The Agricultural Support Project responds to an urgent need to allow poor rural people to participate in a market-oriented rural economy. This national project will focus its activities in the poor rural regions of Georgia and aims to:

• increase the assets and incomes of poor rural people;
• facilitate participation in rural economy
• boost crop production through better irrigation;
• improve small-scale rural infrastructure;
• reduce transport costs and post-harvest loss due to upgraded rural roads;
• reduce crop wastage, boost productivity and lower costs through better access to modern equipment.

The project is introducing an innovative financial instrument, rural leasing, which will allow poor rural Georgians who previously could not afford taking loans because they had few or no assets to provide as collateral, to participate in flexible and affordable leasing contracts.

The innovative financial leasing instruments allow farmers to purchase equipment such as tractors or milking sheds and use these as collateral for the loan. This win-win arrangement allows the farmers and the community to avail of resources they need to improve their livelihoods.

Source: IFAD