In the latest newsletter from the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture, director Cheng-Sheng Lee notes that with drought comes disturbances, resulting in small businesses not being able to fund themselves. But when the Secretary of Agriculture announced we were in an agricultural disaster, the Small Business Administration (SBA) legally had to extend Economic Injury Disaster Loans to those affected.
While businesses whose main enterprise is farming or ranching does not qualify, those who depend on their services do. Additionally, certain businesses qualify for up to $2 million. According to the SBA, “Eligibility for these loans is based on the financial impact of the disaster only and not on any actual property damage. These loans have an interest rate of 3.305 percent for businesses and 2.375 percent for private nonprofit organizations, a maximum term of 30 years and are available to small businesses and most private nonprofits without the financial ability to offset the adverse impact without hardship.”
For more info and the full 2022 Annual Accomplishment Report, visit the CTSA.