SBP issues NOC for onboarding HBL Zarai as approved ASP

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), through the Pakistan Banks Association (PBA), has conveyed it’s no objection to onboarding HBL Zarai Services Limited (HBL Zarai) as an approved Agricultural Services Provider (ASP) under the ‘Zarkhez-e’, Asaan Digital Zarai Qarza Scheme.

The approval enables participating banks to facilitate structured in-kind agricultural financing, strengthening transparency and improving farmer economics through productive service delivery.

Under the scheme, in kind financing replaces cash disbursement with direct access to approved agricultural services.

This ensures financing is utilized strictly for productive farm activities such as quality inputs, agronomic advisory, mechanization, and market linkage, reducing leakages and improving monitoring effectiveness at the farm level.

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As an approved ASP, HBL Zarai will operationalise this model through a comprehensive end to end agriculture services platform. Farmers will be able to utilize their financing limits directly at HBL Zarai locations for high quality seeds, fertilizers, and crop protection products, supported by continuous on ground agronomic advisory.

In addition, farmers will have access to mechanization services on a pay per use basis and a structured crop off take mechanism uniquely offered by HBL Zarai, providing transparent market access, objective quality grading, and prompt documented payments.

Together, these services form a closed loop system linking financing with production and market outcomes, ensuring responsible utilization of agricultural credit.

Commenting on the approval, Amer Aziz, Chief Executive Officer of HBL Zarai, said: “Approval as an Agricultural Services Provider under the ‘Zarkhez-e’, Asaan Digital Zarai Qarza Scheme reflects confidence in HBL Zarai’s integrated and execution driven model. Our role is to ensure that agricultural finance translates into real productivity, transparency, and improved farmer incomes through services delivered on ground.”

Following the approval, several participating banks have initiated engagement with HBL Zarai to operationalise in kind financing under the scheme. These discussions are focused on system enablement, onboarding processes, and coordination mechanisms to facilitate seamless in-kind transactions at HBL Zarai locations.

HBL Zarai is the first ever non-financial subsidiary of a leading banking group in Pakistan to be approved as an Agricultural Services Provider under a national agricultural financing scheme. It is also the largest ASP in terms of service breadth and operational scale, offering all major agricultural services under one roof through its network of Zarai Deras and Zarai Dost Shops across Punjab and Sindh.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026