Farmers will have access to just 16% of the €300m Future Growth Loan Scheme.

The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland has confirmed farmers will have only limited access to the fund.

“A maximum of €50m will be provided to the primary agriculture sector,” a spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal.

A significant proportion of the remaining funding under the scheme is expected to go to businesses in the wider agri-food sector, he said.

The loan fund was promised 18 months ago in Budget 2018 to help support farmer capital investment in the face of Brexit.

It has been dogged by delays, with a new launch date promised for March this year.

Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed previously said that as 40% of the seed money had been provided by his Department, the agri-food sector would have access to €120m of the overall fund at an interest rate of less than 4.5%.

Under the 2017 low-cost loan scheme, €145m was drawn down by farmers within 10 weeks at an interest rate of 2.95%.