RURAL CREDIT I

closed

The proposed project would help implement the Government's policy of transferring responsibility for public sector rural credit to BPM, and would help BPM to widen and deepen the market for its activities in the agricultural sector. It would include support for expanding BPM's regional branch network, including 9 new branches and over 30 subbranches and mobile units; help in establishing a training center, which would increase BPM's capacity to recruit new graduates and upgrade the skills of existing staff; provision of about 7 man-years of technical assistance to improve BPM's management; and provision of funds for production credits and for about 8,000 medium- and long-term loans to farmers, fishermen, and enterprises based in the rural sector. Of the estimated 80% of these term loans which would go to smallholders, 2,500 would be made to the poorest farmers and would be instrumental in allowing many of them to participate in the Rubber Industry Smallholder Development Authority's rubber replanting program. The realization of project objectives would increase BPM's effectiveness and provide immediate benefit to farmers and smallholders who use institutional credit and savings facilities.