Latin America in 2020: Stronger, more sustainable farmers

Farmers’ cooperatives borrow money from us on favorable terms. If our partners do well, helped by their existing repayment track record built up with Rabo Foundation, the organizations become eligible for local bank funding. In 2020, in Latin America, we provided a total of € 12.1 million in loans, technical assistance, trade finance and grants.

With our short-term loans, producer organizations could buy products from farmers, pay them on time, or purchase agricultural equipment that farmers could use to increase their production. And with our long-term loans, the cooperatives were able to issue microcredits of their own to help farmers invest in improvements such as better processing and storage of their harvests.

Local partners help farmers diversify their crops. This allows them to fall back on alternative sources of income if the harvest fails, and reduces the risk of food shortages. Our partners also offer the farmers access to better agricultural techniques and resources to improve their yields, and teach them how to deal with extreme drought or rainfall. Farmers then apply the new knowledge themselves and share it with others within their cooperatives. In 2020, 59% of our project partners received technical assistence.

Our local consultants are spread across our focus countries in Latin America to offer our local partners technical support. They speak the language, and understand the culture and the environment. That allows them to quickly form a bond with the partners and their member farmers. It also helps us to quickly identify new challenges and potential solutions.