The Small Business Administration opened Economic Injury Disaster Loan eligibility for qualifying small nonfarm businesses in 58 California counties and neighboring counties in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon after an agricultural drought declaration. The notice said the drought-related losses began October 1, 2022; the Agriculture Secretary declared the disaster on March 17, 2023. [story-s1]
The program addressed operating cash-flow damage rather than damaged buildings or equipment. Eligible applicants could include small agricultural cooperatives, aquaculture businesses and most private nonprofits; loans could reach $2 million for obligations and operating expenses that would have been payable absent the disaster. SBA stated that the interest rates were 3.040% for businesses and 1.875% for private nonprofits, with terms up to 30 years. Eligibility depended on financial impact and inability to offset it without hardship. [story-s1]
The boundary matters: businesses primarily engaged in farming or ranching were excluded from this SBA assistance and directed toward USDA’s Farm Service Agency, while nurseries could qualify in drought cases. The application deadline was November 17, 2023. The notice also described a temporary 12-month no-payment, zero-interest policy for loans tied to disasters declared within a specified period; those terms were not a general feature of every disaster loan. [story-s1]
Source documents
- SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans Available to California Small Businesses | U.S. Small Business Administrationhttps://www.sba.gov/article/2023/mar/24/sba-economic-injury-disaster-loans-available-california-small-businesses