The number of recipients of loans within the Compact Credit Facility that aims to facilitate the farmers’ access to funding for investments in the post-harvest infrastructure and high-value agriculture will increase significantly, IPN reports, quoting the executive director of the Millennium Challenge Account Moldova Valentina Badrajan.
In a program on Radio Moldova, the director said that loans of US$4.7 million have been granted until now from the Compact funds of US$12 million. They generated additional investments of US$10.8 million. Most of the loans were used to build cold storage rooms for fruit and vegetables with a total capacity of about 19,000 tonnes.
Compact loans will continue to be provided this year. From February 1, entrepreneurs may apply for loans for construction or procurement of greenhouses for vegetables, procurement of equipment and/or associated land and new irrigation equipment and weather stations. The investments in new plantations of fruits, berries, grape or nurseries of fruit trees, table grape and berries have also become eligible for the Compact loans.
The minimum loan amount has been cut from US$20 000 to US$ 5 000, while the maximum amount has remained US$600 000 and the loan term is from 3 to 7 years. “This will enable to lend to a larger number of farmers,” said Valentina Badrajan
The loans are meant for agricultural producers and agribusinesses from Ungheni, Nisporeni, Leova, Cahul, Orhei, Criuleni, Dubasari, Anenii Noi, Hancesti, Straseni, Cantemir, Telenesti, Calarasi, the municipality of Chisinau, except for the city, and the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia. These are districts where there are irrigation systems rehabilitated with Compact funds and the neighboring districts.
The improvement of access to funding is one of the four activities of the Compact component Transition to High-Value Agriculture. The other three activities concern the rehabilitation of centralized irrigation systems, reformation of the irrigation sector and increase in sales in agriculture. The second component envisions the reconstruction of 93 km of the Sarateni-Soroca road.
The 2010-2015 Compact is a US$262 million grant provided for investments in transition to high value agriculture and improvement of road infrastructure in the Republic of Moldova in order to contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction.
