EXPORT DEVELOPMENT & AGRICULTURAL INVESTMENT FUND (EDAIF) GUIDELINES FOR EDAIF AGRICULTURE AND AGRO- PROCESSING DEVELOPMENT & CREDIT FACILITY

Transcription

1 EXPORT DEVELOPMENT & AGRICULTURAL INVESTMENT FUND (EDAIF) GUIDELINES FOR EDAIF AGRICULTURE AND AGRO- PROCESSING DEVELOPMENT & CREDIT FACILITY NOVEMBER

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3 Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION THE AGRICULTURE AND AGRO-PROCESSING DEVELOPMENT AND CREDIT ACCOUNT AGRICULTURE AND AGRO-PROCESSING DEVELOPMENT FACILITY THE AGRICULTURE AND AGRO-PROCESSING CREDIT FACILITY AMENDMENTS

4 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF) was established by Act 582 dated 4th October 2000 to provide financial resources for the development and promotion of the export trade of Ghana. By the Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund Act 823 dated 25 th October, 2011, Act 582 was amended to include the provision of financial resources for the development and promotion of agriculture relating to agroprocessing and agro-processing industry. In view of the amendment, the Fund is now known as Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDAIF). Specific activities for which monies from the Fund may be applied in respect of the Agricultural component include the: Development and promotion of agriculture, relating to agro-processing and agro-processing industry; Provision of credit, refinancing and credit guarantee through designated financial institutions to persons in the agriculture and agro-processing sectors of the economy; Appraisals and studies necessary to determine areas of the agriculture and agro-processing sectors that need intervention; and Monitoring and evaluation of the interventions. Act 823 establishes a technical implementation Committee of the Board known as the Agro-processing Development and Credit Committee. The Act also introduces the Agriculture and Agro-processing Development and Credit Account. 2.0 THE AGRICULTURE AND AGRO-PROCESSING DEVELOPMENT AND CREDIT ACCOUNT The Agriculture and Agro-processing Development and Credit Account (the Agric. Facility ) is one of three accounts of the Fund as stipulated in the amended Act, for which the Board of EDAIF is responsible. 3

5 The following processes and procedures serve as a guide for managers of the Fund and as a source of information to persons, groups or organizations interested in accessing the Agriculture and Agro-Processing Development and Credit Facility of the Fund. For operational purposes the Agriculture and Agro-Processing Development and Credit Account of the Fund is divided into two components: 1. Agriculture and Agro-Processing Development Facility ( Grant Facility) 2. Agriculture and Agro-Processing Credit Facility. 2.1 AGRICULTURE AND AGRO-PROCESSING DEVELOPMENT FACILITY. The Agriculture and Agro-Processing Development Facility (i.e. the Agriculture Grant Facility ) supports activities of persons, groups and institutions in the development and promotion of agriculture and agroprocessing products, and provision of services to the agriculture and agroprocessing sector. Activities financed under the Agriculture Grant Facility include: Product development and promotion; Capacity building and research; Development of infrastructure and common user facilities for agriculture relating to agro-processing and agro processing industry; Development and promotion of other agricultural and agro-processing entrepreneurial activities; and Agriculture and agri-business trade oriented activities of both public and private institutions Eligibility Eligible applicants under this facility are: i. Public and private sector stakeholders in the agriculture and agro-processing sector. 4

6 Limited liability companies may in appropriate cases be considered if: a. Funds required are to be utilized for minor infrastructural works (subject to financial limit); b. Works to be undertaken would enhance the beneficiary s agriculture or agro-processing activities; and c. Projects funded under the grant facility will benefit the general public. i Applications from Associations or Cooperatives must be endorsed by MOFA Agriculture Extension Services or Ministry of Trade and Industry (NBSSI). Other entities to be determined by the Board How Does One Apply? By submission of the following to the Fund; i. A completed application form. Technical and financial proposal and a comprehensive business plan and M&E plan (result framework). Application forms can be obtained from; EDAIF web site, EDAIF Secretariat in Accra. EDAIF office in Tamale MOTI and MOFA offices across the Regions Preparation, Appraisal and Approval Process i. Applications received shall undergo due diligence during preappraisal, appraisal and post-appraisal processes. Applications received shall be checked against a checklist and acknowledged within two (2) working days from date of receipt; 5

