Meeting with FAO Representatives Held at ACC

A meeting with representatives of the Liaison and Partnership Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (hereinafter – FAO) was held at the Agrarian Credit Corporation as part of the Astana International Forum.

Mohamed Manssouri, Director of the FAO Investment Centre, spoke about the organization's activities. He emphasized that the FAO operates in the field of food and agriculture. The Investment Centre is FAO’s financial division that provides technical support and collaborates with international financial institutions such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, African Development Bank, among others. The Centre also aims to work with national country-level financial institutions.

In addition, Mohamed Manssouri highlighted opportunities for cooperation with FAO member countries, which are structured into four types of collaboration. The first is assistance to member countries in developing investment programs within sub-sectors, such as livestock, fisheries, and other areas. The second involves support in the development of projects and programs. The third is the facilitation of private investments, mainly through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The fourth mechanism is innovative financing through the mobilization of private capital.

Kairat Sapulatov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Agrarian Credit Corporation JSC, presented the structure of the Corporation and noted that ACC and its subsidiary KazAgroFinance are key players in agricultural financing. The previous year was quite successful for the Corporation: the total volume of support to farmers reached KZT 822 billion (approximately USD 1.5 billion). ACC’s portfolio includes over 80,000 farmers. Overall, Agrarian Credit Corporation provides loans, while KazAgroFinance specializes in leasing. Loans are issued both directly to agricultural producers and through sales channels such as second-tier banks, microfinance organizations, credit partnerships, and social-entrepreneurial corporations.

As of the end of 2024, more than 16,000 farmers were supported, and over 10,500 units of agricultural machinery were provided. This level of financing exceeds the 2023 figures by one and a half times. This year’s plan is around KZT 1 trillion (USD 2 billion). To date, the Corporation has issued KZT 500 billion.

Kairat Sapulatov emphasized that the Corporation’s mission is to build an accessible and efficient financing system to enable farmers to promptly and effectively obtain financial resources. He also informed the FAO representatives about the terms of ACC’s financing programs: Ken Dala, Agrobusiness, and Isker.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the parties agreed to cooperate in training, knowledge exchange, and the promotion of green projects.