It is intended for the acquisition and installation of irrigation equipment in Mendoza. Up to 100% of the investment will be financed. Producers declared in emergency will have priority, in at least three agricultural cycles, of the last five years.
The Minister of Economy and Energy, Enrique Vaquié, together with his Treasury and Finance counterpart, Víctor Fayad, presented an innovative line of credit to combat frost damage.
The financing that will be granted through the Fund for Transformation and Growth (FTyC), within the framework of its Water Efficiency Credit Line, will have special financial conditions.
“Frost generates the greatest loss of cultivated hectares in the province, which is why we work together with the private sector to generate this line that, due to its rates and terms, is very convenient, mainly for small producers,” said Minister Vaquié .
Finance 100%
For his part, Sergio Moralejo, Undersecretary of Agriculture and Livestock, explained: “This line is innovative because, first of all, it finances 100% of what is invested and allows the improvement of irrigation systems to mitigate the impact of the greatest climatic contingency that we have. in the province, which are the frosts”.
“With a 10-year term and the first two years of grace, the rate for small producers is around 16% per year, compared to a market rate that does not fall below 72%. We are making a great effort as a State, with 50 points less, to accompany the producers. Through Mendoza Activa, we also offer various investment promotion lines”.
“We intend to begin to have a protection that allows us to recover between 800 and 1,000 hectares per year. It is ambitious, but if we calculate the losses of a harvest of a 20-hectare farm, the losses alone would pay 100% of the protection system in one year. That is to say that with a year a problem can be solved in the future”, added the official.
As detailed by Moralejo, the financing should be destined for the acquisition and installation of irrigation equipment, including complementary works, and the necessary extensions for protection against frost. Up to 100% of the net investment to be made may be financed, taking into account the category of the applicant.
| Applicant category according to cultivated hectares | Maximum amount of credit per Applicant | |
| Microagroproductor | Up to 15 ha | $ 7.969.500 |
| Micro | More than 15 ha and up to 30 ha | $ 13.662.000 |
| small stretch 1 | More than 30 ha and up to 50 ha | $ 22.770.000 |
| small stretch 2 | More than 50 ha and up to 80 ha | $ 27.324.000 |
| Median section 1 | More than 80 ha and up to 100 ha | $ 36.432.000 |
| Median section 2 | More than 100 hectares | $ 72.864.000 |
In addition, from the FTyC they explained that the applicant may require an amount higher than that provided for their category, but in that case the interest rate of the corresponding section will be applied to the credit.
Financial conditions
The financing will be amortized over a total term of 10 years, with the first 2 years of grace, in which only compensatory interest will be paid. The capital and interest installments may have semi-annual or annual periodicity, at the request of the applicant.
The compensatory interests applicable to the credit vary according to the category of the applicant. Thus, if it is a micro-agricultural producer, an Annual Nominal Rate of 16.74% will be applied; for a microproducer, the applicable rate will be 27.90%; for the Small Tranche category it will be 33.48% and for the Medium producer it will be 39.06%
In their allocation, priority will be given to agricultural producers who prove, through the corresponding damage certificates, that they have been in a state of emergency and/or agricultural disaster due to frost in at least 3 agricultural cycles of the last 5.
For this reason, it is expected that applications from producers affected by frost will be received until July 15, 2022, with general entry being enabled after that date.
Representatives from the Chambers of Commerce of General Alvear, San Rafael, Bodegas de Argentina, the Rural Society of Valle de Uco and the Federation of the Strategic Plan for the Peach Industry (Fepedi), among other associations, were present at the meeting.
–
