FDB launches Ginger Loan Facility under AVCF model

FDB’s Ginger Loan Facility launch at Lomaivuna Sub-Sector 6 Community Hall.

To provide further affordable financing and access to the confirmed market for the ginger farmers, the Fiji Development Bank (FDB) launched the Ginger Loan Facility today under the Agriculture Value Chain Financing (AVCF) model.

This model connects the farmers with the suppliers, providing them with a guaranteed market for their produce.

As such, the Bank has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kaiming Agro Processing Ltd and Frespac Ginger (Fiji) Pte Ltd as the anchors in this value chain. The eligible ginger farmers under this facility must have a contract with either of the anchors to supply their harvested ginger.

This facility is specifically designed for new and existing ginger farmers who can take advantage of the 4.99% Interest Rate per annum, with loans up to $50,000 whereby the loan term is subject to the loan purpose.

Officiating the launch at Lomaivuna Sub-Sector 6 Community Hall, Chief Guest, Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Civil Service, Communications, Housing and Community Development, Honourable Mr. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the vision of the government is to empower people with the ability to access finance so they can grow.

Hon Attorney-General Mr. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum delivers his keynote address.

“You are able to get the 4.99% Interest Rate because the government is paying much of the interest rate on your behalf. The interest rate is somewhere between 11 to 12 percent but you only pay 4.99% and the government pays the balance to FDB directly on your behalf,” said Hon Sayed-Khaiyum.

The Hon Attorney-General highlighted that ginger is an agricultural item that is highly sought after because of its benefits and that access to cheap finance to further grow this industry is vital.

He commended the development Bank for introducing innovative products for the important sectors of the economy and improving its digital infrastructure.

“I would like to acknowledge FDB for what they have done in a short period of time. FDB has adopted new technology where a lot of repayments are actually done online and loans are disbursed through M-PAISA and MyCash,” he added.

FDB Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Saud Minam revealed that the Bank has continued to assist ginger farmers over the years and as of 30^th April this year, FDB has approved over $1M worth of loans for ginger farmers.

Mr. Minam highlighted that the Bank aims to reach out to even more ginger farmers with this special facility.

FDB CEO Mr. Saud Minam and Mr. Kaiming Qio sign the Memorandum of Understanding which is an important component of the Ginger Loan Facility.

“New ginger farmers can take advantage of this facility for purposes such as fertilizers, labour-hire, weedicides, seedlings, water pumps, land preparation and so forth,” he said.

“As for existing farmers, this Package can assist with their land and infrastructure development such as storage equipment/facilities, hardware, boreholes, construction of storage stores, purchase of farm machinery, etc.”

“Therefore, this facility has been designed keeping in mind the needs of the new farmers who are looking to venture into this type of farming together with how existing farmers can take their farming to another level.”

Mr. Minam also acknowledged Kaiming Agro Processing Ltd and Frespac Ginger (Fiji) Pte Ltd for partnering with FDB to boost the local ginger industry.

Application for this facility will commence on the 1st of June, 2022. Full details about the Package will be available on our website www.fdb.com.fj from the same date.