DUSHANBE, May 14, 2009, Asia-Plus — To this date, cotton farmers have repaid only 47 percent of last year’s government credit given to them through six banks last year.
“Cotton-growing farms have repaid to banks 64.13 million somoni so far,” Safar Mahmadiyev, the head of the economy and forecasting directorate within the Ministry of Finance (MoF), said.
He said that in 2008 the government gave a 140 million somoni credit to farmers and only 47 percent of that had been repaid so far.
According to him, they have repaid 19 million somoni to Amonatbonk (Tajikistan’s savings bank), which provided 40 million somoni of state funds in loans to farmers last year, 18.7 million somoni to Agroinvestbonk (50 million somoni), 15 million somoni to Orienbonk (35 million somoni), more than 3.5 million somoni to Tajikistan Development Bank (5 million somoni), and more than 2million somoni to Tajprombank (5 million somoni). Besides, 5 million somoni of state funds were provided to farmers last year through Tojik Sodirot Bonk (TSB). Farmers’ loans to TSB had now been completely paid back, Mahmadiyev said.
We will recall that farmers were supposed to repay their loans by April 1, 2009, but the fall in international price of cotton and in demand for the product caused by the global financial crisis has hurt many Tajik farmers. Taking all this into consideration, the government postponed debt repayments for farmers until January 1, 2010.
It is to be noted, that this year, the government has given a 180 million somoni credit to farming units.
