Recently, also in Belgium the debate started on the support for private sector development in the South. The administration is working on a new strategic note on private sector development, and the functioning of the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) was openly criticized in Parliament.
Vredeseilanden, as member of the Coalition against Hunger, urges to place access to credit for sustainable family farming also high on the agenda within the new policy to support local private sector. A coherent policy for development means after all that the strategy to support local private sector is in line with the Belgian strategy on agriculture and food security, which puts a focus on support to smallholder farmers.
In this report, Saartje Boutsen (Vredeseilanden) and Jan Van de Poel (11.11.11) analyse the difficulties in access to credit for smallholder farmers and they give some policy recommendations for a new Belgian inclusive policy for supporting local private sector in developing countries. (document available in French and Dutch)
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