Karachi: (Zeeshan Hussain) HBL Microfinance Bank (HBL MfB), in partnership with the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) has expanded its Climate-Smart Agri-Financing initiative to farmers across Punjab moving the programme from the pilot phase to province-wide implementation the initiative will use satellite data remote sensing crop monitoring and technology-driven risk assessment to improve agricultural financing and strengthen the resilience of the bank’s agriculture portfolio, HBL Microfinance Bank President and CEO Amir Khan said the collaboration would bring satellite intelligence into agricultural financing enabling more informed timely and farmer focused lending decisions while helping address risks posed by climate change unpredictable weather and water stress.
SUPARCO Member (Space Application and Research Wing) Zafar Iqbal said the organisation has 35 years of spatial data archives and extensive experience in agricultural monitoring through satellite technology, he said SUPARCO has developed machine learning and deep learning models through a Geo-AI-enabled platform, while its Space4Climate initiative provides risk assessments for hazards including floods droughts and hailstorms, an analytical engine developed by SUPARCO will support HBL Microfinance Bank in lending decisions farm-level risk assessment and post-loan monitoring while public access to agricultural intelligence through the Space4Climate portal will help promote greater awareness and climate resilience the partnership aims to advance a more data-driven, responsible and climate-resilient approach to agricultural finance for farmers across Punjab and Pakistan.
