Farmers from 27 village tracts in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, could not get agricultural bank loans due to the lack of village administrators, according to farmers.

Since almost all ward and village administrators in Kyauktaw Township resigned from their post in the first week of June, famers could get bank loans because they require the signature of their village administrator to approve them for the loan.

Only some farmers who could get the signature of their village administrator before they resigned, said U Kyaw Sein Win from Pyain Chaung village.

“The bank could not disburse loans for those who could not show their documents with the signature of their village administrators. So, they cannot buy fertilizer and pay wages to their workers. If farmers cannot get agricultural loans this season, they will be in trouble,” he said.

July and August are the best time to grow monsoon paddy and if farmers can’t receive loans, they might face difficulty to do cultivation, said U Aung Kyaw Mya from Pyaung Sate village.

“We have to grow paddy based on the changing seasons. We don’t have river water and an underground water pump. If we can’t grow paddy in a timely fashion, the yield will be smaller than usual,” he said.

U Kyaw Htwee, manager of Legal Aid Network for Farmers (Arakan State) said that farmers can take out loans by showing documents with signatures of hundred household heads and officials of the villages as well as the township administrator and ward/village clerks.

“Normally, farmers can take out loan by showing their ownership documents. According to the procedure in villages, administrators collected all documents from farmers and take out loans through the Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank.  Loans should be disbursed to farmer if they can show the document with the signature of an official of a village or household head if a village does not have administrator,” he said.

U Ba Shwe, manager of the Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank, said that the bank can give out loans if farmers can show the document with the signature of a temporary village administrator.

“The bank loan proposal needs the signature of an official from the General Administration Department. We can pay out loans if the proposal has the stamp and signature of an administrator or acting administrator.

The Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank has planned to disburse over MMK84 billion as Agri-loans in the rainy season for farmers in Arakan State.