BI to provide special loans to poultry farmers

BI to provide special loans to poultry farmers

JAKARTA (JP): Bank Indonesia, the central bank, plans to
provide special credit to help the country's financially troubled
poultry farmers.

The Ministry of Agriculture said over the weekend that the
special credit facilities would be provided to small and medium
poultry farmers whose operations are backed by large poultry
companies or cooperatives.

"Bank Indonesia and related agencies are in discussions to
begin channeling the credits," the ministry said.

Each farmer will be entitled to two loan packages, worth Rp 25
million (US$2,775) each.

The funds will be used to buy 5,000 broiler chickens at Rp 600
each, feed meal at Rp 1,200 per kilogram and medicine.

The ministry estimated each grown chicken could fetch a price
of Rp 4,500 per kilogram.

The program is aimed to help 6,000 poultry farmers in the
country.

About 3,500 of these are small holders cooperating with large
poultry companies, while the remaining 2,500 are small holders
having business links with cooperatives.

The ministry said farmers which are not in cooperation with
large holders would be guaranteed feed meal at Rp 1,200 per
kilogram by their cooperatives.

The currency crisis, which has slashed the rupiah's value
against the dollar by about 75 percent, has more than doubled the
price of feed meal, which mainly contain imported materials.

The skyrocketing prices have threatened most of the country's
poultry farmers and forced at least 80 percent of the farmers to
suspend operations.

There are currently 17,600 poultry farmers across the country,
of which 12,400 breed broiler chickens and the remaining 5,200
breed layer chicken.

The farmers are located in 15 provinces throughout Java,
Sumatra, Kalimantan and Bali.

Large farmers only make up 20 percent of poultry farmers, and
they have been supporting their small partners with feed meal
during the financial turmoil, the ministry said.

The ministry said that small farmers could also sell their
broiler chickens to their larger partners. (das)