COLOMBO, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Plantation Industries signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with two state banks on Monday to provide interest-free loans to agribusiness entrepreneurs and farmers for the first phase of the country's agricultural modernization, the President's Media Division (PMD) said.
The MoUs were signed with the Bank of Ceylon and the Regional Development Bank, which are the key contributors to the initial phase, the PMD said.
According to the PMD, the MoU with the People's Bank is expected to be signed shortly. In the first phase, 650 million Sri Lankan rupees (2.1 million U.S. dollars) have been allocated to implement projects through agricultural modernization centers.
In implementing agricultural modernization projects, only around 30 percent of the project costs are covered by agribusiness entrepreneurs and farmers, with the remaining 70 percent funded by the government, the PMD added. ■
