The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, together with Finagro and Banco Agrario, advances in the application of financial relief measures aimed at normalizing the debts of rice producers and strengthening their financing capacity.
According to the portfolio, In the last two months more than 650 farmers have been assisted in the sessions held in the main rice-growing departments of the countrywhere debt forgiveness has been granted with the support of the Agricultural Guarantee Fund (FAG) for $325 million and payment agreements have been reached for more than $670 million.
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The Minister of Agriculture, Martha Carvajalino, pointed out that the financing policy seeks to address the liquidity and sustainability needs of the sector. “We continue to advance not only in the agreements with the country’s rice producers, but also in the strengthening of this chain by offering financial relief to small and small producers, who are the ones we must protect for a fairer and more competitive sector.”, he stated.
The implemented mechanism contemplates forgiveness of up to 80% of the capital and 100% of the interest for small and medium-sized producers in default.in accordance with the conditions established in Law 2071 of 2020 and Resolution 002 of 2025 of the National Agricultural Credit Commission (CNCA).
Producers with credits backed by the FAG that fell into arrears until December 31, 2021 can benefit from these benefits, while those who fell behind starting in 2022 will be able to access full remission of interest.
The sessions have reached strategic production areas such as Pore and Yopal (Casanare); Lérida, El Espinal and Purificación (Tolima); Aguachica (Cesar); Majagual and San Marcos (Sucre); Tierralta (Córdoba), as well as the municipalities of Meta, Arauca and Arauquita, where rice farmers have received advice and support in managing relief and new credits.
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The Agrarian Bank has granted more than $1.5 billion in loans to the rice sector during the current Government.
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Alexandra Restrepo, president of Finagro, indicated that “We understand the difficult situation of rice producers. For this reason, from the Ministry of Agriculture, Finagro and Banco Agrario we continue to apply financial relief so that those who have overdue obligations can normalize their situation and access productive credit again.”.
Restrepo specified that To date, more than 3,650 producers have been identified with obligations backed by the FAG in arrearswho could benefit from credit normalization mechanisms. As he explained, this strategy contributes to recovering productive capacity and preventing farmers from being excluded from the formal financial system.
The president of Banco Agrario, Hernando Chica Zuccardi, clarified that each entity assumes the cost of the forgiveness as defined by the CNCA. “These apply to a percentage of the capital in the overdue portfolio from June 2020 to December 2021 for the guarantee paid by the FAG, while, on the part of the Bank, contingent interest may be forgiven in accordance with the provisions of the Credit Risk Management System (SARC).”he explained.
Chica Zuccardi recalled that in the current Government, Credits for rice growers have exceeded $1.5 billion, while so far in 2025, disbursements reach $303,000 million, directed to 4,135 clients. The sector’s portfolio today totals $543,000 million.
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The Ministry has more than $8.8 billion to subsidize interest rates for small producers.
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In addition to the reliefs, The Ministry reported that more than $8.8 billion are available to subsidize interest rates through the Special Lines of Credit (LEC). These allow small rice growers to access financing at reduced rates, with the aim of sustaining their crops and improving their competitiveness.
The program includes the LEC for Agricultural Reactivation, intended for producers affected by climate phenomena, increases in production costs or drops in income. This line offers subsidized rates between 3% and 5% effective annually, with long deadlines and grace periods in line with the production cycle.
In the coming days, the Ministry, Finagro and the Agrarian Bank will continue with the normalization and advisory brigades in Casanare, Huila and Tolima, departments with a high participation in national rice production.
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DIANA K. RODRÍGUEZ T.
Portfolio Journalist
