KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan, Banking Services Corporation (SBP BSC) held an award ceremony to recognize top-performing banks for their exemplary contributions to the Agriculture Finance Literacy Program (AFLP).
AFLP, a flagship initiative developed by SBP BSC with support from the SBP’s Agriculture Credit and Financial Inclusion Department (AC&FID), was launched in 2023 to enhance financial awareness among farmers- particularly new-to-bank, female, and under-served segments- about formal credit systems and making informed borrowing decisions.
During its second year, according to a statement issued here, AFLP demonstrated strong nationwide outreach with 6,326 awareness sessions conducted. These sessions helped connect over 105,000 new-to-bank farmers with the banking system, including 10,740 female farmers.
To strengthen outreach in less-accessible areas, SBP conducted 3,297 sessions in under-served districts while over 400 sessions were physically monitored by SBP BSC field offices to ensure quality and consistency.
The program also led to significant results on the ground as over 18,000 farmers availed agricultural loans following their participation in awareness sessions, with total disbursements exceeding Rs. 21.47 billions. The conversion ratio improved notably from 4% in Year 1 to 17.12% in Year 2, reflecting the effectiveness of the program in turning awareness into financial action.
Executive Director SBP, Syed Samar Husnain, while addressing the ceremony, congratulated the awarded banks and praised their dedication and field-level efforts. “Financial inclusion begins with awareness -not just access- and literacy is the key to converting that awareness into action,”
He emphasized. Senior officials from SBP and SBP BSC, representatives from the banking industry, and field staff attended the event.
