Ginseng producers offered $1-million loans

The province Is offering ginseng growers loans of up to $1 million to transition a difficult patch.

Their receipts plunged from $271.5 million in 2015 to $131.9 million in 2020, said Ontario Agriculture Minister Lisa Thompson.

The loans will be secured by stored crops.

She said ginseng growers were hit by bad weather, COVID-19 and trade restrictions.

The loans will be available beginning April 1 from the Agricultural Credit Corporation. The government will guarantee up to 25 per cent of the loans and Thompson said it has earmarked $130 million for the three-year pilot project.

 I tried to contact Ginseng Growers of Ontario last week and have yet to receive a reply.

Million-dollar loans seems a bit rich for any commodity, let alone the ginseng guys. Why not tell them to rely on AgriStability?