MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Développement international Desjardins (DID), Financière agricole du Québec – Développement international (FADQDI), Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Collaborate on $20m Agricultural Microfinance Project Funded by Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Haitian Government

Développement international Desjardins (DID), a Canadian corporation that provides technical support to and investment in developing and emerging countries, recently announced that it is joining efforts with two agriculture nonprofits in a USD 20 million project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Haitian government to establish an agricultural finance and crop insurance system in Haiti. The participating nonprofits are Canada’s Financière agricole du Québec – Développement international (FADQDI), which aims to promote rural economic development worldwide, and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), which is based in Costa Rica and supports agriculture development in the Americas. CIDA and the Haitian government have contributed USD 19 million and USD 1 million respectively to the project, which is expected to be carried out over seven years.

DID will coordinate the overall effort with FADQDI responsible for setting up a trust fund to support the financing of targeted crops, providing partial guarantees to participating financial institutions and designing a crop insurance program. IICA will support Haiti’s Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development to promote innovative agricultural technologies and to support the Haitian government in aligning its legal framework to facilitate the agricultural credit and crop insurance plan.

Mr Jacques Brind’Amour, chair of the FADQDI board of directors, commented, “through sustainable development of financial services in Haiti the project will necessarily have a positive impact on the capacity of Haiti to raise the percentage of food needs that is met by local producers and, as a result, help fight food insecurity.”

By Carol Kim, Research Associate

About Développement international Desjardins (DID): DID is a Canadian corporation that specializes in providing technical support to and investment in community financing activities in emerging economies. It assists organizations in approximately 30 nations in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and Central and Eastern Europe. DID is a subsidiary of the Desjardins Group, an integrated financial cooperative reporting approximately USD 100 billion in assets and offering banking, insurance, securities and investment services. In addition, DID has three funds that provide loans and investment capital to microfinance institutions and microfinance investment vehicles.

About Financière agricole du Québec – Développement international (FADQDI): FADQDI is a Canadian nonprofit organization that promotes economic development in rural areas by proposing tools that are intended to facilitate access to credit and allow agricultural producers to manage risk. It was created in 2007 with the mission of sharing agricultural knowledge developed by La Financière agricole du Québec, a Canadian government program focused on agricultural development, and its subsidiaries and partners. This includes crop insurance plans, system financing and development, geomatics and production cost studies. Projects are underway in Africa, Asia and Latin America as of 2011.

About the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA): IICA is an agency that supports member states located in North and South America in developing their agricultural sectors and improving rural communities. To accomplish its mission, the IICA operates in six strategic areas, namely contributing to the repositioning of rural life and adopting new institutional frameworks; promoting trade and competitiveness for agriculture sectors; promoting food and other safety standards; promoting the sustainable management of natural resources and the environment; promoting new technologies; and encouraging innovation aimed at modernizing agricultural and rural development.

Sources and Additional Resources:

Développement international Desjardins Press Release: “DID, FADQDI and IICA join with Haitian Government to strengthen the framework of Haiti’s agricultural sector using CIDA financing”, http://www.did.qc.ca/en/salle-de-presse/communiques/comm748.html

MicroCapital.org: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution (MFI) Fonkoze Initiates Claims Process for Clients Affected by Heavy Rains in Haiti”, June 21, 2011, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microfinance-institution-mfi-fonkoze-initiates-claims-process-for-clients-affected-by-heavy-rains-in-haiti/

MicroCapital.org: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Haitian Microfinance Industry Still Struggling in Wake of Earthquake, Increased Regulation on the Horizon”, November 22, 2010, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-haitian-microfinance-industry-still-struggling-in-wake-of-earthquake-increased-regulation-on-the-horizon/

MicroCapital’s Universe Profile: Développement international Desjardins (DID), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Développement+international+Desjardins+%28DID%29

MicroCapital’s Universe Profile: Financière agricole du Québec – Développement international (FADQDI), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Financière+agricole+du+Québec+–+Développement+international+%28FADQDI%29

MicroCapital’s Universe Profile: Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Inter-American+Institute+for+Cooperation+on+Agriculture+%28IICA%29

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