Credit Union loan scheme for farmers has ‘huge potential’ in West Mayo

CAPTION: Pictured at the launch of the Westport Credit Union Cultivate Agri-Loan Scheme in the Castlecourt Hotel, Westport, from left: Mary McGreal, Westport; Tom Staunton, Tourmakeady; Anne and James Lally, Durless; Joe Healy, former president, IFA and special guest; Joan Jennings, Westport Credit Union; Pat Chambers, Newport; Seamus Hastings, Westport; Cllr Johnny O' Malley, and Adrian Guiry, Lending and Business Development Manager, Westport Credit Union. Pics: Frank Dolan

THE Cultivate Credit Union loan scheme has ‘huge potential’ for farmers in the West Mayo area, local farmers have been told.

Farmers in the West Mayo area can access unsecured loans of up to €75,000 through Westport Credit Union under the newly-launched Cultivate scheme.

The unsecured loans can have a term of up to ten years at 6.55 percent interest rates.

Westport Credit Union is currently considering offering unsecured loans under the scheme that would allow farmers to borrow more than €75,000.

Repayments of loans are flexible and can be made monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, yearly or in conjunction with farm entitlement payments.

Decisions on loans will be made by the Westport Credit Union’s loans team in Westport and all applications are anonymised.

Applications can be made online or in branch and do not carry early repayment penalties or setup charges.

First launched among four Galway credit unions in 2016, Cultivate is now accessible in 23 out of 26 counties in the Republic of Ireland.

The scheme is available in 50 credit unions in over 150 locations and has issued €100 million in loans to date.

Cultivate was officially launched in Westport by former IFA President Joe Healy at the Castlecourt Hotel on Wednesday.

Brendan Heneghan, Project Manager with Cultivate, said that the loan scheme had ‘huge potential’ in West Mayo, where there are approximately 2,000 farming families.

“Credit unions have a huge standing in the community. They’ve been consistently number one in terms of customer service,” said Mr Heneghan, who added that Cultivate had ‘virtually no arrears’.

Empowering

PAULINE Ryan, CEO of Westport Credit Union, said launching Cultivate was about ‘empowering’ the local community and enabling farmers to expand their operations, purchase new equipment and secure their financial future.

“As a financial cooperative, we exist for the benefit of our members and their communities,” Ms Ryan said.

“A significant difference between us and our competitors is that as a financial cooperative we operate not for profit, but for service. And we are accountable to our members, which is you, and not to shareholders. We belong to you.

“We aim to continually expand and improve on the services we offer. Earlier this year we reviewed our strategic plan and we reached out to our members to see what they wanted from their credit union. We listened to them, and we tried to incorporate their wants and needs into our strategic goals.

“As we have approximately 1,750 farms in the common bond, we felt that we needed to do more for this section of the community and to provide a product that was specifically tailored for farmers. As a result, we reached out to Cultivate to help us deliver a farmer friendly finance option,” she added.

Ideal alternative

FORMER IFA President, Joe Healy, described credit unions as ‘the ideal alternative’ to banks for farmers looking to obtain finance.

Mr Healy noted that borrowings on Irish farms are the lowest in the EU.

Describing Cultivate as ‘a national brand’, Mr Healy appealed to farmers to consider availing the loan scheme from Westport Credit Union.

“It’s important to get the message out there that Westport Credit Union is open for business, open for farming business,” he stated.

A presentation on the terms of Cultivate was followed by group discussions of five separate questions pertaining to farm finance.

A question-and-answer session was then held between attendees and staff from Westport Credit Union.

Among the issues raised by farmers attending the meeting were farm income volatility, unclear EU policy, decisions on loans not being made locally, the cost of borrowing and the lack of competition in the lending market for farmers.

Cllr John O’Malley, a county councillor and farmer based in Carrowholly, said that €75,000 was not ‘anywhere near enough’ for farmers looking to purchase land.

In response, Westport Credit Union manager Pauline Ryan said that the credit union could potentially lend up to €350,000 in secured loans under Cultivate.

There are currently 20 credit unions offering secured loans under the scheme.