Rigo farmers are eager to save

Christine Iauve is a vegetable farmer from Magautou Village, who was among 90 subsistence farmers from the Oman Area of Rigo District in Central Province to open new bank accounts with BSP recently.
Christine and her husband grow capsicum, corn, peanut and recently zucchini as their cash crops, which they transport to Port Moresby and supply to hotels and shops. The hard earned cash is usually kept by Christine in her safe corner back in the village.

When opening her new BSP Kundu Account, an elated Christine said she is very thankful and applauded BSP for taking banking services right to the people in remote areas, in the heart of their communities.

Christine opened a Kundu Standard Account which suits those in rural areas.  BSP has two Kundu Accounts available for its customers, the Kundu Standard is a cheaper option for those who do not use their accounts frequently. The Kundu Standard has no monthly maintenance fee, there is no requirement for a minimum balance and its pay as you go.

The Kundu Standard also gives access to Mobile Banking, so Christine can check her account balance or transfer funds at the comfort of her home, while in the garden farming, or while on the road travelling into Port Moresby.

With her new Kundu Card, Christine and the other farmers now have access to BSP’s ATMs and EFTPoS to withdraw money or obtain goods and services.  

“We are very thankful for signing up with BSP and for receiving our Kundu Cards instantly, and not having to wait weeks,” she said.

The advantage of having an bank account, is that Christine and all the other farmers can now save their money. For Christine, the money she saves, she plans to buy a PMV truck to service the Maggi Highway, a dream she and her family has had for many years.

Another happy farmer, Martin Emilio, opened his account with K40 worth of coins (K1, 50t, 20t & 10t), he had collected from selling sweets, like lollies and biscuits in front of his house. Like Christine, Martin plans to save his money.

Martin say his fellow farmers and him have had discussions with a major retailer in Port Moresby on selling their produce, however, one of the requirements was for farmers to have bank accounts so the retailer can make electronic payments, reducing the risk and costs of cash handling.  

“Opening bank accounts is a milestone for us if we are going to sell our produce to retailers in Port Moresby, because they want us to have bank accounts, so deposits can be made electronically, without too much cash, its good for us too, because we don’t just spend all the money, as we now do, when we have cash on hand,” he said. 

The trip to Rigo by BSP was made possible with assistance from ChildFund PNG, an international NGO that has been delivering projects in Food Security, Water and Sanitation, Education, Health and Child Rights in the area for many years.

ChildFund’s Senior Programme Officer, Sharon B Pondros, says their Food Security and Livelihood projects introduced backyard farming to farmers in the rural communities, with the objective to improve livelihoods, by way of improved diets, and ways to earn an income.

She says there is also huge potential for the farmers to grow on a larger scale for cash income.

To encourage farmers to tap into these opportunities, ChildFund through its partner Fresh Produce Development Agency carry out regular financial literacy trainings to equip farmers with the fundamentals of managing and saving their money.

Childfund PNG also encourages farmers to have bank accounts so they save their money, and become self-reliant by investing in areas that will further help sustain their livelihoods.

“We value our partnership with BSP, because through the bank’s rural outreach initiative they willingly offer to support our cause for the benefit of the rural people. And in doing so our farmers are now one step ahead, so when we link them with buyers they get their payments straight into their accounts and they can access it using their Kundu cards,” Sharon says.

“The good thing about having an account, is they don’t spend all their hard earned cash immediately, like previously when they held hard cash in their hands. They are now able to budget and spend wisely, and with the savings they have over time, they can invest in other areas that can further improve their lives,” she adds.

Ends