7 i Upon receipt of an application, and provided application meets basic due diligence, EDAIF Project Officers shall visit and appraise the project and within seven (7) working days: a. Submit a report to Management for review; and b. Inform applicants who do not qualify. Management s recommendation would be submitted to the Board Committee on Agriculture and Agro-processing Development for consideration, then to the Board within twenty-one (21) days of the date of receipt of application. v. The Board s decision shall be communicated to the applicant within three (3) days of the decision. vi. v vi ix. Approvals under the grant for a particular project shall generally not exceed the cedi equivalent of US$100,000. The EDAIF Board reserves the right to exceed the US$100,000 limit if in the Board s assessment, the required funding for a particular project exceeds the stated limit of US$100,000. The Board s decision shall be communicated to the applicant in writing by Management within five working days of the date of the Board decision. Beneficiaries shall be required to write formally to the Fund indicating their acceptance of the offer and any attached conditions Disbursement Upon receipt of the written acceptance by the applicant the following disbursement procedure shall be followed: i. Where monies are to be paid to beneficiaries, such monies shall be paid directly into the beneficiary organization s account. Except as otherwise determined by the Board on exceptional cases, all approved projects shall be disbursed in tranches 6

8 consistent with an agreed implementation schedule and progress of work. i Disbursement shall be made within seven (7) days of the date of receipt of request for disbursement. The general rule for the Fund is not to make disbursements directly to beneficiaries (especially with respect to the farmerbased organizations/associations). Beneficiaries will submit invoices covering items approved for purchase by the Fund for direct payment to be made to suppliers. v. The Fund reserves the right to revoke any approval for inappropriate use of the facility in which case any undisbursed balance shall be cancelled. vi. The Board reserves the right to impose sanctions, where necessary, against beneficiaries of the fund Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting The appraisal/application document shall include verifiable monitoring indicators for M&E purposes. i. The M&E Department shall work with the Operations Department to develop monitoring indicators for each approved project. i All funded projects shall be subjected to review periodically as agreed with beneficiaries. Beneficiaries are required to submit quarterly reports on the project to the Fund. In case of projects such as organization of fairs, seminars, workshop and training for agro-processors and farmers, beneficiaries are expected to submit detailed report to the Fund at the end of the programme. Such reports must include for example, list of participants with their contact details, copies of receipts for payments made, etc. 7

9 v. Where beneficiary institutions establish committees, EDAIF shall be represented on the committees. vi. v vi Where capital items form part of the approval, i.e. tractor and accessories for beneficiaries, an EDAIF Monitoring and Evaluation Officer shall be part of the disbursement process to the point of delivery. Officers from the Operations Department and Monitoring and Evaluation Unit shall have oversight responsibility over funded projects. After its completion, a project completion report shall be jointly prepared by EDAIF and the beneficiary. 2.2 THE AGRICULTURE AND AGRO-PROCESSING CREDIT FACILITY The Agriculture and Agro-processing Credit Facility, (i.e. the Agriculture Credit Facility ) can be accessed through Designated Financial Institutions (DFIs). Funds from this facility can be accessed for loans, refinancing and credit guarantee through Designated Financial Institutions to persons in the agriculture and agro-processing sectors of the Ghanaian economy Eligibility Eligible applicants under this facility are: i. Farmers of agricultural produce relating to agro-processing. i Marketers of agriculture produce relating to agro-processing. Marketers of locally processed agricultural produce for the domestic market. Investors undertaking an infrastructural project to provide services for agriculture and agro-processing entities. v. An aggregator facilitating production from out-growers to agro processors. 8

10 Eligible companies or enterprises shall be wholly owned by Ghanaians or partly owned but with Ghanaian majority shareholding Appointment of Designated Financial Institutions (DFIs) i. The Board shall in writing designate the financial institutions which shall grant credit facilities made available to them by EDAIF. Appointment shall be for two (2) years and renewable on satisfactory performance. i Measurement of performance shall be based on time taken for processing applications and responsiveness to loan recovery among other factors. In the event that a DFI is suspended or terminated for unsatisfactory performance, the DFI could be re-instated when it proves to EDAIF that it has rectified or taken steps to rectify the causes leading to unsatisfactory performance How Does One Apply? i. An applicant shall submit a request on the prescribed application form together with a technical and financial proposal and a comprehensive business plan to a DFI of his choice. A copy of the completed application form and the required documentation shall simultaneously be lodged with EDAIF. i All Designated Financial Institutions shall use the application forms approved by EDAIF. The application shall be given to applicants in triplicate. Application forms and a checklist of basic requirements which will make an application complete can be obtained from the following sources: EDAIF web site, EDAIF Secretariat in Accra. EDAIF office in Tamale. Designated Financial Institutions (DFIs) 9

