Agricultural Technology Transfer Activity (PATTA) – a USAID funded project being implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) that aims at private sector solutions to improve agriculture productivity in Pakistan.

USAID-PATTA and NBP recognized that the roles of the two organizations are complementary and an institutional understanding and strategy to combine their potentials to synergize efforts for fast tracked development of private sector particularly Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) engaged in the agriculture and livestock sectors to increase their capacity and competitiveness is required.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Rehmat Ali Hasnie, SEVP / Group Chief, Inclusive Development Group emphasized on the need for modernization of technology and implementation of new solutions in the organization of farms, new production technology to increase production volumes, better quality of products and managing environmental hazards.

Dr. Faheem Abbasi (Chief of Party CNFA-Pakistan) said that this arrangement will aim to provide small farmers with broader access to affordable technologies to increase productivity and build resilience to climate change and reduce post-harvest losses. In so doing, PATTA expects to increase the capacity of agricultural technology related businesses in commercializing technologies and management practices to promote increased adoption of agricultural technologies by small farmers in Pakistan.

The National Bank of Pakistan is the country’s largest public sector commercial bank. It has the biggest branch network (over 1500) spread across the country and handles many large loan schemes for the Government of Pakistan to facilitate the people.