Farmers in Kokkadichcholai, Batticaloa, have received financial and technical support and equipment to facilitate their traditional trade of rice production, as the latest beneficiaries of Commercial Bank of Ceylon’s Dirishakthi Value Chain Development Programme.

The Bank embarked on this exercise to drive financial inclusion among smallholder farmers in this area in partnership with the Women’s Society in Kokkadichcholai. Its ultimate objective is to increase the production capacity in the area and enhance rural livelihoods. To support this mandate, the Bank also donated 30 paddy-boiling aluminum pans to selected farmers in the community. The livelihood of this community revolves around collecting paddy, preparing traditional rice and supplying local markets and individuals in the Batticaloa town.

The Commercial Bank Batticaloa branch along with the Bank’s Bank on Wheels – Eastern arm, the Bank’s corresponding Agriculture and Micro Finance Unit (AMFU) and the Development Credit Department (DCD) collaborated on this ‘Dirishakthi Value Chain Development Programme’ which culminated in a ceremony that was held in Kokkadichcholai, recently.

After donating the cooking utensils to the Women’s Society, Commercial Bank’s officials elaborated on the services offered by the Bank on Wheels operation and the Bank’s products and services available to the community.

Speaking at the ceremony, the President of the Women’s Society, Mrs P. Sakunthaladevi said: “Through the Bank on Wheels operation, Commercial Bank has been providing basic banking services such as account opening, cash deposits and withdrawals, micro loans, agri leases and other banking related services to our farmers on at least four days of the month. We are grateful to receive these services which have been instrumental in expanding our trade, enhancing productivity, and even improving our lifestyle. Of the 80 members in our Society, nearly 45 have obtained Dirishakthi loans from the Commercial Bank Batticaloa branch. This capital inflow boost has not only increased the income of these families but enhanced the livelihoods and quality of life of our community as a whole.”

The Women’s Society in Kokkadichcholai, soon to be registered as the ‘Padayanadavely Women’s Society,’ was established in 2019 with the support of Commercial Bank’s Bank on Wheels operation as a small association comprising 12 farmer members who were engaged in cultivation, traditional rice making, and animal husbandry.

A similar initiative conducted under the Bank’s Dirishakthi Value Chain Development Programme was the provision of assistance to the dairy value chain of the Mullaitivu Livestock Breeders Cooperative Society. This value chain consisting of farmers, milk collectors, producers, product transporters, and retailers to the end consumer were supported with banking services and access via the Bank on Wheels. Members of this community who had lost their assets including livestock during the conflict also had the opportunity to obtain loans to purchase cattle and develop cattle sheds.

The Bank also donated a set of cooler boxes to support a group of dairy farmers in Mulliyawalai. The coolers help preserve the freshness of the products and are essential in the safe transportation of dairy products. Following these measures, community members reported an increase in milk production and their income. They are now able to distribute milk to distant shops, while curd, ghee, milk toffee, and yoghurt produced from the milk is supplied to wholesale outlets in Kilinochchi and Vavuniya.

Commercial Bank’s Dirishakthi Value Chain Development Programme was launched to support micro entrepreneurs with a holistic intervention encompassing financing and empowerment activities that benefit not just individual borrowers but all participants in their value chains to drive success and growth from the grassroot level. Its In-Kind Grants initiative was introduced to support the identified value chains to improve their efficiency and sustainability while overcoming the challenges faced by rural value chains.

Under this programme the Bank identifies all participants in a value chain with the assistance of existing customers or Community Based Organisations (CBOs), provides financial services by reaching vulnerable players in the community such as women entrepreneurs and low-income individuals via coordinators of its Agriculture and Micro Finance Units who approach these members to provide personalised support. They identify obstacles which hinder the efficiency of the value chain and solve cash flow and capacity issues, provide fund transfer facilities to remit sales proceeds and to pay suppliers through the formal banking sector, and improve technical knowledge and entrepreneurship skills of value chain members with the objective of improving the quality of the products and services they offer.

Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon neutral bank, the first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and the only Sri Lankan bank to be so listed for 11 years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 268 branches and 938 automated machines in Sri Lanka. Commercial Bank is the largest lender to Sri Lanka’s SME sector and is a leader in digital innovation in the country’s Banking sector. The Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.