The government has commenced a pledge loan scheme under a concessionary interest rate for Small and Medium-scale (SME) Paddy Millers and Cooperative Societies for purchasing paddy in the 2024/2025 Maha Season, to maintain a reasonable price for farmers.
According to a statement from the Department of Development Finance of the Ministry of Finance, the implementation period of the concessionary loan scheme is 03 January to 15 May 2025.
The target Group of this loan scheme is Small and Medium-scale (SME) paddy millers and Cooperative Societies, subject to the maximum daily paddy milling capacity of 25MT per day.
Under this loan scheme, all borrowers can obtain loans at an interest rate of 7% per annum with an amount of Rs.50 million and the respective loan should be repaid within 180 days.
The total value of the loans to be disbursed by the Banks is Rs. 10,000 million under this loan scheme.
It has also been planned to purchase paddy at a Minimum Purchase Price (MPP) declared by the Department of Agriculture to ensure a reasonable price for paddy harvest by farmers. (Newswire)