11 2.2.4 Appraisal Process i. DFIs shall undertake the necessary due diligence, preparation and appraisal andmake recommendations to EDAIF for funding; i In cases where a DFI maintains a line of Credit with EDAIF, the DFI shall make the final decision on the application and notify the Fund; A person, enterprise or company that has defaulted in repayment of other similar credit facilities shall not qualify for an EDAIF loan; On receipt of an application from a potential beneficiary, a DFI shall acknowledge receipt of the application within seven (7) days from the date of receipt; v. Appraisal, evaluation and provisional approval or otherwise of an application shall be made within a period not exceeding twenty-two days by a DFI and submitted to EDAIF for consideration; vi. v On receipt of an application from a DFI, EDAIF shall conduct a short due diligence to ensure the application meets the eligible criteria, etc, within seven (7) days; Appraised projects/ applications shall be submitted to Management then to the Board Committee on Agriculture and Agro-processing Development and Credit within ten (10) working days from the day of receipt of the application from the DFI; vi EDAIF shall within twenty-one (21) days after receipt of an application considered by a DFI, give its approval or otherwise ensuring among other things, compliance with the objectives of the Fund; ix. The Board s decision shall be communicated to the DFI within five (5) days of the Board decision; x. The DFI shall communicate approval or otherwise of the application to the applicant, stating the terms and conditions of the credit facility and a copy of the approval letter shall be submitted to EDAIF; xi. In the offer letter to a successful applicant, the DFI shall express or state that EDAIF has the right to inspect by itself or jointly with 10

12 representatives of the DFI, any aspect of the project/business and any relevant records and documents. Even without any written communication by the DFI to this effect, the right of EDAIF shall remain unimpaired; and x Applications for refinancing shall follow the same process as outlined above Disbursement i. Funds which shall be made available to applicants shall be granted as loans by EDAIF to DFIs who shall bear the full credit risk; i EDAIF shall lend to the DFIs at an interest rate of 2.5% p.a. and the DFIs shall on-lend to the beneficiaries at a maximum interest rate of 12.5% p.a., giving the DFIs a spread of 10.0% p.a. These rates shall be reviewed from time to time; For the purposes of loan recovery and other payments, EDAIF shall maintain an account with each DFI to be known as EDAIF Special Repayment Account; A loan agreement shall be executed between EDAIF and each DFI on the loans that shall be granted to it; v. DFIs shall in turn execute loan agreements with sub-borrowers. Copies of the agreements must be submitted to EDAIF; vi. v vi Release of funds by EDAIF shall be by signatories duly authorized by the Board and which shall be circulated to the Controller and Accountant General s Department, Bank of Ghana and the DFIs in advance; Except as otherwise decided by the Board in exceptional cases, all approved projects shall be disbursed in tranches consistent with an agreed implementation schedule and progress of work; EDAIF reserves the right to re-allocate or cancel a loan facility that remains unutilized by a DFI for a maximum period of twelve (12) months; 11

13 ix. The DFIs shall ensure the disbursement of approved funds to beneficiaries within one (1) week of the Fund disbursing it to the DFI; and x. Notice of the credit advice must be forwarded to EDAIF by the DFI Tenure of Facility and Moratorium An agriculture or agro-processing credit facility shall be granted for: A long term period exceeding five (5) years; A medium term period not exceeding five (5) years; or A short term not exceeding twelve (12) months. Moratorium period on the repayments of loans shall be based on the cash flow of the sub-borrowers i.e. beneficiaries Approval Limit The maximum amount that can be granted to a single borrower shall be the Cedi equivalent of US$3,000, Any facility that is more than that shall be considered by the EDAIF Board on its merit in consultation with the Honorable Minister of Trade and Industry Security For small and micro enterprises, landed property and other traditional collaterals like cash, equity, treasury bills and other securities may be de-emphasised. Rather, emphasis shall be given to non-traditional collaterals including personal guarantee, guarantee from Eximguaranty Co. (Gh) Ltd, contracts, credit guarantee, risk insurance, accounts receivable and key person insurance as the DFI may decide Credit Guarantee The Fund shall collaborate with credit guarantee institutions by providing funds to augment their guarantee fund. This is to enable 12

