Bank accounts opening programme for the farmers is being held at the command areas of Sustained Opportunity for Nutrition Governance (SONGO) project.

The objective of the programme is to help the farmers have access to finance for mitigating their malnutrition problem.

Very recently, a sensitization workshop on Innovative Finance (Save for the Seed and Agri SME Product) was held at the hall room of Chandipur Union Parishad under Sundarganj upazila in the district on Wednesday.

Funded by European Union SONGO project being implemented by Cordaid Netherlands in partnership with RDRS Bangladesh arranged the function while Harvest Plus, Canada provided Support and BRAC Bank Limited provided technical support to hold the event.

Md. Kairul Baser, country manager of Harvest Plus attended the workshop and addressed it as the chief guest and Zakiul Hasan, divisional coordinator of Harvest Plus, Nazmul Hasan, head of Agent Banking of BRAC Bank Limited and Md. Shafiqur Rahman, consultant, Innovation finance, Harvest Plus spoke at the function as the special guests.

Earlier, operation lead of SONGO Project Mostafa Nurul Islam Reza delivered a welcome speech and briefed the overall activities of the SONGO Project and Cordaid Netherlands elaborately.

SONGO Project would work with agent Banking of BRAC Bank Limited and Harvest Plus in a bid to help the farmers have access banking opportunity and produce bio fortified crop in larger scale to mitigate malnutrition of the farmers, he cited.

Divisional coordinator of Harvest Plus Nazmul Hasan in his speeches highlighted the health benefits of zinc enriched rice in the human body and presented the importance of zinc rice for the children, adolescents, pregnant mothers including lactating ones.