THE APNU+AFC Government is not contemplating the establishment of an Agriculture Bank, President David Granger said on Friday.He said that even at the micro level, Agricultural Banks are not necessarily profitable. “Agriculture in Guyana can be a little problematic, with the floods, droughts, sometimes insect infestation; and it is a different regime,” the President said while noting that commercial banks prefer to offer short-term high-interest loans, most of which are not agriculture related.

However, while the Government is not contemplating the establishment of an Agriculture Credit Bank, it stands ready to support the “private banking which goes into agriculture and provides credit.”

The Guyana Agricultural and Industrial Development Bank (GAIBANK) was established several years ago, but was closed down over a decade ago. One of the problems it had encountered was in collecting outstanding debts that were extended.

For a number of years, the privately-owned Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) has been in the forefront of providing loans to rice farmers and other persons involved in agriculture.

During the launch of the Agriculture Ministry’s 2014-2020 Strategic Plan for the agriculture sector, the then Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, had called for an Agriculture Bank to be established.
The call was made at a time when the then opposition APNU and AFC were pushing for a revolving fund to be created to assist rice farmers in particular.