Agrobank Urges Continued Support For SJPP In Budget 2026

By Mohd Noor Azeery Idris

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- The Agrobank is hoping that the Business Financing Guarantee Scheme (SJPP) will continue to be enhanced under Budget 2026, given its positive impact on the economy, particularly in empowering micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the agri-food sector.

Chief executive officer Datuk Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah Raja Hussin said sectors such as production, livestock, fisheries and agro-based manufacturing, as well as food security, have strong potential for further development.

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“We have several segments that we will be highlighting (in Budget 2026), especially with regard to young entrepreneurs who do not have much experience in business management.

“Agrobank is ready to help train them so that they will be able to advance and expand their business, eventually transitioning to larger-scale businesses. Our targets include women, the B40 income group and graduates,” he said to Bernama in an interview recently.

Under Budget 2025, the government continued the implementation of the SJPP with guarantees of up to RM20 billion to strengthen financing access for entrepreneurs facing collateral constraints.

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“The agriculture sector is considered among the high-risk sectors as its activities are influenced by many external factors such as unpredictable weather, geo-economic and geopolitical conditions.

“With the SJPP scheme, banks and financiers are more confident to extend financing to those involved in this sector, particularly micro and small clients who lack collateral,” he said.

He noted that various financial institutions have been participating in the scheme, including Agrobank, which has so far channelled RM5.3 billion in financing to entrepreneurs in the agriculture and food security sectors under SJPP.

In the previous years, Agrobank had only disbursed between RM1 billion and RM2 billion to entrepreneurs, he said, emphasising that this exponential rise in financing reflected growing interest among Malaysians to venture into business.

Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah said nearly 12,000 clients — comprising more than 8,000 micro and small entrepreneurs, with the remainder from the medium-sized enterprise segment — have benefited from SJPP financing through the bank.

He added that the SJPP scheme also recorded a healthy repayment rate with a low non-performing loan (NPL) ratio, demonstrating its positive impact in strengthening the resilience of agro-entrepreneurs.

 SJPP, which provides guarantees of up to 80 per cent of the total financing amount, has proven highly beneficial, particularly for SMEs, by supporting investment expansion in strategic sectors, digitalisation, and job creation.

“We evaluate each financing application based on the entrepreneurs’ sales and profit records. However, many small and micro traders do not maintain proper records of their finances because they rely on cash transactions instead of banking systems.

“Under SJPP, Agrobank would provide training to clients and entrepreneurs to adopt proper accounting and management systems, enabling them to better understand and manage their company’s financial affairs,” he said.

-- BERNAMA