AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND CREDIT PROJECT-II

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The Second Agricultural Development and Credit Project for Azerbaijan aims to further increase rural productivity and incomes by enhancing the access of farmers and small and medium rural enterprises to rural business and agricultural support services including financial, advisory and veterinary services. It also stimulates market-oriented investments in rural areas. There are three project components. Component 1, Agricultural Business Services, supports rural businesses to improve the linkages between their production and markets. The component aims to develop efficient linkages and contractual relationships between producers and processors, and to facilitate investments in market opportunities through enhanced access to financial services and targeted business support. The component increases the availability of small rural financial services by (a) strengthening and broadening the credit union outreach; (b) expanding rural financial services such as credit for working capital requirements, long-term credit for investment purposes, and leasing programs for processing and agricultural equipment; (c) enhancing the efficiency of rural markets by introducing innovative mechanisms that encourage sustainable linkages between developing small-scale rural businesses and agro-processors with farmers, associations and groups; and (d) strengthening rural business, market information and promotion services offered through the rural advisory system. Component 2, Agricultural Support Services, enables farmers to improve their productivity and quality of production by expanding the outreach of the advisory system, strengthening the provision of private veterinary services, and improving access to adapted technologies. Three main sub-components have been identified: (a) supporting the further development of an effective information and advisory system that provides farmers and other rural entrepreneurs with appropriate knowledge and skills to improve their productivity, quality of production, management and marketing; (b) assisting livestock owners to improve animal production through enhanced access to quality-assured veterinary and husbandry services throughout the country, and by strengthening the disease surveillance and preparedness functions of the State Veterinary Service; and (c) improving the capacity of selected research institutions to provide adapted technologies and critical information to advisory staff and producers. Component 3 supports Project Management.