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In order to promote environmentally friendly and responsible agriculture, Swedbank, in partnership with the agricultural technology company eAgronom, offers farmers the opportunity to receive a sustainable agriculture certificate. This certificate will not only give farms the opportunity to assess their compliance with the sustainability objectives, but it will also give them the advantage of obtaining more favorable loan and financial leasing conditions.
As Jānis Zaļums, head of Swedbank’s small and medium-sized business services department, admits, “As one of the leading banks in the region, we have placed the creation of a sustainable future as one of the main objectives of our business. work every day, we try to help our customers move to a more environmentally friendly economy. And one way to do this is to develop sustainable solutions for all industrial sectors, including agriculture. With the help of eAgronom, we offer farmers a springboard, the opportunity to receive a certificate certifying sustainable agricultural practices. In a few years, these certificates will be the basis for the evaluation of farmers, which will mean clear criteria for us banks on how to offer more favorable financing conditions to those who started “green” agriculture.
In order to accurately measure and verify the data for the Sustainable Agriculture Certificate, Swedbank partner eAgronom conducts an inspection of the farm. During this, the data is analyzed using satellite imagery, farm management software reports, as well as physically visiting farms. If the farm meets the necessary criteria during the inspection, it will receive a sustainable agriculture certificate, which in turn, when presented to the bank together with the loan application, will allow more favorable financing conditions for loans and leases.
Robins Saluoks, Chairman of the Board of eAgronom (Robin Saluok) states: “For sustainable agriculture to spread, it must also be profitable in the short term. Providing better credit conditions for sustainable farmers contributes to measures to combat climate change. We provide tools that farmers can use to demonstrate their sustainability. Cooperation with Swedbank, on the other hand, offers the opportunity to provide farmers with real tools that make sustainability the most financially advantageous choice. “
eAgronom offers farm management software for farmers, serving over 1,700 farms. The area managed with the eAgronom software exceeds one million hectares in various European countries. The sustainable agriculture certificate is intended for farms that are dedicated to agriculture or whose at least one of their activities is agriculture.
Swedbank agricultural expert Raimonds Miltiņš stresses that “sustainable and environmentally friendly management in agriculture is nothing new, every producer should take these practices into account. The goal is a more natural and healthier soil that can adapt. in extreme weather conditions, more consistent long-term productivity, conservation of biodiversity and habitat, etc. Lack of EU co-financing has so far been the main obstacle for farmers to make significant investments and shift to a sustainable agriculture model from an environmental and climate point of view. In conversations with farmers, I feel that, in the long term, the most important thing is clarity in order to plan investments in new and sustainable agricultural technologies “.
More information on the initiative is available at: https://www.swedbank.lv/business/finance/loans/agriculture?language=LAT.
Swedish bank
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