Tag: sustainable agriculture

Incofin invests EUR 2 million in PEBCo-Bethesda in Benin. The funding comes from the Agricultural Liquidity Fund (ALF) and is a testament to Incofin’s dedication to advancing sustainable agriculture and climate resilience through financial inclusion. This resonates deeply with Benin, a country where agriculture sustains livelihoods and contributes 30% to GDP.

With more than 70% of its population relying on agriculture, the importance in Benin of agriculture cannot be overstated. Established in 1996, microfinance institution PEBCo Bethesda Benin has emerged as a catalyst for change, with a core mission to empower low-income communities, particularly women, in this agrarian landscape.

It facilitates farmers to purchase seeds and other inputs and supports the necessary investments to ensure revenue generation. This approach not only enhances the financial prospects of individuals but also contributes to the broader economic development of the populations it serves.

 

Comprehensive financial services

PEBCo’s efforts encompass a range of financial and non-financial services, including savings, agricultural loans, education loans and green loans for the acquisition of solar panels, among others.

 

Confronting climate challenges

However, Benin, like many other countries, grapples with the adverse effects of climate change. In recent years, unpredictable and erratic weather patterns, marked by floods and droughts, have cast a long shadow over the agricultural sector in Benin. It has not only imperiled food security but also jeopardized the livelihoods of countless individuals.

PEBCo has enlisted the expertise of an agricultural specialist to assist the MFI and its client sin adapting to and mitigating climate risks. This proactive approach underscores its commitment to safeguarding the interests of its borrowers and promoting sustainable farming practices.

Incofin, committed to inclusive progress and sustainable agriculture

Incofin’s debt investment of EUR 2 million in PEBCo originates from the Agricultural Liquidity Fund. The fund seeks to support actors in the sustainable agrifood value chain. This investment reaffirms Incofin’s commitment to fostering agriculture in Africa and the belief in PEBCo’s pivotal role in this endeavor.

 

25/09/2023

Africa dominates global cashew nut production with 56% of the market. Surprisingly, only 10% is processed locally. Enter Anatrans – the exclusive supplier of Nuts2 – and the leading processor in Burkina Faso, empowering 4,000 local farmers.

Through Incofin’s Technical Assistance project, co-financed by the Smallholder Safety Net Upscaling Programme (SSNUP), and the agRIF Technical Assistance Facility (agTAF), the lives of cashew nut producers in Burkina Faso have seen remarkable improvements. How?

  • Access to Fairtrade certification
  • Provision of advance payments
  • Focus on education and healthcare for their children

With 416 farmers trained on Fairtrade practices and 2 cooperatives receiving a Fairtrade certification, the Technical Assistance project has been a resounding success. Moreover, 159 farmers received advance payments for education and healthcare. But how can you know that it is truly impactful? We listened to the farmers themselves. You can find the results in the conclusions of the survey “Voice of the Farmer”.  It turns out that farmers have embraced more sustainable production practices, and 99% have witnessed increase in their cashew nut income. Thanks to the Fairtrade label, they now benefit from larger sales volumes and higher prices.

Another heartening outcome is the significant prevention of child labour, thanks to enhanced awareness among farmers and increased resources for better living conditions for the children. The farmers themselves have spoken and wholeheartedly believe that the benefits provided by the Fairtrade label are worth every penny invested.

 

agTAF, the Technical Assistance Facility of agRIF fund

agTAF was launched in 2018 to foster the financial inclusion of smallholder farmers and rural entrepreneurs through the provision of tailored capacity building support to selected investees of the Fund. agTAF is a EUR 1.8 million facility jointly financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique S.A. (PROPARCO), the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) and the agRIF fund.

 

About Smallholder Safety Net Upscaling Programme (SSNUP)

The Smallholder Safety Net Upscaling Programme (SSNUP) is a 10-year programme which aims to strengthen the safety nets of 10 million smallholder households in Africa, Latin America and Asia through technical assistance and investment in agricultural value chains, resulting in an improved well-being of 50 million low-income people. Funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Luxembourg Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, the SSNUP works as a facility to co-finance the technical assistance projects of impact investors active in the field. ADA ensures the coordination as well as the knowledge management component of the whole programme. For more info visit: www.ssnup.org.

 

 

07/08/2023

Incofin is proud to announce that Fairtrade Belgium came to the head office to award the Fairtrade @work-label. It is a recognition for how we at Incofin work for a more sustainable agriculture with a fair income for smallholder farmers. Not only through our investments, but also in the daily life in the Incofin offices. Wheter it is the coffee drunk there, the nuts eaten or events organised: Incofin always goes for those products that truly benefit the farmer or producer of origin.

