Fund Offers Loan Option To Educate Farmers’ Children

Registered sugarcane farmers or farmers who want to enrol their children in the University of Fiji’s Bachelor of Agricultural Engineering programme can apply for a loan from the Sugar Cane Growers Fund (SCGF).

Fund chief executive officer, Raj Sharma said the aim of the loan facility was to promote modern and innovative agriculture that would benefit the sugar industry and beyond.

“It’s the time that we further improve our agricultural and food security and at the same time bring around productive famers with innovation and technology,” Mr Sharma said.

“The fund has been having an educational loan facility for a long time, but we are collaborating with a university for this programme for the first time.”

Registered sugarcane farmers aged 21 and up are eligible to apply for the loan.

They may apply for a $10,000 educational loan, he said, but other loans had a higher limit.

The CEO stated that they would work with growers who qualified for the loans.

The deductions would be immediate and direct from sugarcane proceeds with an interest rate of six per cent.

The university will accept applications by the end of this month.

Feedback:  sheenal.charan@fijisun.com.fj