Guanacaste
Cattle Ranchers To Benefit From New Credit
Fund
(InfoWebPress) — The national cattle
ranching industry will benefit from a
6-billion colon new line of credit intended
to help farmers deal with the current
economic crisis. The funds are being made
available through the “Program for Rescuing
the Beef Cattle Industry MAG-BNCR-CORFOGA.”
According to Juan Bautista Mendez Cruz, an
official with the Ministry of Agriculture (MAG)
in Hojancha, Guanacaste, cattle ranching
generates more than 6 million colones
(little over $10,000) per family per year in
Guanacaste.
Mendez Cruz added that in the Chorotega
region there are some 377,000 hectares of
land dedicated to cattle ranching, involving
some 7,000 families. The average farm size
is 57 hectares per producer, with 81 percent
being owned by small and medium-size
ranchers.
As part of this program, state-owned Banco
Nacional (BNCR) will open a line of credit,
while MAG and the Cattle Ranching
Corporation (CORFOGA) will provide 250
million colones with the goal of providing
temporary aid to debtors — to the tune of
about 4 percent over the interest rate
established by the bank during the first 18
months of the loan.
“This program seeks to provide a line of
credit to cattle ranchers, which would allow
them to retain and buy male and female
calves for meat-production and double
purpose. The program attempts to impact the
market and improve prices,” said Aldo
Mazzero, president CORFOGA.
Mazzero underscored that the ultimate goal
of this program is to promote the demand for
cattle through purchasing, as well as to
decrease the supply of cows via retention on
farms — all of which is expected to
stimulate the growth of cattle prices so
that this industry can become more dynamic.
The effort is also aimed at expanding the
capacity for production of forages on farms
through forage banks and promoting the
adequate use of minerals.
“We know that credit is not the solution to
all cattle ranching problems, but it
positively contributes to dealing with the
emergency at hand and softening the effects
of the crisis on prices, by creating a more
dynamic situation as far as demand for
animals,” Agriculture Minister Javier Flores
Galarza said. “This is a viable countrywide
credit strategy, which will have much impact
because it will involve nearly 1,200 small
producers, who will also have the support of
the Development Banking System for those who
don’t have enough guarantees to access
credit at the moment.”
About the program, Jose Antonio Vasquez,
deputy manager of Banco Nacional, said:
“This alliance with CORFOGA and MAG gives us
much satisfaction, because during a time of
crisis, when prices go down, there’s nothing
better than working together so that the
cattle industry can move forward with all
its needs and can be more competitive.
“Today we are offering the experience of
Banco Nacional to be used in this program,”
Vasquez added. “This effort will also be
backed by BN Desarrollo (a development
portfolio of Banco Nacional) so that the
results will be those we are expecting, that
is, the reactivation of the market under the
principle of sustainability.”
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