Agricultural Project Financing Available Through All Public Banks

An agreement previously signed between the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Fisheries and the Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions has officially entered into force.

The agreement enables all authorised public banks in the country to finance several agricultural projects nationwide, whereas previously the financing was limited to the Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (BADR).

The implementation of the new financing mechanism was announced in a document issued by the Directorate of Agricultural Services of Tlemcen (western Algeria) on Saturday, March 28th.

The document stated that “to ensure the implementation of agricultural projects, oversee their application, and streamline related procedures, the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Fisheries has established a new financing mechanism, within the framework of the agreement signed between our ministry and the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions.”

The document added: “Therefore, we inform our fellow farmers that financing for agricultural projects has been made available to all public banks operating in the banking sector.”

The list of approved public banks for agricultural financing includes the Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (BADR), a long-standing partner of Algerian farmers, as well as the National Bank of Algeria (BNA), the People’s Credit Bank of Algeria (CPA), the Local Development Bank (BDL), the National Savings and Providence – Bank (CNEP-Banque), and the External Bank of Algeria (BEA).

The document also informed farmers that the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Fisheries would fully cover the interest on the loans granted.

Regarding the areas covered by the subsidized agricultural investment loan, these include establishing and equipping farms or livestock farms, modernizing existing farms and livestock farms, intensifying the processing and value-added production of agricultural and livestock products requiring financial resources, storing and preserving agricultural products, particularly those with wide consumption, as well as packaging and exporting agricultural products, in addition to any other activity related to the agricultural sector or the agri-food industry.

The document noted that the loan’s amount and ceiling were set at DZD 100 million for the individual investment loan and DZD 200 million for the federal investment loan.