Low-interest loans of over 10.3 billion kyats (about over 86 million U.S. dollars) sourced from Chinese EXIM Bank have been provided for agriculture and livestock co-operatives in Mon State, Southern part of Myanmar, by the local department of cooperatives for the harvest season, according to local news source Friday.
U Sein Han, an official of the aforementioned department, said that farmers have been provided with the loans in a bid to promote their capacity and provide them with employment opportunities.
"Although the amount they receive is not completely life-changing, it will support them to some extent," he added.
The loans had been provided with a 1.5 percent interest rate through a group-guarantee system, meaning that if someone failed to pay back a loan on time, the remaining members were then responsible for making up the failed payment said by officer.
The loans have been provided across 51 co-operative societies, comprising of 13,652 members in Thaton Township, Mon State, since 2014. Each cooperative member is provided with a loan of 100,000 kyats (90 dollars).
