BoC Diyawara Diriya to nurture fishing industry

Bank of Ceylon is launching Diyawara Diriya, a dedicated fisheries loan scheme to offer a helping hand to the fishing industry, today. Under this, bank will be providing financial facilities to a wide spectrum of activities in the fishery value chain.

This scheme is open for a fisherman who is engaged in fishing with a primary fishing canoe such as a cannel or a raft in local tanks situated in rural areas such as Anuradhapura, Pollonnaruwa or Embilipitiya to a fisherman who catches fish in a multi-day fishing craft in the international waters with the aid of satellite technology, hundreds of nautical miles away from Sri Lankan shores.

The official ceremony for the lunching of the scheme will be held under the patronage of Dr Rajitha Senarathna, Minister of Fisheries and Acquatic Resources Development and his Deputy Susantha Punchi Nilame along with Dr Gamini Wickramasinghe, the Chairman of Bank of Ceylon at the Bank of Ceylon head office auditorium on the 25th July 2011. The occasion will make history with over one billion rupees granted on the first day itself.

Sri Lanka’s fisheries industry provides livelihood for 2.4 million people or 10% of the total population. The sector contributes around 70% of the animal protein consumed in the country. It has also emerged as a dynamic export oriented sector providing substantial foreign exchange earnings to the country. With all these important facts keeping a side, the fisheries community remains at the bottom of the pyramid when it comes to financial inclusion.

In line with Mahinda Chinthana policy framework, the ten year development plan of the fisheries and aquatic resources sector 2007-2016 envisions improving the nutritional status and food security of the people by increasing the national fish production. Unfortunately, in Sri Lanka, financing of the fisheries sector is long neglected. Lack of financial resources is a major reasons for the failure of state efforts to develop the industry. Many financial institutions turned a blind eye to the fisheries sector loan demand.

”Breaking this perceptual barrier, Bank of Ceylon pioneered offering financial facilities to fisheries sector way back in 1975 in response to an invitation to develop the fisheries industry. Since then we have relentlessly worked towards the betterment of industry in pursuing our national mandate to serve all communities. Initially, a few branches were identified based on the proximity to the fisheries community and small scale facilities were provided to the sector development”, BoC Additional General Manager, Dr Sam Samarasinghe said.