Challenges

The agriculture and agri-food sector in Chad faces several challenges. At the state level, structuram mechanisms put in place do not work well and the business envirnment is very difficult. Banks and monetay financial institutions are severely limited with their credit offers to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) due to the difficult economic and political envirnment, as well as the insecurity that prevails in certain areas of the country.

Beneficiaries have significant deficits in technical capacities, non-existent or very weak training in entrepreunarship, poor practice of good governance, material and financial constraints, poor partnership development and low production capacity. Most beneficiaries are operating in the informal sector and are struggling to develop.

Specifically related financing for SMEs, constraints include:

• the structures in place to not respond to the financing needs of the beneficiaires (SMEs, women and young people);
• SMEs who are economically deficient have difficulties accessing financial services (banking and microfinance); and
• financing structures find it difficult to deal with SMEs in terms of management and cost, because SMEs do not meet the conditions of acceptable profitability.

Toward a Solution

To address the issue of financing SMEs linked to the agro-food chain in Chad, a knowledge exchange on financing models for SMEs took place between Chad and Niger. The exchange was based on a financing mechanism model of the Agricultural Bank of Niger. This South-South and Triangular Cooperation study tour was funded by and facilitated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with the other partners participating in a needs assessment, workshops and the study tour.

The study tour was preceded in Chad by a capacity needs assessment execise which involved the consultation of 67 SMEs, key ministeries (Agriculture, Livestock, Finance and Budget, Envirnment, Women, Vocational Training and Small Trdes) and technical and financial partners. Mapping was done of relevant stakeholders and a roadmap drawn up for implementing lessons learned, including adoption of an action plan. Terms of reference were drawn up for the study tour. The needs assessment and ToR were validated through a national workshop which gathered representatives of SMEs, state and non-state actors. The study tour took place from 10 to 16 October 2021 and was made up of seven members, primarily senior officials in charge of finance and agriculture. The tour included group meetings, individualized meetings between institutions of the same nature, field visits and sharing of documentation.

The working methodology adopted was that for each activity or meeting, there was an introduction of the mission, the objectives and the centres of interest by the head of the mission, presentation of the participants, presentation of the experience by the institution, followed by discussions and summary of the resuls of the meeting.

During the study tour, good practices and innovations in financing of farmers and agricultural and food SMEs in Niger were identified. Specifically discussed were the situations of agri-food SMEs, the mechanisms, approaches and financing models developed in Niger, the experiences of financing producer organizations and SMEs and the lessons learned and problems met. Opportunities were identified for partnership and collaboration between Chad and Niger in financing agricultural and food operators and SMEs.

Following the study tour, the Government of Chad organized a restitution workshop which resulted in preparation of a roadmap on financing of agricultural holdings and SMEs, capacity building of farmers’ organizations and economic and vocational inclusion of women and young people in the agricultural and food sectors.

Priority actions proposed include a capacity building programme for producer organizations and SMEs, the establishment of an agricultural bank, the adoption of agriculture risk management mechanisms, the formation of chambers of agriculture, the design of a remote agricultural advisory system, and the setting up of an incubator centre for start-ups and SMEs to support job creation and income-generating activities. To this end, an ad hoc committee at the Ministry of Agriculture has been established.

The financing models seen in Niger were new for Chad and have the potential to help meet the challenges and address the bottlenecks in this area. The study tour paved the way for future partnership opportunities between Chad and Niger, such as supporting Chad to create an agricultural bank through the sharing of legal documentation, exchanges on practical arrangements, etc., and the creation of the chambers of agriculture.

The Chadian mission drew several lessons from the exchange, namely, the relevance of South-South cooperation, the significant support of the state in the promotion of these initiatives, the significant role of the private sector, the importance of appropriation by the beneficiaries, the complementarity and synergy between different funding mechanisms, the commitment of all stakeholders in capacity building programmes, the excellent collaboration between institutions, the need for an appropriate organizational and management framework, and finally, the need for commitment and determination as major success factors.