IFC SUPPORTS PARAGUAY’S AGRICULTURAL SECTOR DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC WITH A US$10 MILLION LOAN TO AGROFÉRTIL

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a US$10 million loan to Agrofértil, a leading agribusiness company in Paraguay. This investment will help the agribusiness sector, which is critical to the country’s growth in addressing the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Agricultural commodities, such as soybean and beef, account for seventy percent of Paraguay’s total exports. About forty  per cent of Paraguay’s population live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.¹

The loan to Agrofértil has been granted as part of IFC’s global response to combat the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. IFC has implemented a US$8 billion package of fast-track financing to its clients to help sustain economies, support businesses and protect jobs all over the world.

Agrofértil is Paraguay’s leading crop input distributor and it supports the pre-harvesting financing needs of its network of farmers. It also provides agrochemicals, seeds, fertilizers, technical support, and other inputs to client producers, as well as commercialization of their grains.

Supporting small farmers by providing capital lines to agribusiness input distributors – part of IFC’s strategy in Paraguay – is more important than ever in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected financing for the agricultural sector.

Through this loan, IFC will be injecting liquidity to support Agrofértil finance the pre-harvest capital needs of thousands of small agricultural producers and contributing to ensure continuity of operations across Paraguay’s agribusiness value chain. This will help provide resiliency to a sector that is a pillar of the country’s economy and key to its long-term growth prospects.  In addition, this investment is climate-friendly, meaning that Agrofértil’s business model provides high quality inputs and agronomic support to farmers on how to use the inputs. It also helps in improving crop yields as well as  reducing  waste and losses.

“We are glad to partner once again with Agrofértil and support a sustainable agribusiness sector in Paraguay,” said David Tinel, IFC Country Manager for Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. “It is important for IFC to support clients facing the negative shocks caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and to help economies to accelerate their recovery process,” he added.

IFC’s strategy in Paraguay seeks to strengthen the country’s competitiveness by providing financial products and advisory services in key economic sectors, focusing on improving physical and digital connectivity to boost export-led growth and economic diversification, managing natural capital to integrate the agricultural and beef sectors into sustainable value chains and increasing access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises to support the creation of more and better jobs.