The State Bank of Vietnam's An Giang branch will give 3 trillion VND (142.8 million USD) to high-tech projects in agriculture in the southern An Giang province.

Announcing this in a meeting here on December 17, the bank's branch director Le Trong Nghia said that the fund will be available for the owners of high-tech agricultural projects, as approved by the provincial leaders.

The borrowers will enjoy a maximum interest rate of seven percent on short-term loans and 10.5 percent per year on medium-term and long-term loans.

Priority will be given to owners who are provided training in applying advanced technology in agriculture.

Phan Van Sau, secretary of the An Giang provincial party committee, lauded the contribution that the bank has made to its agricultural and rural development sector.

Sau added that the province will create convenient conditions for the bank and borrowers to effectively use the fund, and develop the provincial agriculture sector.

An Giang has focused on developing eight groups of farm produce since 2012, including rice, vegetables, fisheries and fruits. The province has 22,200ha of large fields for rice cultivation and 35ha for planting medicinal herbs. Farmers earn 25 million VND (1,190 USD) per ha of medicinal herbs and more than 200 million VND (9,523 USD) per ha of banana trees.-VNA