KUALA LUMPUR: Agrobank (Bank Pertanian Malaysia Bhd) has projected a 75% increase in loan disbursements this year, with expected net growth of around RM1.5 billion, driven by its SME segment and the national food security initiatives.
Agrobank president and CEO Datuk Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah Raja Hussin said the focus will be heavily on small and medium enterprises – 70% for SME development, and 30% for microenterprises.
“For the year 2025, we expect our achievements to improve further because in 2024, we recorded a high in several areas, such as loan disbursements to customers. We exceeded RM10 billion in disbursements last year. Our net growth last year was more than 70% higher than the year before,” he told SunBiz in an interview.
For the year, Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah said he anticipates the growth to continue as it focuses more on SMEs and products related to microfinancing and SMEs involved in national food production activities.
“Together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, we are crafting a strategy based on the National Agrofood Policy to boost local food production and achieve a higher level of self-sufficiency,” he added.
Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah said there are still many areas where the country needs to intervene financially to boost food production in line with their national food security goals.
“To increase food production so it is accessible to Malaysians; and to ensure that food is produced in sufficient quantities so prices remain within the affordability range of the average Malaysian,” he added.
Several food segments still have high import dependency, including ruminant cattle, chicken and poultry, he noted.
“As such, we will prioritise loan disbursements to areas with high import reliance. There’s still a significant need for financial intervention to increase local food production and support national food security goals.”
Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah said the government has mapped out clear strategic directions for the development of the agriculture industry with the National Agrofood Policy 2021-2030 and the National Commodity Policy as well as in the financial sector, with the Financial Sector Blueprint 2022-2026.
“Such national-level policies provide clarity on the expectations and strategic priorities of the government in the delivery of the developmental agenda for both industries.”
This in turn provides guidance to developmental agencies such as Agrobank as to how it is expected to execute its mandated role, Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah said, addting that the direction of these policies is encapsulated in its Strategic Business Plan 2021-2025 (SBP 2021-2025).
“We stand guided by our SBP, a five-year roadmap that charts our progressive journey towards the delivery of strategic outcomes that support the developmental agenda of our key stakeholders. Our SBP ensures our keen focus on the things that matter as we continue to develop our unique value proposition and competitive advantages in the agriculture industry development ecosystem.”
Agrobank will also push for wider adoption of digital technology and digital payments, including in underserved rural areas, to reduce cash transactions, Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah said.
“There will be more usage of QR codes, increased efforts in account openings, and stronger encouragement for the use of digital technology as a payment method,” he added.
