BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 6
By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:
Azerbaijan’s Agrarian Credit and Development Agency (AKIA), as a state institution, had already performed most of the work on easing the access to financing for farmers, the agency’s Chairman Mirza Aliyev told Trend.
According to him, to this end, in addition to soft loans with an annual rate of up to 7 percent, microloans were issued at a rate of 12 percent.
“We have created simplified conditions for obtaining agricultural production and livestock raising equipment. Moreover, farmers can get the equipment or livestock from any supplier with a state benefit. When receiving loans, the interest on the loan is fully subsidized by the state," he stressed.
As Aliyev noted, the liberalization also affected the fertilizer and pesticide sectors. An electronic subsidy system has been launched, which allows farmers to easily receive state support. Using all these opportunities creates the conditions for the expansion of farms.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev signed decree dated April 14, 2020 on allocating funds for improving provision of the agricultural producers with microloans in the pandemic conditions and afterwards.
According to the decree, 30 million manat ($17.6 million) was allocated to the Agrarian Credit and Development Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture from the Reserve Fund of Azerbaijan’s President envisioned in the 2020 state budget for issuing unsecured loans in agrarian sector with the aim to meet demands of agricultural producers in financial means in the pandemic conditions and onwards.
Agrarian Credit and Development Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture was established in accordance with the order of the President of Azerbaijan on measures to improve management in the agrarian division. It is the executive body that ensures the involvement and use of loans for state support of individuals and legal entities engaged in entrepreneurial activity in the agrarian sector.
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