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CDA board approves loan program with USDA
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Posted on Sep 10 2004
The Commonwealth Development Authority board of directors has adopted a resolution that calls for a loan program partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development.
CDA board chair Sixto Igisomar said the board decided to go ahead with the program in a meeting Thursday to help more families or small businesses cope in the aftermath of typhoons.
Igisomar said that both the CDA and the USDA-RD will provide an initial capital of $500,000 each to start the program. He said the program would give out up to $25,000 in commercial and or agricultural loans.
“We’d start it as soon as the money comes in,” he said.
In previous years, the CDA had assisted farmers whose crops were destroyed by weather disturbances in the Commonwealth. The CDA then worked with the USDA’s Farm Service Agency in developing a special program to help local farmers, including those in the aquaculture business.
Under the program, called Agricultural Risk Protection 2002, farmers would pay $100 service fee per crop. Crops that were eligible included 60-day crops, aquaculture, and ornamental nursery.
This insurance, CDA said, would not only help affected farmers but also provide the necessary boost for the local agricultural industry.
Insurance companies in the Commonwealth normally exclude crop and marine insurance, which render the farming and fishing industry vulnerable in times of economic hardship.
