The Hodgman Liberal Government is a great supporter of our primary industries, one of Tasmania’s greatest competitive strengths.
Two months ago we opened the pilot $10 million AgriGrowth Loan Scheme to help turn great ideas into long-term profit making enterprises.
I am very pleased to reveal that in the past two-months there have been 81 expressions of interest in the AgriGrowth Loan Scheme.
Of those, 14 applications are now in the assessment process and if successful would be worth $5.4 million.
The enterprises include viticulture, mushrooms, oysters, hazelnuts and blueberries, there’s also potential value-adding businesses and water infrastructure development for graziers.
Under the pilot, farm and agrifood businesses will be able to borrow between $30,000 and $1 million for projects where there is a long lead in time until it delivers an income.
While applications are still open, this is a very encouraging start, and for the future of agriculture in Tasmania.
Aligned to the loans scheme, we are also supporting Rural Business Tasmania to provide agri-business planning support through coaching and practical tools to help farmers. Importantly, this also includes business planning to manage seasonal conditions.
The interest shown so far confirms that the initiatives we are delivering as part of our 2050 vision to grow the value of agriculture tenfold to $10 billion are targeting the right area.
We are also working in many other ways to support Tasmanian farming families and our rural communities.
In response to the unseasonal dry conditions, I recently announced a new Water Management Policy for Extreme Dry Conditions and $2.9 million in initiatives to support farmers and rural communities.
The Government continues to work with farmers so that they are best placed to respond to short and long term and challenges and grow jobs.
Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Education and Training
