Preparatory Survey on Two-Step Loan Project for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Republic of Union Myanmar Fina L Report
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Preparatory Survey on Two-Step Loan Project for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Republic of Union Myanmar Fina The Republic of the Union of Myanmar Preparatory Survey on Two-Step Loan Project for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Final Report l Report February 2014 February 2014 Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd. 1R Sanyu Consultants Inc. CR(5) 14-012 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. Agriculture in Myanmar The Government of Myanmar is at this moment facing critical decisions that will determine the future direction of agriculture. Myanmar’s agricultural potential is enormous, given the country’s resource endowments as well as its favorable geographic location in the Greater Mekong Subregion, which places Myanmar advantageously between two huge markets, India and China. Good access to the buoyant market of Gulf countries is an additional feature. Despite these advantages, however, Myanmar’s agriculture has underperformed over a long period of time. Today, two-thirds of the population of Myanmar is primarily engaged in agriculture but about one quarter of the population still falls below the national poverty line. What are the major reasons for the poor performance of Myanmar’s agriculture? Most recent research points out issues with skewed land distribution, poor water control systems, expensive transportation, weak rural and agricultural financing, unpredictable government policies, low public investment in agriculture and weak extension service to farmers. 2. Purpose of this Study The purpose of this study is, firstly, fact-finding concerning the current general situation of agriculture in Myanmar, taking into account the major issues raised by international literature, secondly, to identify rural and agricultural financing needs that must be addressed to ensure the sustainable development of Myanmar’s agriculture, and thirdly, to present a draft project framework for the two step loans (TSL) which we anticipate that JICA will provide to address the needs of farmers and other agricultural entities. Substantial research has been undertaken as part of this study, in close collaboration with the Government of Myanmar, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MOAI), the Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank (MADB) and many others. 3. Rural and Agricultural Financing Myanmar’s financial sector is still small and undeveloped. In addition, the formal rural financial sector is far more undeveloped than the financial sector as a whole. MADB is the only major financial institution in this sector. MADB is owned and supervised by MOAI, which has a jurisdiction covering the development of agriculture, rural enterprises, and related issues. One of the key issues which MADB has encountered for a long period of time is the shortage of funds for agricultural loan provision. 4. Proposed Two Step Loans In the process of this study, the study team found that (a) farmers and agribusiness companies experience difficulties in accessing medium- to long-term financing due to factors including a i shortage of funds available from financial institutions such as MADB and other banks, (b) smaller farmers have more serious difficulties in accessing short-term financing for purchasing agricultural inputs, (c) the quality of MADB’s financial services needs upgrading in areas that include loan processing, access to MADB branch offices, and assessment of eligibility of borrowers, and (d) there are large financial needs for medium- to long-term financing for farm mechanization, i.e., needs to purchase agricultural equipment. As one of concluding remarks, the study team makes a recommendation that the TSL’s borrowers should be farmers and agribusiness companies needing medium- to long-term financing in order to achieve farm mechanization and meet related targets. As part of a solution to these issues, a “two-step loan” project is proposed. The borrower shall be the Ministry of Finance. The Study Team recommends that MADB shall be the Executing Agency. Also, as the selected participating financial institution (PFI), MADB shall handle lending procedures for end-users in the TSL scheme. For the implementation of the TSL Project, the Project Implementation Unit will be established at MADB. The Study Team recommends that the total TSL amount should not be too large at the initial stage, but that later JICA should consider increasing the total loan amount depending on actual sub-loan disbursement and the actual financial demand in Myanmar. The sub-loan financial conditions should be determined with consideration for the fact that the TSL is categorized as a policy-based loan. Consequently, the financing scheme needs to achieve policy goals (i.e. enhancement of agriculture and agribusinesses, farming mechanization & modernization) by providing preferential conditions including lower interest rates and relaxed collateral conditions. The recommended terms and conditions of sub-loans are as follows: 1) Types of investments to be financed: purchasing of farming machinery, investments for agribusiness production (e.g. machinery, cultivation rights for farming land/land use rights & buildings). 2) Maximum financing: - Farmers: MMK 50 million - Agribusinesses: MMK 500 million 3) Approval authority for each sub-loan: Loan Department of MADB (in accordance with the practice applied by MADB in the case of its “Term Loan”) 4) Currency: Myanmar kyat (MMK) 5) Interest rates: 8.5% per annum 6) Maturity and grace period: The sub-loan maturity shall be 1 to 5 years, and the grace period shall ii not exceed 1 year. 7) Repayment schedule: The principal and interest shall be repaid every 6 months. 8) Collateral and guarantor: In principle, this condition shall comply with the relevant instructions of CBM, banks’ general practices and MADB’s practice, but some relaxed conditions could be adopted in the TSL project. 9) Documents required from loan applicants: Requirements for documents shall comply with the current practice of the PFI. For example, farmers who apply for a MADB loan are required to submit a land certificate issued by MOAI-LRD (Land Registration Department) to MADB. 10) PFI risk: As a PFI, MADB will bear the end-user credit risks. It should be emphasized that the project scheme presented here is merely a proposal by the Study Team. The ultimate implementation structure of the project will be determined through bilateral discussion. 5. Policy Recommendations In Myanmar’s banking sector, including MADB, it is difficult to secure enough funds to provide medium- to long-term financing. The overall shortage of funding at MADB affects end-users’ satisfaction with the financial services provided by MADB. Therefore, the Study Team recommends that the TSL project should focus on supporting the provision of medium- to long-term financing for farm mechanization. The study team makes the following recommendations as concluding remarks to provide focus for the forthcoming TSL discussion: (A) Human resources development Human resources development in Myanmar is important and essential to ensure efficient operation of the TSL project at the level of sub-borrowers’ services and extension services, in addition to providing consulting services for the Project Implementation Unit of MADB. (B) Sub-borrowers The study team is proposing launch of a project entitled “the Project related to the Improvement of Agricultural Productivity in the Designated Areas Supported by the Proposed TSL for Agriculture and Rural Development in Myanmar” The designated areas should be: (1) Shan State, (2) the Central Dry Zone, and (3) the Ayeyarwady Delta region. Improvement of agricultural productivity in these areas can be achieved by introducing agricultural machines purchased with loans provided under the proposed TSL scheme. iii (C) Collaboration with the Private Sector As much literature relating to agribusiness points out, giving consideration to the total value chain of agricultural products is the most important issue when discussing agricultural development and its sustainability for developing countries. For agricultural products such as paddy/rice, there needs to be consideration of a project’s impact on the transformation of the specific product’s value chain, including the upstream (inputs, farmers and organization of production units), midstream (milling, processing and wholesaling), and downstream (retailing and international trade) parts of the chain. Therefore, from the viewpoint of their importance in the value chain, agribusiness companies should be considered as candidates for TSL project end-users/sub-borrowers. (D) Publicity of TSL Availability In order to communicate TSL availability to potential end users in rural areas of Myanmar, it is proposed that consideration should be given to publicity or advertising through MOAI newsletters, TSL pamphlets, advertisements in local newspapers, and TV and/or radio broadcasts. This would be in addition to announcements on MOAI’s or MADB’s website. The aim would be to easily and reliably communicate information about the loans to the large portion of farmers who are not regular users of computers and who do not have easy access to announcements on official websites. Moreover, it is suggested that the information could also be communicated through farmers’ gatherings, including seminars held by private sectors entities such as the Myanmar Paddy Producers Association (MPPA). iv Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................