Harvest on сredit: why Tajik farmers remain cautious about bank loans
A year ago, the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, instructed to make loans more accessible for farmers. A year has passed. What has changed?
In May of last year, the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, instructed the National Bank and credit organizations to support farmers, dehkan farms, and agribusiness enterprises — to make loans more accessible, preferential, and long-term. Formally, agricultural loans are available on the market, but farmers themselves say: with interest rates at 24–28% per annum, borrowing money is still risky.
As the head of state noted at the time, from January to April 2025, credit organizations issued 9.1 billion somoni to the economy sectors and the population — 37% more than the previous year. But only 14% of the issued loans went to agriculture, 11% to industry, while almost half — 49% — went to consumer loans.
The President instructed the National Bank and other credit organizations to take practical measures to ensure that small and medium enterprises, especially in industry and agriculture, gain access to preferential and long-term loans.
»Better slowly, but without debt"A farmer from one of the districts under republican subordination says that after the president’s instruction, he inquired about loan conditions but did not dare to take money from the bank.
He has a small farm: vegetables, a small orchard, a few heads of cattle. Money is needed almost every season — for seeds, fertilizers, fuel, hiring workers, repairing equipment. But according to him, a loan for such a farm is too big a risk.
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»The bank will expect its payment every month. But the land doesn’t give money every month,» he says.
In May of last year, the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, instructed the National Bank and credit organizations to support farmers, dehkan farms, and agribusiness enterprises — to make loans more accessible, preferential, and long-term. Formally, agricultural loans are available on the market, but farmers themselves say: with interest rates at 24–28% per annum, borrowing money is still risky.
As the head of state noted at the time, from January to April 2025, credit organizations issued 9.1 billion somoni to the economy sectors and the population — 37% more than the previous year. But only 14% of the issued loans went to agriculture, 11% to industry, while almost half — 49% — went to consumer loans.
The President instructed the National Bank and other credit organizations to take practical measures to ensure that small and medium enterprises, especially in industry and agriculture, gain access to preferential and long-term loans.
»Better slowly, but without debt"A farmer from one of the districts under republican subordination says that after the president’s instruction, he inquired about loan conditions but did not dare to take money from the bank.
He has a small farm: vegetables, a small orchard, a few heads of cattle. Money is needed almost every season — for seeds, fertilizers, fuel, hiring workers, repairing equipment. But according to him, a loan for such a farm is too big a risk.
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»I understand that it’s hard to develop without money. But if you take a loan, you need to be sure that the harvest will be good, the price won’t drop, there will be water, and the equipment won’t fail. And every season here is a risk. Better slowly, but without debt,» he says.According to the farmer, in agriculture, it is impossible to accurately calculate income in advance. The harvest can suffer from the weather, there may be a lack of water, and the market price can sharply decrease just when the product needs to be sold.
»The bank will expect its payment every month. But the land doesn’t give money every month,» he says.
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