Farmers have appealed to financial institutions in the country to provide them with low interest loans to improve agricultural production in the country. Speaking in separate interviews at the just concluded agricultural expo at Mulindi, Kigali, several farmers said financial institutions should reduce the interest rates so that they can access soft loans.David Batabaro, a large scale cassava producer from Ruhango sector, Ruhango District said he previously got a credit from the bank which he invested in his large scale cassava farm but accessing credit is generally hard for them.“I have been supported by the government and the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC) with fertilisers to enrich my cassava field but I need a soft loan to increase on my production,” he said.For past few years farmers were ignorant of the procedures involved in accessing credit facilities; however financial institutions, farmers associations and NGOs have presently enlightened them on how to access loans.Use of fertilisers Nevertheless, the farmers said they are challenged by high cost of credit facilities because farming is regarded as a risky business.Batabaro explained that using fertilisers has increased cassava production and he is planning to purchase more land for his produce, despite the fact that he has 16 hectares of cassava farm land.“I produce 20 tonnes of cassava on one hectare which is an indication that if I get more land to cultivate on, the cassava production in Rwanda would be high,” said the 45-year-old.The farmers asked the government to expedite the supply of fertilisers and to provide adequate seeds to them to increase agricultural production.Esperance Mukarugwiza, the coordinator at Agri-Hub Rwanda said that, soft loans help farmers to boost their production capabilities. “If financial institutions give low cost credit facilities to farmers, it’s very critical since it promotes food security in the country,” she said.Agri-Hub is a network of regional and international organisations in eleven countries which seeks to build solid, transparent and action-oriented support networks to promote farmer entrepreneurship.According to 2013/2014 budget, the government allocated Rfw28.4b to increase access to clean water and improve land husbandry to boost productivity.More than 80 percent of Rwandans depend on subsistence agriculture, facilitating their production will increase the country’s move to improve food production.Corne Delan, the senior project manager agri-business at Bank Populaire Du Rwanda said: “We help farmers to access all agricultural credit facilities and we hope they make use of loans we lend to them.”Without divulging details regarding the interest rate they charge on loans given to farmers, he said, the interest rate was affordable because the bank recognises the importance of agriculture. “We strengthen agricultural production in Rwanda through supporting cooperatives. We also encourage farmers to join cooperatives.”
