The government has kicked off two major cheap loan projects with a combined value of 93.6 billion baht to help reduce the cost of farming, according to the state-run Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).
The projects come in the form of a loan card provided to farmers and a loan to be disbursed to farm cooperatives and community enterprise groups.
Farmers will each be given Kaset Sukjai ("Happy Farming") cards with 30,000-baht credit. They can use the cards to buy farm supplies such as fertilisers, pesticides, seeds and fuel as well as small farm machines at the A-Shop on the BAAC application. Materials at the shop are supplied by more than 17,000 participating stores, said Deputy Agriculture Minister Luck Wajananawat.
Mr Luck said the cards are safe and easy to use. The interest charged for the loan through the cards is lower than the usual rate, which will help reduce farming expenses.
The BAAC estimates the loans will reduce farming costs by 3.3 billion baht a year.
The deputy minister said the loan cards target about three million farms. The budget for the project is 90 billion baht. The interest for the 30,000-baht loan is 3% per year, as opposed to the normal rate of 7% charged by commercial banks.
As for farm institutes -- a general, collective term for farm cooperatives and community enterprise groups nationwide -- the loans extended to them total 3.6 billion baht. The targets are 500 such institutes -- 300 cooperatives to be given loans of 10 million baht each and 200 enterprises to be allocated a loan of no more than three million baht each.
The interest for the loan to farm institutes is also 3% per year, compared with the normal rate of 5%.
The loans to institutes are designed to provide additional working capital to add financial strength to the cooperatives and community enterprise groups. The money would be spent procuring fertilisers and farm materials to be sold cheaply to members or non-member farmers, said Mr Luck.
Loans for both cardholders and institutes will begin to be disbursed from May 1 and will continue until April 30 next year with the repayment period lasting until April 30, 2020.
Mr Luck presided over the official launch of the two loan projects at the Khlong Khuean farming cooperative in Khlong Khuean district of Chachoengsao yesterday.
Joining the launch was Apirom Sukprasert, the BAAC president, who said farmers can also purchase rice for personal consumption with the Kaset Sukjai cards, which have the QR code payment facility.
He said the stores which will be participating in the projects offer quality farm materials and supplies and, with the cards, farmers will have access to a large variety of goods at reasonable prices.
The cards also support the government's policy of moving towards a cashless society, the BAAC president said.