Afghanistan – Agricultural Credit Enhancement (ACE)

Increasing Lending Throughout the Agricultural Sector

The Agricultural Credit Enhancement (ACE) program is a four-year USAID-funded project designed to work with and through the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL). This program will increase the provision of credit to commercial agricultural producers. By establishing a sustainable source of agricultural financing, the project can accelerate the modernization and expansion of the agricultural sector and related value chains.

ACDI/VOCA is a core member of the ACE team under a subcontract with Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI). Together the two organizations support the project’s lending activities to financial institutions in agricultural activities. ACE helped the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock development a knowledge management facility, a repository of agricultural information and a source of market intelligence. In November 2012, ACE and the ministry together established the Agricultural Development Fund (ADF), a government-related agricultural lending institution.

As commercial banks displayed little interest in engaging the agricultural sector, ACE/ADF developed innovative approaches to address the credit gap. Using a grant that the ministry received from USAID, ADF is lending to value chain intermediaries in the agricultural sector. Those intermediary recipients include financial institutions and non-financial organizations like associations, farm stores, agricultural depots and food processors. They in turn use their grants to lend to small commercial farmers and agribusinesses.

For more information, contact Katherine Brogan at kbrogan@acdivoca.org.

Updated: 2/13

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