FACS goes to West Africa to explore whether the methodologies and tools developed for oil palm smallholders can be applied to cocoa farmers in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire who face similar problems in terms of low productivity, aging trees and lack of access to affordable credit.

Replanting of aging oil palm trees requires an investment of a staggering US$ 750 million annually for the next 25 years. The good news is that banks and investors start to realize that by improving data-driven risk analytics and streamlining loan origination it will be possible to develop a less risky, scalable, sustainable and profitable farmer financing model at lower cost.

FACS organized a workshop session in Jakarta, in collaboration with PERBANAS (the Indonesian banks association) and Partnership for Forests. Attendees were local banks, international impact investors and plantation companies – this wide and diverse crowd spurred an interesting discussion on the financing structures available to un-lock oil palm replanting credit for smallholders.