ACED: Moldovan bankers learn about international best practices in agricultural value chain finance

ACED: Moldovan bankers learn about international best practices in agricultural value chain finance

• 07.06.2012

The Agricultural Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project (ACED), funded by the United States Government through USAID and MCC, held an Agricultural Value Chain Finance seminar for representatives of major Moldovan banks and finance consultants in Chișinău on June 1, 2012.

At the seminar, Ms. Mary Miller, an international finance expert, presented international best practices in agriculture financing, meant to stimulate access to affordable financing for farmers and agribusinesses operating in the high value agriculture (HVA) sector of Moldova. She addressed the most critical constraints of fresh fruits and vegetables producers who are seeking bank loans for business start-up and development operations to accessing agricultural finance. Event participants had the opportunity to explore new avenues of mutually advantageous cooperation between domestic banks and agricultural producers.

In her presentation, Ms. Miller suggested that Moldovan lenders consider a customized approach to agriculture lending by adjusting their offers to the specific needs of producers and their marketing cycles. “In addition to a flexible payment schedule, mutually agreed by the bank and the client, our farmers need a multi-purpose loan package. At present, they spend a lot of time and resources in drafting applications for multiple loans for specific purposes – one for working capital, another for a long-term investment, and so on,” ACED Value Chain Specialist Adrian Cojocaru explained.

As part of the agenda, participants conducted a study visit to Bardar village, where they discussed agribusiness finance needs and assessed costs of HVA investments with several agribusinesses, including Fructagrocom Cooperative and a fruit export company.

Bankers expressed their readiness to revise bank lending policies for agricultural producers. They also stated their willingness to meet regularly with the agribusiness community and the ACED project in order to learn more about applicable international best practices in agricultural financing.

To date, in 2012, the ACED project conducted 60 producer training events and 11 round tables in Chișinău and across Moldova, including Transnistria, as well as four international study tours for Moldovan agricultural entrepreneurs. In May alone, the project organized 22 seminars for apple, tomato, and table grape producers. More than 1,400 participants in the HVA sector have benefited from ACED assistance since the project was launched in April 2011.