COPENHAGEN: The Danish government has decided to collect up to 10 billion kroner to help save the severely indebted agriculture sector, Politiken reports.
The government has already allocated 2 billion kroner to a new fund called Dansk Landbrugskapital (capital for Danish agriculture) and expects to get an additional 8 billion from private investors and lenders, such as pension banks.
According to Henrik Sass Larsen, the business and growth minister, every seventh farmer in Denmark is facing bankruptcy and is unlikely to survive in the long run. The idea behind the Dansk Landbrugskapital fund is that it provides the farmers with a better capital base, so that they can help themselves.“The money may go to medium-sized farms that want to increase their livestock production, but need a lot of money for the construction of new barns and environmental facilities,” Larsen told Politiken.
In total, Danish farmers owe more than 350 billion kroner.
