"Farmers Must be Transformed into Entrepreneurs", says CEO of Karnataka Bank

According to Mahabaleshwara MS, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Karnataka Bank, banks have a job on their hands to transform traditional farmers into modern-day entrepreneurs, and this transformation provides banks with abundant lending opportunities.

He told attendees at the bank's Agri-Business conference that farmers must adopt modern agricultural tools and practices with an innovative approach.

Precision agriculture and the use of drones have advanced to the forefront of modern agricultural practices. This improves food affordability, increases supply, and ensures sustainability. He stated that food and agriculture processing, as well as Agri infrastructure, are critical in modern agriculture, particularly for perishable goods.

According to Mahabaleshwara, the need of the hour is to stay up to date on market information, be better prepared for natural disasters, and practice hi-tech agriculture. Banks should be proactive in providing credit support in this regard.

"KBL AgriNxt is brought in as part of our Transformation Wave - 2.0 'KBL NxT,' an advanced digital initiative." "The bank is looking into ways to participate in the emerging digital disruption in agriculture by partnering with Agri fin-tech companies," he said.

Karnataka Bank has supported priority lending initiatives focusing on agriculture since its inception. The bank offers farmer-friendly loan products that are regularly updated to meet market demands. Farmers should take advantage of the bank's agricultural loan products, he says.

Agriculture Field Officers at the bank play an important role and should be sensitive to understanding farmers' needs on the ground by providing timely credit, he added.

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