The programme, the first of its kind in the country , targets both micro and larger scale farmers and seeks to remove hindrances in agricultural value practice.
This is through the provision of low-cost credit through which farmers can access farm inputs (agro-chemicals and seeds), buy farm equipment to boost production, access Letters of Credit, Guarantees, as well as quick cash on their invoices (factoring). We also offer Bid Bonds to our established clients.
The programme has in the past one year financed over 1,200 farmers to the tune of over Ksh50 million from almost every region in Kenya. We anticipate growing our portfolio to over Ksh250 million in the next two years.
A key objective of Kilimo Faida is to ensure that farmers maximize on their farm potential through the provision of easily accessible and affordable credit facilities.
Kilimo Faida customers are able to get interest free credit on farm inputs during planting seasons. Farmers benefit by focusing on their core business without having to worry about where to get their inputs from, where to get value adding advice and finally, how to market their farm output.Orion East Africa is focusiedon addressing farmers’ needs across the entire value chain and Kilimo Faida is just one of the programmes that complete the cycle.
Other programmes within Orion East Africa Limited include Orion Seed that that imports under license, high quality certified seeds, Independent Testing and Advisory Services (ITAS) which tests soil components and advises farmers accordingly, Green Earth which advocates for environmental conservation.
This value chain approach en-sures that farmers’ needs are catered for from the input stages to post harvest period.
In the next one year, Kilimo Faida is targeting to reach out to over 5,000 farmers/growers and advance over Ksh150 million. This will be done while ensuring lowest default rate through value added support which will mainly entail provision of extension services.
Further, through our portal, www.kilimofaida.com, we are giving an opportunity to international investors to directly support a farmer from any country.