Huge Financial Support from Ziraat Bank and TKDK to the Agriculture and Food Sector

Ziraat Bank and Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institution (TKDK) are implementing their cooperation for the financing of investments in the agriculture and food sector within the scope of the Turkish Agricultural-Food Sector Transformation Project for Employment and Rural Welfare (TARGET) with a signing ceremony.

Within the scope of the TARGET Project, which is carried out under the general coordination of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, implemented by ARDSI and financed by the World Bank, long-term financing will be provided to businesses that will invest in the field of agriculture and food.

Within the scope of the cooperation, the resources provided by ARDSI from the World Bank will be provided as investment loans to legal entities that will carry out agricultural investment projects through Ziraat Bank.

The project aims to facilitate access to finance for businesses that want to invest in the agriculture and food sector, improve 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. The financing, which can be provided up to 10 million USD depending on the project size, will be offered with a maturity of up to 7 years, with a maximum grace period of 2 years.

Financing; It can be used in the construction of facilities in the field of agriculture and food and in machinery and equipment investments.

It is planned to use a resource of 750 million US dollars in the first phase of the financing, which is planned to be 5.3 billion US dollars in a 10-year period.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Ahmet Bağcı stated that the TARGET Project is an important step in terms of strengthening investments in the agriculture and food sector and increasing rural welfare, and 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 said, "We will support the transformation of agricultural production, especially in Organized Agricultural Regions, into value-added products, our producers taking an active role in the market with contracted production models, and the creation of new employment opportunities in rural areas. As the Ministry, we will continue to increase and develop the labor of our farmers and producers, the initiative of our investors and the agricultural production power of our country. It was announced to the public by our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in the World Farmers' Day Programme." "I hope that this protocol we signed with Ziraat Bank today within the scope of the heralded TARGET Project will be beneficial for our country's agriculture, our producers and investors, and I hope that our cooperation will contribute to the development of our agriculture-food sector."

Ziraat Bank General Manager Alpaslan Çakar, in his evaluation at the signing ceremony, drew attention to the strategic importance of the agricultural sector for the Turkish economy and said: "As Ziraat Bank, we continue to support our producers and investors with the strength we draw from our 163 years of experience in financing the agricultural sector. We consider this cooperation with ARDSI within the scope of the TARGET Project as an important step for the sustainable development of the agriculture and food sector. It will help strengthen the agriculture-food value chain, support investments with long-term resources and increase access to finance." "With this project that will contribute to the facilitation of agricultural production, we will support the development of our country's agricultural production capacity. As Ziraat Bank, we will continue to support projects that increase the production power of our country with our extensive service infrastructure and expertise in agricultural financing."

Chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institution, Dr. In his speech, Ahmet Antalyalı stated that the TARGET Project offers an important opportunity for TKDK to convey its experience in project management and rural development to a wider audience of investors with different international financing sources, and said, "Thanks to this cooperation with Ziraat Bank, we will offer long-term financing opportunities to the investments of agricultural-food enterprises and producer organizations. As TKDK, we will contribute to the transformation of the resource into production, investment and rural development by carrying out the application and evaluation processes effectively with our strong project management experience." "We will provide it," he said.

Within the scope of the TARGET Project, the project announcement is aimed to be made by ARDSI by the end of 2026, and after the applications are evaluated, financing disbursement will begin in 2027.

During the application and evaluation process, investors will present their projects to TKDK. For investments deemed suitable for the scope of the project by ARDSI, financing will be transferred to the business accounts by Ziraat Bank on the basis of progress payment according to the progress of the investment.

Repayments will be made in installments after the grace period.