MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Provides $10m Credit Facility to Agrofértil of Paraguay for Agricultural Input Financing

Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch development bank, recently announced that it has provided a “medium-term” credit facility of USD 10 million to Agrofértil, a company that provides credit, crop protection products, agricultural inputs and “agronomic services” to farmers and farmer cooperatives in Paraguay. The facility is intended to provide Agrofértil with working capital, enhancing its ability to provide “pre-harvest financing” in an effort to increase the productivity and profitability of small and medium-sized farms and cooperatives. FMO also intends to support Agrofértil in creating and implementing a “verification system to allow Agrofértil to ensure that [it does] not commercialize any crops from farms that have been involved in recent significant conversion of natural habitats.”

As of 2015, FMO reported total assets of EUR 8.4 billion (USD 9.05 billion). As of 2016, Agrofértil serves a client base of approximately 1,800 farmers from its headquarters in Ciudad del Este and its network of 20 service centers, of which 14 have silos storing agricultural inputs. Financial information on Agrofértil is unavailable.

By Michelle Dold, Research Associate

About Agrofértil

Founded in 1993, Agrofértil is a company that provides “pre-harvest financing”, crop protection products, agricultural inputs and “agronomic services” to farmers and farmers cooperatives in Paraguay. As of 2016, It serves a client base of approximately 1,800 farmers from its headquarters in Ciudad del Este and through its network of 20 service centers, of which 14 have silos storing agricultural inputs. Financial information on Agrofértil is unavailable.

About Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO)

Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) is a development bank that was founded in 1970 by the Dutch government, which owns 51 percent of the institution. Its other stakeholders are commercial banks, trade unions, employers’ associations and individual investors. FMO supports governments and invests in financial institutions, energy firms and agribusiness operators in developing countries through loans, guarantees and other investment promotion activities, including local-currency investments. As of 2015, FMO reported total assets of EUR 8.4 billion (USD 9.05 billion).

Sources and Additional Information:

[1] FMO Press Release: “FMO supports agricultural input financing in Paraguay”

[2] MicroCapital Universe Profile: Agrofértil

[3] MicroCapital Universe Profile: Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO)

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