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According to Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations
(FAO), world food production must
increase by 50 percent by 2050
in order to meet the needs of the
growing world population and of
biomass energy.
The regions of Central and Eastern
Europe, Central Asia, and the
Mediterranean comprise 200 million
hectares, occupying 13 percent of
the world's total arable lands. It is
among the leading global suppliers
of basic foodstuffs like corn, wheat,
sunflower seeds, and rye. Enhancing
both the quality and quantity of food
production in this region would exert
a positive impact on future food
supply.
To increase agricultural production,
funding is an important factor in
addition to policy planning and
providing technical assistance to
farmers. Therefore, the TaiwanICDF
a nd t h e Eu r ope a n Ba n k f o r
Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD) finalized and launched the
Financial Intermediary and Private
Enterprises Investment Special Fund
– Agribusiness Account program
in 2015 to address the difficulty
of accessing finance of regional
agribusinesses and to respond to the
issues of climate change and food
security, a particular concern of the
international community. The program
is co-financed by both parties and
gives priority to agribusinesses,
assisting them to upgrade production
and improve the quality and quantity
of their agricultural products.
Agribusiness as Midstream
Supply Chain to Drive both
Upstream and Downstream
Industries
In the regions of Central and
Eastern Europe, Central Asia and
the Mediterranean, food supply and
food security are development issues
that concern how to simultaneously
satisfy consumer affordability and
accessibility, good quality, and
supply quantity. This program will
address the center of the value
chain, including food manufacturing,
p r o c e s s i n g a n d p a c k a g i n g
operations, and seek opportunities to
add value to the entire supply chain.
The positive effects of innovation in
production and improved efficiency
will also impact upstream and
downstream activities, such as
primary agriculture on the one end
and retail on the other. After obtaining
funding, agribusinesses can expand
the scale of production, increase
productivity and improve operational
e ff i c i ency, t he reby
driving the sustainable
development of the food
value chain.
This program also
integrates technical
assistance with the
policy dialogue tools of
the EBRD’s agribusiness
d e p a r t me n t s . F o r
example, investments
can be made from this
Fund to agro-processors, including
vertically integrated ones, which can
support supply chain development
and facilitate access to agronomic
services, technology and know-how
in primary agriculture. Investments
can also help improve sanitary
standards to boost the availability
of safe and nutritious food products
on the domestic market. Another
example would be investments that
support energy and improvements in
resource efficiency in the retail sector,
including food production segments
and retail stores. This project can
reduce the agribusiness sector’s
environmental footprint for long-term
sustainability.
The TaiwanICDF has accumulated
years of experience in agricultural
development assistance, both in
guiding and strengthening production
technology and in helping farmers to
obtain financing assistance.
As the EBRD and the TaiwanICDF
share the view that taking into
account environmental issues in
agricultural development can help
promote sustainable agriculture,
both institutions have leveraged their
respective strengths to
advance this program.
We are confident that
our combined efforts
and cooperation will
allow us to expand the
regional coverage of our
support for agribusiness
development, as well
as contribute to food
security.
3
Leverage created by
the fund invested by the
TaiwanICDF
-Fold
EBRD Special Fund
—
Agribusiness
Account
1
Case Study