Highly successful introductory session of the FAR training

The training in agricultural and rural finance (French acronym: ‘FAR’) is aimed at managers of financial institutions and other stakeholders in the field of inclusive finance in Africa (authorities, fintechs, insurance companies, investment funds…) that set out to develop financial products and services for the agricultural sector. It is organised by ADA, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg (MAEE) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) through the CABFIN project focused on capacity building in the field of rural finance. 

The introductory training session completed in April has largely delivered what it promised. For example, the excellent average rating of 3.6/4 that emerged from the satisfaction questionnaire sent to the 150 participants after the four weeks of training in e-learning mode.
Among the most highly rated aspects were the quality of the courses, considered clear and well-structured; the flexibility and duration of the programme, estimated at an average of 5 hours’ work per week; the exchange of experiences between participants and teachers via the discussion forum provided, and the organisation of webinars on subjects related to the agricultural sector (drawing up business plans in the rural sector, the financing of agroforestry, agricultural investments and the financing of climate-resistant agrifood systems).

The questionnaire also enabled us to collect suggestions for future editions. Some suggest that it could be useful to involve former participants in the follow-up and practice of the different modules to take advantage of their experience. Others propose going into greater detail on the subjects dealt with during the training sessions, such as the impact of climate change or the carrying out of studies in clients.

The second part of the FAR training −this time in greater detail – will be presence-based in October 2022, either in Luxembourg or in an African country. This session is reserved for the 40 most diligent and motivated participants for the e-learning sessions, who will be entitled to a grant.

Testimonies by participants

Franklin Fosack FONKENG
Interim Director-General of the microfinance institution FIDEV CAMEROUN SA in Cameroon  
“It is ideal training for any expert in agricultural finance. Yes, the content of the course is dense, but it provides key notions on agricultural and rural financing, credit analysis, risk management and product development. I would sincerely like to thank the ADA team, the FAO trainers and the participants for sharing knowledge that will certainly be of use in one way or another. I hope that several other institutions can benefit from the richness of this information so that we can create sustainable impacts together in our communities”.

Kouakou Hubert KOUASSI
Branch manager of the microfinance institution CEDAICI SA (Savings Bank for Agricultural and Industrial Development) in Ivory Coast
“I would like to thank the teaching and technical teams of ADA and FAO for enabling me to participate in the agricultural and rural finance training. They showed a high level of mastery of the subject. I would also like to thank the participants for the time we spent together and their remarkable sharing of experiences”.

Pious ASANTE
Gender specialist, Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Regional Office for Africa (Ghana) / Sub-regional Office for West Africa (Senegal)
“I was fortunate to participate in the training. As a gender and rural development specialist, I was expecting to be enlightened by experts en finance and agrobusiness on opportunities in the development of financial and insurance products for small farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs, and in particular for women and young people. I was able to interact with finance and development experts, who shared their experiences as financial institutions. I would like to thank my supervisor and the training providers for the richness of the sessions, their availability and their advice”.

Boubakar THIOMBIANO
Director of Operations and Follow-up-Evaluation of the National Inclusive Finance Fund of Burkina Faso
“I really valued the training. It was an occasion for me to update my knowledge in the field of agricultural and rural finance. In my day-to-day work this will help me to improve in the modelling of financial products and services for the benefit of the agricultural sector and the rural world”.

Pascal SEMEVO
Polyvalent facilitator in the project to support agricultural development and access to the market (PADAAM) for the Framework Programme of FIDA  interventions in the rural environment (ProCaR) in Benin 
“I would like to thank ADA and the experts who contributed to the organisation of the training. They taught me the notions and tools that facilitate access by small farmers to finance through loans or subsidies. The courses were clear and easy to assimilate, and the time one had to dedicate is moderate, which means one can follow the course without it having too much impact on one’s work. I am already applying what I learned in my own organisation in order to improve access to financial support, loans and subsidies in particular, and also to producers I work with within my remit in the PADAAM project at ProCaR Benin. I also plan to share this knowledge with my facilitator colleagues who were unable to participate in the training sessions”.