Attapeu to subsidise farmers' loan interest payments
Vientiane Times, 28 Dec 2009
Attapeu province will pay half of the interest on loans made to Ketsana-affected farmers for dry season rice planting, provincial officials have said.
The provincial Standing Party Committee made the decision recently to pay 50 percent of the six-month loan interest, said provincial Agriculture and Forestry Department Director Soukchai Silapa.
An announcement is being prepared to inform all farmers of the decision. About 135 million kip will be needed for the subsidy programme.
The programme is extra assistance offered by the provincial authorities in addition to other forms of support.
These assistance packages aim to help farmers resume a normal life and achieve rice self sufficiency.
The programme is the first of its kind ever offered in the province, which was seriously affected by tropical storm Ketsana, which swept through the south of Laos at the end of September. The storm resulted in an estimated 800 billion kip in losses and 28 deaths.
The province will subsidise only the interest on loans taken out for planting purposes, Mr Soukchai said, adding that officials will inspect properties to make sure the money is used appropriately.
“We will look into the real needs with regard to planting expenses to ensure farmers do not take advantage of this policy by asking for more money than they need,” Mr Soukchai said.
Acceptable expenses will cover such things as buying fertiliser and preparing land.
Provincial authorities want to double the area used for dry season rice from more than 500 hectares last year to 1,100 hectares this year. They hope to regain rice self sufficiency after large areas were damaged by repeated storms, particularly Ketsana.
Mr Soukchai said repairs to 16 damaged irrigation systems were almost complete and would be finished fully this month.
