2023-12-07 09:39:39
New financing facilities are granted to agricultural SMEs at the Council of Ministers this Wednesday, December 6, 2023.
Belmondo ATIKPO
The Council approved a new incentive measure consisting of reducing the FNDA refinancing rate to deserving SFDs to 0% compared to 2% until now, for the establishment of credits for the benefit of agricultural operators and MSMEs at an interest rate maximum of 12% per year, decreasing.
This means intended to relieve agricultural promoters consists of the retrocession, ultimately, of interest of 2% per year which will be paid after reimbursement of the financing granted by the FNDA.
“The facilities also concern the establishment of financial support over two years in order to take into account part of the salary costs of the staff (75% in the first year and 50% in the second year) in order to boost the intervention of SFD with a view to better access to financing for farmers”. These facilities granted should result in greater enthusiasm among SFDs for the mechanism. To this end, “eligibility is conditioned by two performance indicators, namely: a level of drawing of the refinancing line greater than or equal to 70% and a reimbursement rate of 100% of drawings carried out in accordance with the tables of amortization of each draw. In the event of non-payment, the measure of retrocession of the interest received fades for the drawing concerned,” specified the Council. This financing system for SMEs allows the strengthening of the operational system in the field (awareness raising, recording and processing of credit requests as well as local post-financing monitoring). It will allow, on the one hand, a more remarkable intervention in municipalities up to the village level where currently the SFDs do not have an adequate coverage system and, on the other hand, to improve the quality of service and the monitoring of agricultural credits granted. This support is planned to last 24 months and will be part of a Special Employment Integration Program (PSIE – Agricultural) by which the State takes into account up to 75% in the first year and 50% in the second year. , salary costs and SFDs supporting the remaining 25% and 50% respectively. The new incentive measures were adopted in favor of agricultural operators and SMEs following an observation, according to the Council of Ministers. These include: the weak commitment to the implementation of the financing mechanism established by the FNDA, a consequence of the lack of control of agricultural value chains by certain financial institutions; the ineligibility of the guarantee proposed by the FNDA in relation to the prudential system in force within the West African Economic and Monetary Union; the difficulties of the majority of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in meeting the credit conditions of banks (quality of files, additional guarantees and financial compensation, etc.).
QA December 7, 2023
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