Long-term financing of up to $10 million for the agriculture and food sector

Long-term financing opportunities of up to $10 million will be offered to businesses planning to invest in the agriculture and food sector.

Within the scope of the Transformation Project of the Turkish Agri-Food Sector for Employment and Rural Welfare (TARGET), which is carried out under the general coordination of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, implemented by ARDSI and financed by the World Bank, investment loans will be provided through Ziraat Bank.

The cooperation aims to facilitate access to finance for businesses in the agriculture and food sector, increase production capacity and strengthen the agriculture-food value chain.

Within the scope of the TARGET Project, repayment financing will be provided up to 80 percent of the investment amount.

Depending on the size of the project, the financing amount may reach up to 10 million dollars.

The financing opportunity to be offered to investors will be available with a maturity of up to 7 years, with a maximum grace period of 2 years.

The resource can be used in the construction of facilities in the field of agriculture and food and in machinery and equipment investments.

While the project is planned to provide a total of 5.3 billion dollars of financing in a 10-year period, it is envisaged that 750 million dollars of resources will be used in the first phase.

Within the scope of the TARGET Project, the project announcement is planned to be made by ARDSI by the end of the year.

After the applications are evaluated, it is aimed to start financing disbursements in 2027.

Within the scope of the cooperation, the resources provided by TKDK from the World Bank will be offered as investment loans to legal entities preparing agricultural investment projects through Ziraat Bank.

In his speech at the signing ceremony, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Ahmet Bağcı stated that the TARGET Project is an important step in strengthening investments in the agriculture and food sector and increasing rural welfare.

Emphasizing that access to finance is important for the sustainable development of the agriculture and food sector, increasing production capacity and strengthening the competitiveness of producers, Bağcı said:

"We are aware that access to finance is of great importance for the sustainable development of our agriculture and food sector, increasing our production capacity and strengthening the competitiveness of our producers.

"As the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, we will strengthen the power of our producers and investors by supporting investments in different rings of the agriculture-food value chain, from production to processing, from storage to logistics, with the TARGET Project."

Stating that the project will encourage investments compatible with production planning and strengthen producers' access to the market, Bağcı stated that organized agricultural zones, value-added product production and contracted production models will be supported.

Bağcı noted that creating new employment opportunities in rural areas is also among the targets.

Ziraat Bank General Manager Alpaslan Çakar stated that the cooperation with ARDSI is important for the sustainable development of the agriculture and food sector.

Stating that the project will contribute to strengthening the agriculture-food value chain, supporting investments with long-term resources and facilitating access to finance, Çakar said, "As Ziraat Bank, we will continue to support projects that increase the production power of our country with our widespread service infrastructure and expertise in agricultural financing." he said.

TKDK President Ahmet Antalyalı said that the project offers an opportunity for the institution to bring its project management and rural development experience to a wider investor base with international financing resources.

Antalyalı said, "Thanks to this cooperation with Ziraat Bank, we will offer long-term financing opportunities to the investments of agricultural-food businesses and producer organizations.

"As ARDSI, we will contribute to the transformation of resources into production, investment and rural development by carrying out the application and evaluation processes effectively with our strong project management experience." made his assessment.