FMO commits €5m to agri fund

The Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, FMO, has approved a €5 million investment in the IDH Farmfit Fund.

Since its inception in 2008, the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) has developed a market-based approach to develop value chains for smallholder farmers. IDH works with over 600 companies, financial institutions, producer organisations, and governments in 12 value chains across 40 countries worldwide.

As an evolution of its grants-based investments strategy, IDH established the Farmfit Fund. To strengthen smallholder value chains and improve the livelihoods of farmers, the fund will support a wide variety of actors ranging from traders to input providers, agri SMEs and financial institutions across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

The fund will offer tailor-made financial instruments (debt, risk sharing, equity) and technical assistance to a wide range of investees that sustainably engage with smallholder farmers. Its impact will be increased further through leveraging commercial bank finance.

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