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Bulgaria: Expanding ProCredit’s Operations in Rural Areas

Report N. 4 - January 2004









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    Bulgaria: Bank Lending to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Rural Areas; an Analysis of Supply and Demand
    Report N. 8 - January 2005
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    Bulgaria’s entry into the EU in 2007 will have a significant impact on the country’s small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in rural areas and the banking sector servicing them. EU standards and regulations related to specific sectors of industry (particularly food industry) coming in place in the next two years, as well as expected competition from the EU market, will change dramatically the scene in which rural SMEs operate. New investments are needed in order for this transition process to be successful. Commercial banks operating in rural areas have a vital role in realising this goal. This publication is part of report series published under the FAO Investment Centre/European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Cooperation Programme. The series presents sector reviews and studies undertaken in Central and Eastern Europe that cover development issues and innovative areas to increase investment in agriculture in the region. Bulgaria's entry into the European Union in 2007 will have a significant impact on the country's small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in rural areas. EBRD's Financial Institutions team, together with its Agribusiness team, has developed a Facility to mix EU grant and EBRD loans in favour of rural SMEs in EU accession countries. EBRD called upon FAO's expertise to review lending opportunities in Bulgaria's rural sector. This report was prepared to put forward recommendations to EBRD and local financial intermediarie s, on which clients the EU/EBRD Facility should focus and on the types of financial products required to serve these new clients. The analysis can be used by other local or international financial institutions interested in rural credit.
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    Innovations for inclusive agricultural finance and risk mitigation mechanisms 2016
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    The Government’s Green Morocco Plan (Plan Maroc Vert) underlines agriculture’s important role and sets strategies to promote the sector’s development. Despite these efforts, however, important challenges remain. An important one refers to the availability of appropriate financial services for rural actors engaged in agriculture. The average capital required yearly to finance agriculture is estimated at 30 billion Dirhams. The Moroccan banking sector finances only 17 percent of such demand and Cr edit Agricole du Maroc is responsible for about 80 percent of this share of financing to agriculture. A significant part of the rural population composed of poorer households continues to see its financial needs satisfied mainly by informal financial service providers given the inability of the formal financial sector to reach rural areas with appropriate and sustainable products. This case study documents a particularly innovative model for providing financial services to poorer rural household s dependent on agriculture – the Tamwil El Fellah (TEF) model developed by the Groupe Crédit Agricole du Maroc (GCAM – the Morocco Agricultural Credit Group). TEF has built on the long-standing experience of financing the agriculture sector and the network of agencies and human resources of GCAM, putting in place its own business model with risk management mechanisms adapted to its specific client segment: farmers with small and medium-scale agribusinesses. The analysis presented in this study a ims to highlight important principles that can be applied by financial institutions and supporting organizations to promote inclusive rural and agricultural financial services the context of developing countries.
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    Review of smallholder linkages for inclusive agribusiness development
    Good Practices in investment design, prepared under the FAO/World Bank Cooperative Programme
    2013
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    The main purpose of this study is to gain insight into “collaborative business models”14 that provide opportunities for smallholder farmers to improve their linkages to markets and that could serve as alternatives to large-scale land acquisitions. This study covers a broad range of business models15 and practices as well as explores key factors that have led to successful and sustainable partnerships. It incorporates existing knowledge, reviews the literature on the topic and presents several examples from Ghana and other countries (Thailand, Uganda and India), where such models have been successful. The desk research was complemented with fieldwork undertaken in-country. Nine case studies of private companies in Ghana that use inclusive business models were developed. Of the nine case studies, six case studies were researched in the field and the three case studies were drawn from a literature review. The nine case studies addressed the following crops: horticult ural crops (pineapple), oil palm, rubber, rice, sorghum and maize. This study does not address food crops, except for traditional export crops such as cocoa and oil palm, as they are seldom grown under contractual arrangements.

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