BAAC receives inaugural NEDAC–Rural Voice award

Kailash Choudhary, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, presented the inaugural NEDAC Rural Voice Awards 2021 at the Rural Voice Agriculture Conclave in New Delhi on December 23, 2021. The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) was one of the four awardees.

Headquartered in Bangkok, BAAC is a state-owned specialized financial service provider established in 1966. The broad objectives of the Thai bank are to provide financial assistance to farmers, farmer associations and agricultural cooperatives to conduct agriculture and other agriculture-related businesses. Its vision is to be a secure rural development bank with modern management providing integrated financial services to sustainably enhance the quality of life of farmers.

BAAC has 5.6 million customers. It has 8.6 million ATM cardholders, 1.37 million debit cardholders and 2,000 ATMs. It will invest in promising start-ups in the farming sector, especially those which have boosted farmers' income. The bank has already selected two startups, Qbox Point Co and Infuse Co, in which it will invest.

Thailand Plus has done a story on the NEDAC-Rural Voice award given to BAAC. It may be accessed on https://www.thailandplus.tv/archives/468499.

The NEDAC-Rural Voice awards have been instituted jointly by the Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific (NEDAC) and Rural Voice to recognize excellence in the field of agriculture, rural affairs and cooperatives.