April 12, 2022
HELVETAS Haiti, GRAMIR, AVSF and the Konsèy Nasyonal Finansmen Popilè (National Council for Popular Financing) organized three days of workshops on the financing of peasant farms on April 6, 7 and 8. More than a hundred members of farmers’ organizations, representatives of financial institutions, government representatives and experts participated in this activity, which took place at the premises of the Public University of the South in Les Cayes (UPSAC ).
Several training sessions on the concept of agricultural credit were organized for the participants. A lot of information relating to credit union products and BRH circular 113 was shared with the audience. Circular 113 taken by the Bank of the Republic of Haiti is a tool that serves to encourage actors throughout the value chain of the agricultural sector to relaunch production throughout the territory. It is part of a process aimed at facilitating access to credit for entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector at preferential interest rates.
According to Lionel Fleuristin, Executive Director of the KNFP, the objective of such an event is to “facilitate dialogue and encourage the creation of an alliance between financial institutions and farmers’ organizations in order to achieve a credit system suitable for peasant agriculture. Lionel Fleuristin regrets that, while accusing each other, financial institutions and farmers’ organizations are operating in separate mode when they should have been partners.
“ Credit unions play an important role in the country’s economy. And given the weight of agriculture in the rural economy, the credit unions have a duty to finance the farmers of the peasantry”, according to Lionel Fleuristin.
The Executive Director of KNFP pointed out that solidarity mutuals whose clientele consists mainly of peasant farmers have a reimbursement rate of 95%.
At the end of this three-day activity, the actors adopted a manifesto reflecting the main demands of the farmers and the strategies to be put in place in order to achieve a better adapted credit system.
The organization of this three-day workshop is part of the Support Program for Inclusive Agricultural Governance (PAGAI), implemented since 2018 in the departments of South and Grand’Anse by HELVETAS, AVSF and GRAMIR . This program funded by the Department of Development and Cooperation of the Swiss Embassy in Haiti aims to improve food security and the income of women and men on family farms (EAF) in Haiti, thanks to good governance. inclusive agriculture and access to appropriate agricultural services .