About the course:
In the year 2013, I received a preliminary training on Agriculture Value chain finance within the framework CamCCUL-AGRIFIN Initiative; an Agriculture Finance initiative of CamCCUL and her Credit Unions in partnership with World Bank, supported technically by FAO and IPC (International Project Consult, a German based consultancy firm). The Initiative was about providing capacity transfer and expert support for implementing an improved Agricultural lending programme in the Cameroon Cooperative Credit Union League.
Since then I have been practicing agriculture finance till date.
My Position: Agricultural Lending and Collection officer in the Agribusiness unit
Duties performed:
Main Task
Assisting Credit Unions to adopt new lending approaches; consisting of proactive identification of suitable members (clients) and value chains, maintaining close client relations, pre-and post disbursement visits, and other techniquesthrough which a high quality loan portfolio member satisfaction can be achieved.
Specific Tasks
- Providing technical assistance to Credit unions with respect to lending, with focus on agric. Loans;
- Training Credit Union staff, primarily(Agricultural) loan officers and managers of Credit Unions on all aspects of Agric. Loan portfolio management;
- Guiding Credit Unions in the adoption of new agricultural lending products and assisting the Credit Unions to fully integrate the newly developed manuals;
- Supporting, controlling and supervising agricultural loan granting and recovery in credit unions, with the aim to ensure that:
Agricultural loan officers pay regular visits to clients to assess their needs and monitor the success of their activities;
Loans are granted following proper screening and appraisal of clients, including field visits;
The agric loan manual is fully implemented,
- Appraising all applications for refinancing of agric. Loans from Credit Unions and recommending their approval or rejection as the case may be to the coordinator of the Agribusiness Unit of CamCCUL
- Monitoring results obtained under the agricultural program and reporting issues to the coordinator of the Agribusiness Unit of CamCCUL. Marketing of Agricultural lending to Credit Unions affiliated to CamCCUL (close to 220 affiliate Credit unions throughout the national territory as target);
- Manage the implementation of agricultural lending policies;
- Outline agricultural production requirements and characteristic;
- Map out the most important crop/livestock value chains;
- Provide risk assessment of different value chain actors;
- Propose products and lending guidelines specific to crops/livestock and commodities;
- Identify and evaluate appropriate financing needs in the value chain (Input finance, asset finance, raw material collection/transport finance and Inventory finance);
- Provide Product and market information on crop/livestock commodity sectors;
- Track developments throughout commodity sectors and update cost and price calculations;
- Measure the market size and identify major market participants;
- Facilitate in the training of Agricultural Loan officers (ALOs);
- Directly manage some of the larger loans of the ALOs at the level of the Credit Unions;
Provide financial and basic production education to Credit Union members who are farmers in Famers’ Business Schools under the GIZ Sustainable Cocoa Business program under the following topics:-
- Management of Farms as an enterprise
- Basic healthy nutrition and farm management for food security
- Planning of production and financial management
- Profit and loss calculation
- Decision making to seize income opportunities
- How to obtain good financial services
- Adding value through quality cocoa (Pre and post-harvest operations)
- Prepare investments in planting and replanting cocoa
- Benefits from membership in Farmer organizations
I really intend to be a cetified expert in Agriculture Finance
Course taken:
February 2022
Would you recommend this course?:
Yes