The government of Mexico is working to improve aquaculture companies’ access to credit through a new loan program.
The government is offering loans of up to MXN 1.3 million (USD 71,071, EUR 61,193) with an annual interest rate of 8.5 percent to aquaculture companies located in Mexico. Recipients will be able to use the credit to secure equipment, supplies, seeds and fish fry, feed, infrastructure improvements for cold storage space, and more. The loans will also include insurance against drought, price fluctuations, and impacts from climate change.
In order to qualify for the loans, producers need to have a valid aquaculture title or authorization or be listed in the National Registry of Fisheries and Aquaculture (RNPA). Applicants will also need to submit harvest notices from the prior year.
The loan program is being offered under the government’s Cosechando Soberanía initiative. Introduced earlier this year by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRICULTURA), the program was established to provide credit to small-scale producers working in the nation’s agriculture, fishing, and aquaculture sectors. The Mexico government claimed interest rates for agriculture were too high at 18 percent, necessitating government action.
“There will be low-interest loans with coverage for small- and medium-sized producers, so that they can acquire this loan, which will have coverage in case of drought or some other problem they may have,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo said in announcing the program in February. “They can acquire everything from seeds to small machines, to some other actions that allow for greater production.”
The Cosechando Soberanía program will also provide agroecological technical support to producers and invest in research.
