Vietnam Approves New Loan Package For Farmers

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved to spend about 12 trillion Vietnamese dong (700 million U.S. dollars) on the country's new lending interest rate support program for farmers, said a report of the government's website on Monday.

Accordingly, the government will provide interest-free loans for farmers and entities to buy fixed assets for production such as agricultural machinery and vehicles. The loan period is 24 months. The loan program will start from May 1 to December 31, 2009.

The new lending interest rate program will also offer farmers a4 percent interest rate subsidy on loans for a one-year term to buy fertilizers, pesticides, and construction materials.

The program is as part of Vietnam's government's efforts to help the country's agricultural sector struggle against the ongoing impacts of the global financial crisis, said the report.