Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE National Development Corporation (NDC) welcomed Tuesday talks with farmers on adjusting credit agreements for their URSUS farm machinery and tractor parts, most of whom their loans are overdue.
NDC, managing a 110million US dollar loan facility from the Republic of Poland, rolled out a cash and credit URSUS tractors scheme to farmers as part of supporting the country’s agricultural sector. The government’s supported-cheap tractors scheme has faced serious turbulence, mainly on repaying the loan.
According to the Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade, Exaud Kigahe, NDC is currently accepting talks with farmers to fix new dates and modalities to repay the overdue loan.
He said a similar approach was adopted in 2020 in which the government extended loan payment deadlines, notably to those facing an overdue loan payment.
“The procedure is that of providing additional contracts to all debtors of URSUS tractors nationwide,” he said opposing a plan by Kiteto lawmaker, Edward Olelekaita (CCM). The MP had requested the government’s plan to lower the cost and extend time for loan payments for farmers in his constituency.
The Deputy Minister argued that the fresh contracts will involve the debt balances and are not subject to interest. The process of being given additional contracts involves the farmer and NDC sitting down and discussing how the farmer will repay the remaining debt.
“Such exercise is being implemented in Kiteto and will be extended those whose contracts have expired,” Kigahe added.
The URSUS Tractors Project is based on Economic Cooperation Agreementbetween the United Republic of Tanzania government and its counterpart government of the Republic of Poland, signed on 28 September 2015.
Poland appointed the now debt-stricken URSUS and Tanzania picked SUMA JKT and later changed to NDC to act as principal implementers of the project.
Reports from the Ministry of Industry and Trade details that the state set affordable prices that most farmers could afford buying and borrowing the tractors.
The focus was on the tractors’ contribution in boosting production of food crops, trade and production of industrial raw materials. The loan granted was interest free.
Kigahe insisted the goal is not to make profit but enable farmers to get rid of the use of a hand plow and increase productivity.
