Commercial banks to offer agricultural loans at preferential rates – Pres Ali

Farmers looking to move into medium- and large-scale production will soon be able to get bank loans at preferential rates. President Dr Irfaan Ali made the announcement on Monday at the inaugural Farmers’ Conference held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) in Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.

The president said the government has brought the commercial banks together.

It is negotiating agricultural loans to attract the same incentives as the low-income housing loans. One bank has already signed on. “Already, we have the commitment from Republic Bank that they are going to set aside resources for agricultural loans at a preferential rate, and we are negotiating that rate, which I hope can be announced even before the end of the conference, at the end of this week,” President Ali said.

Demerara Bank already offers poultry loans at 5 per cent. The president said the government is working to bring those loans under the new incentive arrangement as well. “That is what we do every single day for farmers. We work hard. We try to bring the private sector along. We improve the financial sector so that we can tackle the challenges farmers face in a multidimensional way,” he said.

The financing push comes as demand for credit in the sector grows. Almost 30 per cent of the applications the Guyana Development Bank (GDB) has received since it launched just over a week ago come from agriculture.

“If there is one indication as to how the policy direction is leading to a new wave of excitement, a new wave in agriculture, it is this fact, that almost 30 per cent of all the applications so far in the development bank is in the agricultural sector,” the president said.

He contrasted this with 2020. Then, large farmers and producers were scaling back their investments, and many medium-sized operators, especially in rice and poultry, were leaving the sector. Today, he said, production has recovered and young people are forming consortiums to invest in poultry and other agricultural businesses.

President Ali also pointed to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest report on Guyana. It found that agriculture has grown by an average of 10 per cent a year since 2022 and now accounts for six per cent of GDP, or one-fifth of non-oil GDP. He said that growth is a direct result of government investment, subsidies and policies to support farmers.

He added that more people investing in production will keep that growth going.

“Once we have people interested in the production of goods, especially in the agricultural sector, then what the IMF report is saying about us today will continue to expand and continue to grow,” President Ali said.

The Conference forms part of Agriculture Month of activities held under the theme “Innovate, Nourish, Grow: Building a Strong and Sustainable Guyana.” (DPI)