IFC investment to boost Turkish farmers access to finance

ISTANBUL

A new targeted investment will help address the critical financing needs of Türkiye’s micro, small, and medium enterprises in the agricultural sector, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has said.

It will help in preserving jobs and aiding economic recovery, with a particular focus on earthquake-impacted areas, the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, said in a statement.

IFC is investing $125 million, as part of a $610 million equivalent Diversified Payment Rights (DPR) issuance by DenizBank, alongside other investors, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Proparco.

“The financing is designed to address the funding gap faced by smaller businesses and smallholding farmers, a segment which bears a disproportionately higher burden in accessing credit,” the statement said.

Some 15 percent of the funds will be channeled to smaller enterprises in areas affected by the devastating earthquakes, which struck Türkiye in February.

Türkiye represents IFC’s third-largest country exposure globally, with a committed portfolio of close to $4.6 billion as of March 2023.

“IFC has supported private sector development in Türkiye for more than 50 years, with investments of nearly $10 billion in the last decade alone,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) said that the production of cereals and other crops is forecast to increase by 4.8 percent in to 73.6 million tons in 2023.

According to the estimates the statistics authority released, Türkiye’s cereals production will grow 2.1 percent this year compared to 2022 to 39.5 million tons.

The expected increase in vegetable production is a moderate 1.9 percent to around 32.2 million tons, while the country’s fruit output is seen at 26.9 million tons, only 0.3 percent higher compared with 2022.