Uganda: Govt unlikely to recover Shs5.5b advanced in agricultural loans

Government has written off Shs5.51b worth of agricultural loans as money that is unlikely to be recovered. The money was advanced under the Agricultural Credit Facility, a setup in which government under Bank of Uganda, partners with commercial banks to advance loan facilities to farmers with the aim of spurring commercial agriculture. In details contained in the Agriculture Semi-annual Budget Monitoring report for the financial year ended June 21, the Ministry of Finance said money advanced to at least 23 projects, amounting to Shs5.51b was declared delinquent (non-performing loans), representing 1.9 per cent of the total loans refinanced. The rate, the report indicated, had grown up from 1.24 per cent prior to Covid-19-related disruptions. During the period, the report noted, the Agricultural Credit Facility had received loan applications worth Shs960.5b but by December 2020, cumulative disbursements totaled to Shs581.2b advanced to 863 farming-agricultural related projects ...