Tuesday, December 20 2011 17:55
Over 12bln AMD to be seized from Armenian farmers against overdue loans
ArmInfo. Over 12bln AMD will be seized from Armenian farmers against overdue loans, reports the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation-Armenia.
Head of the Foundation David Amiryan told journalists on Tuesday about the social and personal problems the indebted farmers are faced with.
He said that the foundation has allocated almost $3mln for this particular survey and social and cultural projects in Armenia and has ordered almost 200 articles about this situation.
Amiryan did not accuse either the banks or the farmers, so, it was a bit unclear why he had called the journalists in the first place. He just said that the foundation also lends money to farmers, but he did not specify the terms.
Armenia's Deputy Agriculture Minister Robert Makaryan said that the country's commercial banks have lent a total of 15bln AMD to 23,000 farms. The state interest on the loans is 4-6%, while the farmers are borrow them at 8-10%. Makaryan said that the key reason why some of the loans were not repaid is that the banks did not inquire into their solvency. He said that the loans are provided for the purchase of cars, domestic appliances or house repairs. He was not able to say how much exactly the farmers owe.