Cambodia Launches AGRIFIN Scheme to Mobilise Over $30 Million in Farm Loans
Cambodia's government and the United Nations approved the AGRIFIN programme (Agricultural Finance for Inclusive Rural Prosperity) on October 25, aiming to channel more than $30 million in bank and microfinance loans to Cambodian farmers and agricultural businesses. Approval came during two forums held in Phnom Penh as part of the Cambodia Agriculture Forum and Exhibition 2026.
UN Resident Coordinator Vladanka Andreeva said the initiative would use $3 million in development funding, channelled from the Joint SDG Fund through the Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia, to reduce lenders' risks. She said farmers' difficulty obtaining affordable credit often leaves them borrowing informally or selling harvests when prices are low; the financing is intended to cover seeds, machinery, irrigation pumps and storage, as well as value-adding activities.
AGRIFIN targets 7,000 farmers across Pursat, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Siem Reap, Kampong Thom, Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey provinces, at least half of them women, with women-led businesses a priority for financing and business support. The programme will also design agriculture-specific loans and build farmers' and cooperatives' financial management skills, and Andreeva said repayments could fund further loans.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：柬埔寨农民在稻田插秧。图片：Brad Collis / Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0
