The Cabinet has agreed to provide a 12-month debt moratorium, from October 1, to 2.698 million farmers who owe a maximum of Bt300,000 across all their loan contracts with the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).
Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said on Tuesday that any indebted farmers who are customers of the BAAC and are interested in taking advantage of the debt moratorium scheme can apply from October 1 until next September 30.
Those with Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) can also apply, but only after they have refinanced their debts with BAAC.
In parallel with the debt moratorium, the BAAC will cooperate with relevant state agencies to organise training courses for farmers, to improve their skills and potential to increase their revenues and competitiveness.
The deputy finance minister said that the debt moratorium for small farming debtors is just the first phase of the government’s three-year debt moratorium scheme for indebted farmers.
