May 30, 2007

New Project Won–Honduras: Farmer Access to Credit (FAC) – Millennium Challenge Corporation

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has awarded ACDI/VOCA a two-year $2,893,663 Honduras Farmer Access to Credit (FAC) project to increase the supply of credit and the availability of other financial services to program farmers, agribusinesses and rural enterprises. This is ACDI/VOCA’s second MCC award and will also develop local capacity to ensure sustainability.

ACDI/VOCA will provide technical assistance to build capacity within local financial institutions to offer credit and other services to a broad range of farmers and rural entrepreneurs who otherwise lack access to financial services. Strengthening the supply of credit to farmers in the short term will be facilitated by financing under the project’s farmer loan fund, and ACDI/VOCA will promote the sustainable expansion of financial services to farmers and other rural enterprises on strictly commercial terms.

FAC will address some of the supply constraints in Honduras by strengthening the ability of financial institutions to better serve the rural and agriculture sector through three subactivities: technical assistance to financial institutions, a loan fund and assistance with developing the movable property registry. ACDI/VOCA will assist financial institutions interested in expanding services to farmers, value chain enterprises and other rural enterprises and will assist credit unions and microfinance institutions to help them improve their supply of services to the agriculture sector and to strengthen value chain financing.

ACDI/VOCA has also won an $18.4 million MCC award for its Armenia Water-to-Market Activity to accelerate the transition of the Armenian economy to more profitable agricultural production through irrigation rehabilitation. Click here to read more.