How can the sustainable development of small-scale agricultural loans be promoted?

“Small-scale agricultural loans” are a major innovation of rural credit cooperatives in serving “agriculture, rural areas and farmers”, and are the golden brand of rural credit cooperatives in supporting agriculture. Rural credit cooperatives should actively do a good job in microcredit, make full use of this platform, and earnestly fulfill their social responsibilities.

First, the funding amount for small-scale agricultural loans should be substantially increased. With the rapid development of the rural economy, the original loan amounts are far from satisfying farmers’ “appetite” for innovation and entrepreneurship development. On the basis of the original small-scale agricultural loans, a trial shift from “small-scale” to “large-scale” may be carried out, with the maximum amount raised to 300,000-500,000 yuan, so that small-scale agricultural loans keep pace with the ever-changing development of rural areas.

Second, extend the loan term. Rural credit cooperatives should embody the spirit of “taking agriculture as the foundation”, determine a reasonable length of time according to different uses and production cycles, and extend the loan term, so as to ensure that both supporting agriculture and enriching farmers are achieved.

Third, innovate the varieties of small-scale agricultural loans and relax the purposes. In addition to continuing to support farming households in engaging in traditional planting and breeding industries, according to new changes in the rural market, such as the increasingly strong demand in areas including consumption and diversified operations, large-scale consumer loan varieties such as agricultural industrialization, agricultural product processing, rural house building, purchase of large agricultural machinery, home appliances, cars, and education should be actively developed. The housing mortgage loan method may be used for reference, extending the loan term, adopting annual installment repayment, and flexibly meeting farmers’ reasonable funding needs such as consumption, fundamentally solving the problem of a single product.

Fourth, strengthen policy support for small-scale agricultural loans. The government may provide funds to purchase microcredit insurance for farming households and establish a risk compensation fund for compensating losses from small-scale agricultural loans, operating losses and non-performing loans caused by irresistible natural disasters. Relevant preferential policies for poverty-alleviation microcredit may be used for reference to provide interest subsidies. At the same time, tax authorities should implement a tax-exemption policy for small-scale agricultural loans issued by rural credit cooperatives, reduce the cost of rural credit cooperatives in supporting agriculture, and stimulate the enthusiasm of rural credit cooperatives to issue microcredit to farmers.

Fifth, establish and improve the rural financial laws and regulations system, and improve the rural financial ecological environment. Conduct “financial literacy” education for farmers, educate farming households to enhance their awareness of integrity, extensively carry out activities to create credit townships, credit villages and credit farming households, and improve farmers’ self-discipline and law-abiding awareness. Let trustworthy farmers obtain more credit support and more financial services for entrepreneurship and development, forming a positive incentive mechanism.