ARDB Offers Lowest-Interest Loan Package to Boost Agriculture and Rice Exports

The Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (ARDB), a policy bank of the Royal Government, has announced that it is ready to provide loans at the lowest interest rates on the market to farmers and agricultural processors to help them expand their livelihoods and businesses.

Speaking at a meeting with more than 200 farmers in Kampong Svay District recently, H.E. Dr. Kao Thach, Royal Government Delegate in charge of ARDB as its Director General, emphasized that ARDB is the Royal Government’s “right hand” in channeling capital to rural areas. He said: “This state-owned bank regularly provides loans to citizens at reasonable interest rates, lower than those offered by other financial institutions in the country, to support the development of agriculture, aquaculture, processing and small-scale handicrafts.”

Dr. Kao disclosed the special interest rates, saying that loans for the rice sector had previously carried an annual interest rate of just 5.5%, while the general agriculture sector had an interest rate of around 0.65% per month.

The Director General also expressed his great appreciation for Cambodian farmers, whose hard work has enabled Cambodia to achieve a historic policy goal: exporting more than 1 million tonnes of rice this year. Alongside this achievement, ARDB will continue its core mission of promoting and bringing these low-interest funding sources to farmers across the country on a broader scale.៕