Sustainability efforts regarding agricultural financing support mechanisms led to a new partnership being forged with the Banque de la République d’Haïti (BRH) in 2019, with the goal of implementing a national framework for strengthening agricultural financing in Haiti.
Capitalizing on the recent work completed by the agricultural financing and insurance systems in Haiti project (SYFAAH) and the transfer of loan insurance guarantee funds to the Fonds de Développement Industriel (FDI), the BRH wished to lead coordination efforts undertaken by the Haitian government and various lenders to secure assets and establish winning conditions for deploying agricultural financing on a broader scale.
This 66-month mandate will be carried out in partnership with a number of local institutions, including the BRH, the FDI, the Banque nationale de crédit (BNC) and the Faculté d’agronomie et de Médecine Vétérinaire at the Université d’État d’Haïti. With the participation of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Ministry of Agriculture, the program will aim to strengthen the governance of the national agricultural financing support systems, develop the line of financial products available to rural entrepreneurs, support the development of export sectors, relaunch the restructuring of agricultural insurance, and improve national coordination among all players.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has continued to support these efforts and has allocated funding of US$5.9 million to the BRH, which has mandated the implementation of the new program to DID. This is a key sign of trust and a testament to the strategic nature of the initiatives completed in Haiti in recent decades.