Earmarked to enable farmers & co-ops to make investment decisions, grow their business and improve livelihoods.
IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative and the Conseil Café-Cacao (CCC) sign an investment agreement into the Farm and Co-op Investment Program. A program that sets out to make co-ops and farmers bankable, and facilitates financial institutions to supply medium-term and long-term finance.
Smallholder farmers in Cote d’Ivoire find themselves substantively behind commercial farming standards, even after graduating through training programs, adopting good agricultural practices, and achieving 10-40% higher yields. Moreover, they are still far from operating as self-sustainable entities. To make this jump, smallholders need a full “productivity package” of agro-inputs; fertilizer, crop protection and planting material. Often, they also require rehabilitation and/or replanting (R&R) of their crops to realize their full potential.
Because for many commercial financial institutions it is too early to invest and only a very few are willing to take some risks – the Farm and Co-op Investment Program develops new ways to support farmer & co-op financing.
Building on experience and the good work of others the Farm & Co-op Investment Program will focus on:
1) making farms & co-ops bankable by providing technical assistance and training
2) convening public and private partners (including banks) to build enabling financial systems.
To enable prototyping of finance mechanisms for farmers and co-ops, by industry players and financial institutions, the Farm & Co-op Investment Program has set up the Cocoa Challenge Fund (CCF), which is also open for other funders. Constellations that consist of a cocoa sector player with a farmer/co-op base and a financial institution, can submit prototyping proposals. The learning from these prototypes will be made available to a wider audience to ensure maximal public good impact.
For more information about the Farm & Co-op Investment or to apply for funds contact:
Jonas Mva Mva, IDH Cocoa Program Director: Mvamva@idhtrade.org