Income-Generating Activities - Action Against Hunger

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iii. Micro credit
ACF does not give out micro credit nor is it dedicated to micro finance; however,
in those cases where access to the financial market is a limitation for the consolidation
of IGA, it is possible to work in collaboration with a micro finance institution.
This could imply the possibility of increasing their funds in order to direct them to the
target population.
Example 21: Micro credit in Argentina
Through collaboration with the MFI IDEB (Instituto de Desarrollo Empresarial
Bonaerense), ACF facilitated access to micro credit for vulnerable families in Partido
Moreno, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The funds given by the organisation and managed by IDEB, permitted more flexible
conditions of access to micro credit than those normally used by this institution.
The possibility of financing the creation of new IGA was introduced, as was the extension
of the grace period to a week. Solidarity was used as a guarantee for repayment.
In a period of eleven months, 442 micro loans were given out, 78% were for
women, and 72% of the IGA financed were small businesses.
In Chapter 3 some of the limitations regarding micro credit were discussed and
Appendix 6 offers more details on the topic.
III.III. Applied technology
It may be that the production processes being used in the IGA are not the most suitable
and that:
• Not all the possibilities for production are being taking advantage of considering
the characteristics of the zone and the capacity of the population
• The quantity and/or quality of the final product are low
• Natural resources used in the production process are being degraded
If any of the above are key problems that are limiting the work of the IGA, the possibility
of introducing improved production technology can be considered. In order to
avoid the risk of low acceptance, weak results and frustration on the part of the beneficiaries,
it is recommended to choose improvements that do not require a radical
change in technology and for which experience already exists in nearby regions where
good results have been obtained. To facilitate the acceptance by the beneficiaries, exchange
sessions with people or groups that already have experience with these new
technologies can be arranged.
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INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES: A KEY CONCEPT IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SECURTIY