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| Farmers test a harvesting machine in Ha Noi's Chuong My Disctrict. Short-term loans will be given to farmers to buy fertilisers, seedlings and poultry and livestock breeds, as well as agricultural equipment. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue |
HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The State Bank of Viet Nam approved the addition of 19 projects to a pilot programme that offers preferential loans for agricultural development.
The beneficiaries of the soft loans are 19 projects from 16 cities and provinces nationwide. They will get a total of VND1.926 trillion (US$90.42 million) at preferential interest rates of 7 per cent per year for short-term loans, 10 per cent for medium-term loans and 10.5 per cent for long-term loans.
Short-term loans will be given to farmers to buy fertilisers, seedlings and poultry and livestock breeds, as well as agricultural equipment. The medium and long-term loans will support investments in infrastructure and equipment to develop hi-tech models.
The southern province of Soc Trang will get the largest amount of VND385 billion ($18 million). The northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang will get VND285.5 billion ($13.4 million) and the central province of Ha Tinh will receive VND192.14 billion ($9 million).
The loans aim to forge financial connectivity between businesses and farmers for new farming models, such as large-scale rice farms and application of advanced technology.
The central bank, in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Science and Technology, has been implementing the programme since May this year. A total loan of VND2.65 trillion ($124.41 million) has been so far disbursed under the programme.
According to the central bank, many of these models have shown their effectiveness in several areas, such as the large-scale rice field model in An Giang province, the hi-tech vegetable and flower production model in Lam Dong province and the dairy farming and milk production model in the central Nghe An province.
The central bank said that after the two-year trial period, the organisers will work together on policies to implement the programme on a larger scale. — VNS