Abi Habib: `Our loans are convenient, because they are cheap… and long term` In making agriculture more sustainable in recent years, the availability of financing options has seen some important improvements. The number of loans to the agro sector has mushroomed in the last two years, especially through loans granted under the Kafalat loan guarantee program. Lebanese farmers and small agricultural enterprises commonly encountered problems in accessing loans at commercial banks, whose focus of business would rarely include agriculture and whose branch networks were concentrated away from rural areas. Agriculturalists on their part were often reluctant to seek bank loans, which carried high interest charges and requirements to post land as collateral, a stipulation which the small land owners and family farmers viewed as running contrary to their traditions. This placed agriculturalists in a situation where sponsored programs were most appropriate to their needs. One type of such finance vehicle
