The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) has offered its support to Cultivate in becoming the national farm finance brand for Ireland`s credit union sector.
Cultivate provides unsecured lending of up to €75,000 to farmers across the country.
The loans are used to develop farm buildings, invest in stock, working capital, and the purchase of tractors and machinery.
Credit unions are diversifying their loan portfolios by increasing their presence in business, agri and mortgage lending.
"Cultivate has established a strong brand identity in Irish farming in the past few years," said Helene McManus, President of the ILCU.
"What began as a pioneering local initiative by four Galway credit unions just five years ago is now widely available across the country," she added.
Ms McManus said the ILCU supports Cultivate as the agri brand of Irish credit unions.
"Most of the credit unions that offer Cultivate loans are members of the ILCU.
"We encourage any ILCU-affiliated credit union that wishes to enter the agri lending market to do so as part of the Cultivate brand," she said.
Speaking on behalf of Cultivate, Chairperson Joe Healy said it is delighted to have received the support of the ILCU.
"This support is a massive boost to us as we seek to achieve our ambition of making Cultivate available to every farmer in the country," he said.
Cultivate loans are currently available from over 120 credit union offices around the country, with the number of outlets growing all the time.
