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ASB head of rural banking Aidan Gent is encouraging farmers to speak to their banks when they are struggling.
The loan facilities, provided through a club deal arrangement by Rabobank and ASB, is said to be one of the largest of its type for a New Zealand agribusiness company operating inside the farm gate.
It will see CFP, which operates dairy farms and horticulture properties across New Zealand, receive financial incentives as it delivers on targets linked to its sustainability strategy. This includes greenhouse gases, people and leadership, animal welfare, and biodiversity.
New Zealand-owned Craigmore Sustainables has built and actively manages a portfolio of dairy, grazing, forestry and horticultural properties covering over 25,000ha throughout the country.
“Our whole purpose is to produce globally sought-after food and fibre that leads the way in sustainability practices while benefiting our rural communities,” says Che Charteris, Craigmore Sustainables chief executive.
Charteris says the agreement will help the company deliver on this ambition.
“Specifically, a big focus is to support our teams to identify, test and adapt GHG-reduction solutions to integrate into real-world farming and orcharding operations.
“We’re here to grow the best of Aotearoa New Zealand – whether that be the best crops and varieties, or the best in our people and our environment. Working with our partners to integrate sustainability into rural debt in a detailed manner helps achieve this goal for us, and other rural businesses that wish to follow this path.”
Meanwhile, Craigmore’s head of acquisitions & corporate finance Paul Burns says the facility is a tool that will accelerate the businesses sustainability goals which are integral to its long-term strategy.
“We have ambitious sustainability targets and to execute these will require a mixture of practical management focus, system optimisation and continued investment. The SLL targets align perfectly to our existing targets across these areas,” he says.
Bruce Weir, Rabobank New Zealand general manager of country banking, says Rabobank works closely with clients in New Zealand and around the world to help them achieve their sustainability goals.
“We have a strong and valuable relationship with Craigmore, whose commitment to meeting sustainability and environmental challenges very much aligns with Rabobank’s global commitment in this space,” Weir says.
“This loan facility is just one example of that commitment. We congratulate Craigmore for taking the next step in accelerating its business sustainability goals.”
ASB’s acting executive general manager of business banking, Ben Speedy says the bank, which also acted as sustainability co-ordinators, is delighted to support Craigmore with the SLL.
“Craigmore is at the food and fibre industry vanguard when it comes to emissions reduction innovation and progress on environmental, sustainability and governance, while having people and the community at the heart of what they do – they deserve high commendation for its work.”
