BoU injects Shs 800bln in agriculture
LIRA, October 21, 2023 – The Bank of Uganda [ BoU ] has so far disbursed Shs 800 billion to farmers in the country under the Agricultural Credit Facility [ACF] introduced by the government 14 years ago.
The head of disbursement and recovery in BoU, Winnie Wuliisa disclosed the development days ago at Margarita Palace Hotel in Lira City during a town hall meeting organised by the local financial sector regulator.
BoU uses town hall meetings to inform stakeholders, about its work, and its impact, answer questions from the public, and listen to feedback.
Wuliisa said government together with the financial institutions decided to create the ACF in 2009 for farmers to borrow at an affordable interest rate. This is after most farmers found it hard to borrow from commercial banks which have stringent lending conditions.
She said the financial institutions contribute 50 percent of the loan facility and the government also contributes 50 percent.
“The interest rate is 12 percent per annum which means farmers who are borrowing pay only 1 percent interest per month,” she said.
She called upon farmers to take advantage of the ACF to transform the agricultural sector and contribute to the development of the economy of Uganda.
“Farmers can access these loans from the financial institution supervised by Bank of Uganda because the interest is relatively low and longer repayment period,” she said.
The BoU Deputy Governor Michael Atingi-Ego urged the people in Lango Sub-region to take action to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change by supporting initiatives like reforestation, developing drought-resistant crops, and improving water management practices.
“Climate change poses a significant threat to food security and prices,” he said adding that Lango Sub-region is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, given that the main economic activity here is agriculture.
Atingi-Ego said climate change which has led to changes in rainfall patterns, drought, flooding, and increased temperatures is a pressing issue affecting Uganda’s agriculture, water resources, and public health.
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