Islamabad: The Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited and the Food and Agriculture Organization have pledged to work jointly for small farmers of Pakistan. This understanding was reached during a meeting between President ZTBL Tahir Yaqoob Bhatti and a high-level delegation from FAO led by its Officer-in-Charge James Robert Okoth in Islamabad.

According to Radio Pakistan, Tahir Yaqoob Bhatti shared a documentary presenting ZTBL’s contribution toward the uplift of small and subsistence farmers, who constitute 96 percent of the farming community in Pakistan. He said ZTBL has a network of 501 branches, of which 449 are located in rural, underserved, and unbanked areas of the country. ZTBL’s presence in 58 percent of rural Pakistan reaffirms its role as the bank of small farmers.

James Robert Okoth shared insights into FAO’s operations, which span 75 districts across the country. He highlighted FAO’s work in crop and livestock value chains, climate change adaptation, farmer group-based trainings, animal tagging, and meat production initiatives. He further underscored the FAO projects in flood-affected districts of Pakistan.

During the discussion, FAO expressed its keen interest in partnering with ZTBL for the training of farmers, whereby ZTBL may also showcase its financial products and services to the farming community.

The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to explore collaboration aimed at enhancing farmer outreach, improving productivity, and promoting sustainable growth in Pakistan’s agriculture sector.