It seems to me that there is no restrictive credit behavior...
Monday, 20. October 2008 DEG supports coffee farmers in Nicaragua Long-term loan to the amount of 6 million US-dollars for Eco-Agroforestal S.A. Ecological sustainability and highest quality standards Speciality coffee from Nicaragua and Central America: this is the purpose for which DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, provides a long-term loan to the amount of 6 million US-dollars to Eco-Agroforestal S.A., a subsidiary of ECOM Agroindustrial Corp. Ltd. (ECOM). Eco-Agroforestal passes the money on in form of loans to partly fallow coffee plantations in Nicaragua and Central America, which can then be recultivated. The aim is having the farms certified to market the coffee as a premium product afterwards. For the term of the loan, ECOM Group participates in the management of the farm management thereby ensuring the introduction of both ecologically sustainable production methods and social standards. After repayment of the loan, the owners are intended to run their farms by themselves.
In practice, the money goes into the cultivation of more profit-yielding and resistant coffee trees, repair and maintenance of the farm infrastructure – i.e. administrative buildings, houses for staff, irrigation and waste water systems – and into the purchase of agricultural machines. The project will create some 4,500 jobs in Nicaragua and Central America thereby generating additional income in one of the poorest countries of the world. The introduction of sustainable cultivation methods also makes a contribution to environment protection. The financing is meant as a pilot project for a further cooperation between ECOM and DEG.
ECOM is an international trading house for agricultural products with headquarters in Switzerland. One-third of the consolidated group revenues is generated through trade and processing of coffee. The enterprise has specialised in the marketing of certified high-quality coffee – a product with a growing demand. To respond to this demand, ECOM aims at spreading its know-how in this field onto the coffee economy of Central America.
Compliance with internationally acknowledged environmental and social standards is vital financing criteria for DEG, one of Europe’s largest development finance institutions. This is why DEG holds a symposium on the subject of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on 30 October 2008, with the title “Act responsibly – why CSR pays off. Companies report on first-hand experiences.” http://www.deginvest.de/EN_Home/Press/Press_archive/2008/20081020.jsp?logo=logo_deg.gif
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