Baku, Azerbaijan, June 4
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will launch a new program for the development of agriculture in Azerbaijan in the autumn, the head of the EBRD Baku office Neil McKain told Trend June 3.
"We will open a credit line to local banks and microfinance institutions as part of "Azerbaijan Agro Finance Facility" program," he said. "We will start with the financial institutions, which have the largest network of branches in the regions of the country."
The program provides for technical assistance to banks, according to McKain. At the initial stage, the bank plans to allocate $30 million, but in the future the amount of funding will be increased, said the head of the office.
"The EBRD will hold trainings for employees of local banks to show how it is possible to find good customers among small-scale farmers and food producers," he said. "Now the Azerbaijani banks do not focus on this segment of the market. We believe the agricultural sector is very promising, so, first we plan to allocate $30 million but then we will extend funding scope."
McKain said that the development of agriculture contributes to the further diversification of the economy of Azerbaijan.
"I think that all of us, government, donors, international financial institutions, are working in the same direction, which is to help small-scale farmers and entrepreneurs in the regions of the country," he said. "We all know that it is necessary to diversify the economy, so it is necessary to work more in the regions, especially with farmers."
EBRD has allocated $2.3 billion to finance nearly 160 projects in various sectors of the economy since the beginning of cooperation with Azerbaijan. One of the EBRD main tasks is to ensure the stable development of Azerbaijan's non-oil sector by investing in small and medium private enterprises.
Azerbaijan is the largest recipient of the EBRD funds in the Caucasus, as well as one of the largest recipients - in the CIS and Eastern Europe. The EBRD invested 238 million euros in the implementation of 21 projects in Azerbaijan in 2014.
Edited by CN
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