The minister of agricultural Jihad has criticized banks for not providing loans to farmers. Mahmoud Hojjati said banks were supposed to allocate 25% of their lending to agriculture, but they met only 6-7% of their requirements, ISNA reported on Saturday. According to the minister, Keshavarzi Bank is the sole specialized lender for the key sector while agriculture is a major contributor to the both GDP and jobs. Investing in agriculture is not attractive in Iran since it is normally given the short shrift and hence farmers should not be blamed for infrastructure deficiencies. Keshavarzi Bank is a public-sector bank specializing in agricultural lending.
