This is a subscriber-only article
Farm organisations have welcomed the launch of the €300m Future Growth Loan Scheme, however there are fears that it is out of reach for farmers.
The IFA’s farm business committee chair Martin Stapleton said “it is disappointing that there is no opportunity to apply for working capital under this scheme”.
He said the number of farmers who will consider this a valuable scheme will be small, but it will be a positive for those who do not have access to security.
The scheme is designed to support long-term capital investment and it will be open to farmers from 17 April 2019, 40% of the funding is available to the agri food sector. For loans up to €250,000, the maximum rate is 4.5%. For larger loans, a rate of 3.5% is available.
The minimum loan value is €50,000, with unsecured loans of up to €500,000 available. These loans are based on a repayment schedule of eight to 10 years.
The Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) said that the scheme lacks detail around the farming specifics.
“If a farmer wants to consider applying, there is no obvious procedure to which he or she can refer or follow,” said ICMSA Farm Business Committee chair Shane O’Loughlin on the information on the SBCI website.
“The minimum amount of €50,0000 will actually be in excess of many requirements, we appreciate that there must be a cut-off at a particular point, but we would lower the amount to €20,000,” he said, adding that he is disappointed at the 4.5% rate.
SHARING OPTIONS: