KULOB, June 23, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Open joint-stock company Agroinvestbonk has lowered loan interest rates for farmers in three districts of Khatlon’s Kulob region from 30 to 14 percent, the head of Agroinvestbonk’s branch in the city of Kulob Sayfiddin Qadamov said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

Last year, the bank provided loans to three cotton-growing districts in the region – Kulob, Hamadoni and Vose.  The loans were provided to 24 farming units in the mentioned districts at annual interest rates of 22-30 percent.  “The loan interest rate has been lowered to 14 percent,” Qadamov said.

Founded in 1992, Agroinvestbonk, with headquarters in Dushanbe, has main branches in Khorog, Khujand, Kulob and Qurghon Teppa and 61 other branches across the republic.

We will recall that last year, the government gave a 140 million somoni credit to farmers through six banks and the loans were supposed to be repaid by April 1, 2009.  The fall in the international price of cotton and in demand for the product hurt many Tajik farmers, and therefore, the government decided to postpone debt repayments for them until November 1, 2009.  Besides, by government’s resolution banks were obligated to lower annual loan interest rates for cotton farmers to 14 percent.