14 such institutions to provide the needed guarantee to borrowers in the agriculture and agro-processing sectors Monitoring i. DFIs shall visit/inspect each project periodically as agreed and written reports shall be made to EDAIF; i EDAIF shall visit/inspect each project either by itself or jointly with a DFI at least once a year; Beneficiaries shall be required to submit quarterly operational reports to DFIs and EDAIF on a prescribed form. EDAIF, however, shall have the right to request for information directly from beneficiaries when necessary; Quarterly progress meetings shall be held between EDAIF and each DFI for the purpose of sharing information, reviewing and monitoring the implementation of approved projects, loan recovery and resolving obstacles to efficient utilization of the Fund; and v. EDAIF shall appoint Auditors to audit DFIs with respect to the loans granted to them by EDAIF Repayment i. The DFI shall repay to EDAIF the amount corresponding to any repayments effected by a beneficiary to the DFI on credit received from the DFI. If any part of the credit is repaid to the DFI in advance of maturity, the DFI shall promptly notify EDAIF and shall repay to EDAIF the amount involved; i The DFI shall pay into the EDAIF Special Repayment Account, principal repayments and the portion of interest due to EDAIF which the DFI receives from the beneficiary; No beneficiary shall be penalized for repaying a credit before maturity; and The DFI shall adopt effective procedures for the recovery from the beneficiary or credit on which there is delay or default in payment. 13

15 Reporting The DFI shall submit reports to EDAIF in respect of the following: i. Funds from EDAIF allocated to the DFI. i Funds disbursed to each beneficiary and application processing period. Status of project implementation and disbursements (in tranches). Loan repayments. v. Interest accrued on disbursed amounts and balances on the undisbursed funds allocated. vi. Funds received and remitted into EDAIF Special Repayment Account. v Economic activities and development impacting on the implementation of the programme Terms and Conditions of DFI Contract with Beneficiaries The DFI in the loan agreement shall be entitled to: i. The right to require the beneficiaries to carry out the project or use of the loan with due diligence and efficiency and in accordance with sound technical, financial, environmental and managerial standard and to maintain adequate records and account. The right to require that the beneficiaries take out and maintain with responsible insurers adequate insurance against such risks associated with the execution of the project or other use of the loan. i The right to obtain all such information as the EDAIF and DFI shall reasonably request relating to the foregoing and to the administration, operations and financial conditions of the beneficiary and the benefits to be derived from the credit. 14

16 The right to suspend or terminate the right of the beneficiary to the use of the proceeds of the credit upon failure by such beneficiary to perform its obligations and its contract with the DFI General Provisions i. The DFI shall authorize EDAIF, as long as there exist payment obligations in favour of EDAIF in respect of the implementation of the Loan Agreement, to demand automatic settlement of the outstanding balances with the DFIs. i If the DFI defaults on any of its obligations under the Agreement EDAIF may suspend temporarily or permanently the DFI s participation of the credit scheme and demand recovery of the outstanding balance. EDAIF may jointly with the DFI, supervise the implementation and operation of an approved project and if EDAIF or the DFI finds that beneficiary had not utilized the credit as agreed upon, the DFI shall consider the obligations as cancelled and shall proceed to recover amounts disbursed and outstanding, together with appropriate commercial interest and pay back to EDAIF the corresponding amount. This is without prejudice to any action that EDAIF/DFI may take against such a borrower. The right of EDAIF in this respect shall be stipulated in a subsidiary Agreement which the DFI would have concluded with the beneficiary with a copy to EDAIF at the time of the execution of the loan. v. All modifications, amendments, additions or deletions to this subsidiary agreement shall be in writing and signed by both parties and shall be made only with the prior approval of EDAIF. vi. This Agreement shall terminate as soon as the obligations contracted by each party have been completely executed and the total amount of funds received due to EDAIF have been paid. 15

17 3.0 AMENDMENTS These Guidelines shall be amended from time to time when necessary. 16