The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, together with the State Secretariat of Switzerland for Economic Affairs (SECO), is launching a four-year consulting project aimed at expanding access to financial resources for agricultural producers in Azerbaijan, Report informs referring to the IFC.
The corporation's product and warehouse certification project is aimed at removing financial barriers faced by farmers and agribusinesses, thereby increasing productivity. It is noted that although agriculture provides 37% of employment in Azerbaijan, its share in GDP is only 5.5%: "One of the main problems hindering the development of the sector is limited access to financing due to lack of collateral and high risks associated with agricultural lending."
As part of the project, IFC aims to create a legislative and regulatory framework for financial instruments, as well as to form policies supporting digitalization.
After the approval of the legislative framework, attention will be directed to increasing the capacity of financial institutions and farmers.