— says move was last resort
The Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED) was recently forced to commence enforcement of security on the assets charged by seven rice farmers and took possession of the relevant assets of three farmers as settlement.
IPED in a release said the other four negotiated arrangements that it found satisfactory.
“In cases where possession was taken, the loans were in arrears for more than one year and renegotiations were either unsuccessful or the farmer may have been uncooperative. Under no circumstances is possession of assets a first choice. In fact, it is the last course of action,” IPED said.
The entity said it fully understands the crisis being faced by farmers and have been working with all affected persons who are cooperating and putting plans in place for their future crops.
IPED is a not for profit non- governmental organisation, which is self- sustainable and one that is helping people who are helping themselves for 30 years now.
IPED’s facility to rice farmers is structured to facilitate repayment based on seasonality and other factors affecting the rice industry.
“Where necessary, appropriate flexibility is exercise to ensure that farmers can continue to cultivate and carry on their businesses. However, in a few cases when these efforts fail to bring about the desired results IPED is forced to enforce the security it has against such facilities,” the release said.