^{Khadijah Iskandar, Covering Duties President / Chief Executive Officer of Agrobank and Dato' Norhalim Yunus, Chief Executive Officer of MTDC exchanging document of agreement witnessed by Datuk Seri Dr. Ronald Kiandee, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAFI) (middle); Datuk Seri Haji Ahmad Hamzah, Deputy Minister 1 MAFI (2nd from left);  Dato' Haslina Abdul Hamid, Secretary General of MAFI (2nd from right); Dato’ Mustapha Buang, Chairman of Agrobank (left) and Tan Sri Abd Rahman Mamat, Chairman of MTDC (right).}


KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 (Bernama) -- Agrobank and Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) today inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate and promote entrepreneur’s development programme and further accelerate the industry 4.0 technology (i4.0) practices into the Malaysian agriculture sector.
 
In this collaboration, Agrobank will provide financial funding of RM20million for 200 entrepreneurs related to agriculture sector identified by MTDC for the first phase of the entrepreneur’s development programme initiative. Each entrepreneur will receive funding amount of RM100,000 maximum.
 
Identified entrepreneurs will be mentored, coached and will receive technical assistance through MTDC’S technical providers: Technopreneur Training Academy (TENTRA) to provide entrepreneurship training and MTDC’s Centre of 9 Pillars (Co9P) to provide linkages with highly experienced trainers for all training and i4.0 solution needs.
 
The MoU signing ceremony to mark the collaboration was represented by Khadijah Iskandar, Covering President/ Chief Executive Officer of Agrobank, and Dato Norhalim Yunus, Chief Executive Officer of MTDC. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Datuk Seri Dr. Ronald Kiandee, Agriculture and Food Industries Minister, Dato’ Mustapha Buang, Chairman of Agrobank, and Tan Sri Abd Rahman Mamat, Chairman of MTDC.
 
Datuk Seri Dr. Ronald Kiandee, said, this partnership between Agrobank and MTDC is perfect combination in realising the national vision of i4.0 with smart and modern farming practices in the agriculture sector.
 
He said, the various trainings including knowledge sharing events to be organised or co-organised between the two entities is expected to accelerate the adoption of i4.0 technologies especially in the area of modern and smart farming within the entrepreneurs.
 
“The smart and modern farming practices has been envisioned as the new future of the local agriculture spectrum, I am glad this vision is being realised through this partnership in supporting the agriculture industry.
 
“Entrepreneurs will be introduced to the usage of robots in smart farming which will lead to better management and lower operational costs. Smart farming has a real potential to deliver a more productive and sustainable form of agricultural production,” he said.  
 
Dato’ Mustapha Buang, Chairman of Agrobank said, Agrobank is honoured to be part of this partnership where the Bank is always committed to support business opportunities that further develop the national agriculture industry.
 
“The outlook for the agriculture sector for the next decade appears promising despite global challenges such as climate change, a growing population and scarcity of resources. The agriculture sector — or more precisely the agro-food sector, continues to be one of the important growth engines for the national economy.”
 
“Therefore, by venturing into new business concept that involves technology, we believe this is how farming shall be conducted in the future and it has to begin from here. The i4.0 practices has a bright future if wisely applied into the agri businesses.”
 
“We also believe, with the right guidance this initiative will attract and encourage more young entrepreneurs into the agriculture sector and making it the new sources of wealth in the few years to come,” he further added.
 
Meanwhile, Tan Sri Abd Rahman Mamat, Chairman of MTDC said, this partnership will enable the entrepreneurs to benefit from MTDC’s wide and extensive networks as they will be provided with marketing, networking opportunities and technology solutions for smart and modern farming.
 
“The Internet of Things (IoT) will change how we view agriculture entirely. MTDC, as the strategic enabler for i4.0 is committed to assist all the entrepreneurs in the adoption of i4.0 technologies developed by our local talents and resources,” he said.
 
 
ABOUT AGROBANK
 
Agrobank is a leader in agriculture financing and values-based banking based (VBI)* in Malaysia. Established in 1969, Agrobank is actively involved in charting the growth and development of Malaysia’s agriculture industry by offering shariah compliant products and solutions across various customer segments including corporate, commercial, consumer, trade finance and micro financing customers. Agrobank is a full-fledged Islamic bank since 1st July 2015.
 
As a market driven, customer-centric DFI (Development Financial Institution) with a primary focus on strengthening the agriculture sector in Malaysia, Agrobank strikes an equal balance to its developmental and commercial roles to benefit the agriculture sector. Agrobank provides a comprehensive repertoire of financing solutions for the agriculture community; that includes upstream activities related to primary food and commodities-based agriculture activities to downstream activities such as processing, marketing and distribution of agricultural products.
 
Agrobank also offers retail banking financing solutions to improve the well-being of the agriculture community. This is done through its network of 192 customer touch points including 138 branches, 1 agro banking, 1 virtual banking, 10 commercial financing centre, 34 kiosk, 8 agro corners & agro point.  
 
In 2019, Agrobank celebrates its golden jubilee Anniversary, as it marks 50 years of its proud establishment developing the agro industry.  
 
www.agrobank.com.my
  
* VBI or value-based intermediation is an initiative by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) which aims to improve the products and services offered by Islamic financial institutions towards a better facilitation of entrepreneurship, community well-being, sustainable environment and economic growth, without compromising on shareholders’ returns.
 
Source: Agrobank

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Agrobank
Name: Shahreen Rahim
Section Head of Public Relations, Strategic Communications Department, Agrobank
Tel: 03-2731 1600 (ext 1660) / +6012 943 6217 
Email: shahreen.rahim@agrobank.com.my
 
Name: Rasheffa Rashid
Executive, Public Relations, Strategic Communications Department, Agrobank
Tel: 03-2731 1600 (ext 1650) / +019 272 9907 
Email: rasheffa@agrobank.com.my

MTDC
Name: Alvirah Mohd Natt
Vice President
Communications Department of MTDC
Tel: 017-2122802
Email: alvirah@mtdc.com.my 

--BERNAMA