After the enthusiastic week of inspiration on agricultural financing in Belgium in May last year, we brought our partners UIMCEC-Senegal and RCPB-Burkina Faso back together in Ouagadougou in early February to exchange experiences on credit lending to farmers.
This time Camara, the head of the agricultural financing department of UIMCEC, was able to be present. Together with BRS employee Bart Speelman and BRS advisor Lieve Meganck, he was warmly welcomed by the RCPB team.
Various stakeholders from the branch network and head office of RCPB explained how they have succeeded in aligning their credit lending to the needs of, among others, onion and rice farmers who are members of a farmers’ organisation.
This approach developed together with Trias in the Caisse of Kaya proves that cooperation between financiers and member organisations supported and strengthened by NGOs is bearing fruit.
Together we also visited an agency of RCPB in Toece and one of their largest offices in Ouagadougou and met customers who were able to increase their production of tangelos and vegetables via the credits.
The visit to an association of the blind and visually impaired, which is also supported by the RCPB, was a memorable experience. The association can count on credits for the cultivation of fruit and vegetables, which means that they can pay for, among other things, braille training courses and there is also attention to financial education.
A great example of social inclusion in the South!
The visit also convinced us to propose continuing the collaboration with RCPB in the coming years and a new mission to strengthen the audit function and support them in an audit of agricultural funding is already planned for April.