Farmers in the Kayah State want the Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank (MADB) to push back the deadline for paying back the agricultural loan until seasonal crops have been sold.
The state-owned bank instructed the farmers to pay back the agricultural loans at the end of the financial year before April.
Farmers advise the MADB to extend the loan deadline until paddies have been harvested and farmers can get a good price.
“It would be better if we can pay back the loans before Thingyan. It would be better if the deadline can be extended. The bank told us to pay back the loans on the Kayah Day every year. Paddy prices are low during that time. It’s very difficult for the farmers because rice only started entering the market. Rice prices are better in March and April. It would be better for us if we can pay back our loans around that time,” said Paw Lu, a local resident.
The MADB lends Ks 150,000 per acre for paddy farms and Ks 50,000 per acre for planting various kinds of crops such as maize and sesame to farmers to make pre-investments.
Farmers are reluctant to sell their rice to pay back the loans on time since new crops cannot be sold in the market and they cannot get a good price.
“When I try to sell the rice, the market sellers told me that they don’t buy new rice yet and they only buy old rice. I can’t sell them. When I asked around, I would have sold it if I can get Ks 1,500 per bucket. After everything has been sold, I have to pay back the agricultural loan. After paying the worker fees, we have nothing left. It’s difficult for our family to earn a living,” said a farmer.
U Kyaw Thura, state manager of the Kayah State Agricultural Development Bank, said the bank plans to postpone the loan deadline after making inspections if the crops have been damaged by natural disasters.
“If crops have been damaged by rain, the agricultural and land records departments will conduct field surveys. If it is true that the crops have been damaged and three-fourth of his (the farmer) property has been damaged, we will go and confirm it and submit to the headquarters with endorsement by the state government. He won’t have to pay back the capital this year. He can pay it back next year. He will only have to pay the interest,” he explained.
The interest rate for agricultural loan is 8 kyats per 100 kyats. Loans can be applied after submitting the farmland record.
A total of Ks 3.2116 billion has been slated as agricultural loan for the Kayah State in 2018 and they will be given out to farmers within May and June.
