Türkiye unveiled on Tuesday a new financial package worth $5.3 billion (TL 240.62 billion) to support transformation and employment in the agriculture sector in the country, with the first tranche of $750 million to be available this year, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.
"We will provide businesses with financing opportunities of up to $10 million, with a repayment period of up to seven years and a 24-month grace period, depending on the size of the project," Erdoğan told the program held in the capital Ankara to mark World Farmers Day.
The project, which will be supported by the World Bank and which is being launched this year, will span 10 years, according to the president.
"With this project, we will facilitate access to finance for entrepreneurs who want to invest in the agriculture and food sector," he noted.
This funding will be provided for investments in facility construction and for machinery and equipment in the agricultural and food sectors, he added.
"We will provide repayable financing and credit guarantee system support up to 80% of the investment amount," he added.
Addressing the program, Erdoğan said that the mechanism, which will also involve a credit guarantee fund, will provide approximately $500 million for farmers who are facing difficulties in accessing the credit funds.
"(The credit support) will create new channels for 400,000 of our farmers to market their products, and will create new employment opportunities for 250,000 of our citizens," he said.
At the same time, Erdoğan said that the country is facing no issues with agricultural production and food supply security.
He added that the fertilizer stocks "are at sufficient levels," as he recalled that the government has implemented a series of additional measures, ranging from reducing customs duties to zero to halting exports.
