October 17, 2017
Loan approvals to farmers by the Queensland Rural Adjustment Authority (QRAA) have almost doubled, according to the State Government.
Acting Agriculture Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said the final QRAA annual report highlighted the dramatic increase.
“Changes made by the Palaszczuk Government have seen loan approvals almost double,” Dr Lynham said.
“The comparison between the 2016-17 financial year and the last financial year of the previous LNP government could not be starker.
“In 2016-17, QRAA almost doubled the amount loaned to producers through the Primary Industry Productivity Enhancement Scheme (PIPES) to $116.4 million.
“The decision to increase the lending cap on PIPES loans has been warmly received by producers and is clearly driving demand in the rural sector.
“The Palaszczuk Government raised the cap for sustainability loans from $650,000 to $1.3 million and to help new and younger primary producers to get a head start the cap on first start loans was raised to $2 million from $650,000.
“In 2014-15 the total number of applications approved by QRAA was 1015 for a total of $154 million while in the last financial year QRAA approved 5950 applications for financial assistance across all loan, grant and rebate programs for a total of $268.7 million.”
Dr Lynham said this was the final annual report before QRAA transitioned to become the Queensland Rural and Industry and Development Authority (QRIDA).
