This is a subscriber-only article
The Irish Farmers Journal understands that farmers will get access to a new low-interest loan fund.
The fund is expected to be twice the size of last year’s €150m fund but is aimed at all SME businesses.
The scheme, worth €300m, will be shared across the Departments of Agriculture and Enterprise.
Of that €300m, agriculture has at least a 40% share while the Department of Agriculture will also be able to leverage a separate €25m for low-cost loans.
Loan commitment
In response to a question by the Irish Farmers Journal at this year’s National Ploughing Championships, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said a new low-cost loan scheme is “absolutely something that we are looking at”.
An Irish Farmers Journal/Red C poll of 1,000 farmers last month showed that two-thirds of farmers surveyed are in debt to at least one creditor or supplier.
SHARING OPTIONS: