Cuba: Over 13,000 Farmers Have Received Bank Credits

HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 11 (acn) The president of Cuba’s Banco de Credito y Comercio (BANDEC), Ileana Estevez, told the press that Cuba has extended credits to more than 13,000 people who benefited from a national program to lease idle lands in order to boost agricultural production nationwide.

Estevez, who said that state banks have lent millions at interest rates ranging from 3% in the first years to a high of 7%, added that, although figures may vary from year to year, today the challenge is bigger than ever due to the current process to update the national economic model.

The executive told Juventud Rebelde that granting agricultural credits is a risky activity because of the perils associated to climate, plagues, and diseases.

Cuba’s restructuring of the agricultural sector began in 2008, when private farmers were allowed to cultivate fallow state land. The main purpose of the initiative is to reduce dependence on costly food imports and is part of a wider economic overhaul. Farmers can work plots as big as 100 acres (40 hectares) in renewable agreements of 10 years for individuals and up to 25 years for cooperatives.