The Cultivate initiative is to expand into providing long-term loans from this year.

Cultivate already provides short- and medium-term loans to farmers through the local credit union network. However, long-term loans will now be on offer on a pilot basis.

The Cultivate Secure package has been developed by Collaborative Finance Clg for member credit unions and will offer secured loans of up to €300,000 to farmers for agricultural purposes. The term for the new loans will be up to 30 years.

Cultivate was initially established to provide short- to medium-term loans to farmers through participating credit unions.

The unsecured loans were generally for amounts no greater than €50,000 to €75,000. The interest charged is 6.5%, with the terms usually ranging from 12 months to seven years.

Growing number

There are currently 45 credit unions around the country involved in the initiative, with that number continuing to grow, according to Brendan Heneghan of Cultivate.

Heneghan said the average Cultivate loan application for 2022 was for €31,541 over 5.6 years.

He pointed out that the Cultivate loans are now available at around 150 locations throughout the country.

“This is an important point at a time when many rural branches of the main banks are closing,” Heneghan said.

Cultivate chair Joe Healy said the key to the Cultivate initiative was that it was farmer friendly.

“Cultivate is local, it’s quick, it’s simple and it’s personal; that’s what makes it attractive for farmers,” Healy maintained.

“Last year, March was the busiest month for loan applications so appropriately this March we are really looking forward to hosting our inaugural National Cultivate Week from 27 March to 2 April,” he said.

“Participating credit unions will be hosting events, connecting with key partners including agri-merchants and showcasing how Cultivate loans are helping farmers in communities throughout Ireland,” Healy explained.