Our colleagues Sétha, Niels and Jorgen explain in less than 2 minutes all about it:

 

 

05/05/2023

Vanilla is one of the most popular spices in the world, but vanilla farmers usually don’t benefit much from the high prices end customers are willing to pay. This concern led Incofin investing in vanilla via the Fairtrade Access Fund.

Chances are high that the vanilla flavor of your ice cream comes from the Sava region in northeastern Madagascar. Responsible for 80% of the global production of Bourbon vanilla, Sava is by far the main supplier. 70,000 smallholder farmers produce on around 25,000 hectares of  land. This is also the region where Lafaza sources its vanilla beans. Incofin’s Fairtrade Access Fund (FAF) recently approved a loan of USD 1.5 million to vanilla processor and exporter Lafaza Trading SARL (Incorporated in Madagascar). Lafaza buys premium vanilla from smallholder farming communities at fair trade prices and then sells it for retail, wholesale and through export channels. But the company has more to offer than just an interesting price to the 1,000 vanilla farmers they are working with.

Those farmers live in small, isolated villages, often requiring several days of travelling by canoe, hiking or overcoming difficult roads to reach them. That is how Lafaza makes the difference; the company does not just buy the vanilla, but also provides capacity building on proper cultivation and curing techniques to enhance the quality of the vanilla and which enables the farmers to acquire organic certification.

The production process of vanilla is very labor-intensive and delicate. It takes up to four years for a new vanilla orchid vine to begin producing flowers. They are in bloom for less than 24 hours and pollination must occur at that moment when the flower bud opens.

Incofin’s investment in Lafaza reduces further the concentration risk in the FAF portfolio, both in terms of product (first investment in vanilla) as of country diversification (first deal in Madagascar).

Children at the local library that was sponsored by Lafaza

 

 

24/12/2021

Today is the day humanity has exhausted nature’s budget for the year. More sustainable agriculture can be a powerful lever to push the date of Earth Overshoot Day.

Agriculture takes a big bite out of earth’s natural resources.  It is the leading source of pollution in several countries, with pesticides and fertilizers that are released into water and soil. Agriculture also accounts for a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. 17% through direct agricultural activities and an additional 7-14% through land use changes. Finally, it consumes about 70% of the planet’s fresh water and approximately 80% of all threatened terrestiral bird and mammal species are imperiled by agriculturally driven habitat loss.[1]

However, sustainable agricultural practices can contribute to a more efficient use of resources and reduce the environmental impact of agricultural activities on the planet, while increasing productivity to meet an increasing food demand of humanity.

At Incofin, we partner with producer organisations and small and medium agricultural enterprises that implement social and environmental good practices to support sustainable agriculture in developing countries. We aim to contribute to the development of a fair and sustainable agricultural sector, but also to address the financial needs of smallholder farmers by providing better access to capital and to sustainable markets, while providing a fair return to investors.

In addition to our investments, Incofin also develops and manages, in partnership with the client, projects to strengthen sustainability practices. These technical assistance (TA) projects enable to explore innovative agricultural practices, to expand organic production and to develop circular economy models within organisations to make a more efficient use of resources when producing food.

Cooperativa Cafetalera ”Capucas” Limitada (COCAFCAL), Honduras

Coffee production

907 smallholder producers

Period TA-project: 2016-2018

Removing the coffee bean from the cherry through the process of wet milling generates a significant amount of wastewater and coffee pulp. Typically, these byproducts go unused. Under the worst circumstances, wastewater is discharged into nearby rivers and coffee pulp is left in fields to rot. Incofin’s TA helped Capucas design a system whereby 100% of the water and pulp generated by the wet mill is used to create organic fertilizers for members, creating a closed-loop production system that reduces impact on the local environment.

Impact achieved:

  • 22,000 liters of water reused in 2018
  • 200,000 kilos of coffee pulp reused
  • 5,300 smallholder farmers using organic fertilizers.

 

COOPFAM, Brazil

Organic coffee production

TA-project: ongoing since 2019

To improve the performance of organic plantations and maintain the minimum quality required by the buyers, it is key to ensure the good quality of seedlings. The production of healthy and well-developed seedlings is an extremely important factor for any crop and especially for those of perennial character, such as coffee. COOPFAM members used to buy seedlings from external suppliers which was costly and not entirely suitable for organic agriculture since the trees were mixed with conventional types. Through a TA project, COOPFAM has been establishing nurseries where the farmers produce seedlings and which, through economies of scale, will generate the best socio-economic benefits for them and for the cooperative.  

Impact achieved so far:

  • Increase of certified organic members from 120 to 167 in 2020
  • 7 technical facilitators trained to provide high quality advice on the cultivation of organic coffee trees, incl. production of organic compost
  • 176 producers trained in the production of organic coffee seedlings
  • 23 nurseries for organic seedlings established with more than 150.000 organic seedlings produced and planted in the farmers’ plots 

 

[1] https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/c49f1a94-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/c49f1a94-en