[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]For the first time, the government provided access to credit facilities for farmers throughout the Solomon Islands with a historic $3 million loan facility for farmers through the Development Bank of Solomon Islands (DBSI). The Grant Agreement was signed on June 28, 2021, at the MAL headquarters in Honiara by the Permanent Secretaries of MAL, Ethel Tebengi Frances, and the Ministry of Finance and Treasury (MoFT), McKinnie Dentana and Tukana Bovoro, Interim Chief Executive Officer of DBSI.
According to the “Agriculture Development Award Agreement,” MAL will deposit the $3 million grant with DBSI so that farmers can apply for an agriculture loan to raise or expand their output. The funding source is MAL/SIG, and the executing/implementing party is DBSI. The DBSI’s agriculture loan program is intended to meet the industry’s unique needs and give access to credit facilities to farmers and companies that process and export agricultural goods.
The government’s desire to transition the majority of farmers or Solomon Islanders from the informal to the formal economy is one of the reasons it supports DBSI. The development of this bridge will shift Solomon Islanders as they typically cannot acquire assistance from commercial institutions.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]