ADB, Olam sign $93m support smallholder farmers hit by COVID-19

The Asian Development Bank and Singapore-based agribusiness company Olam International Limited (Olam) have signed a $93.75 million loan agreement to support the livelihoods of thousands of smallholder farmers in Vietnam, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea by helping them cope with supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus disease pandemic. 

The support will provide Olam with the working capital to increase the purchase of coffee, cocoa, and other high-value crops from at least 100,000 smallholder farmers, helping to secure the inventory needed to build buffers for possible disruptions and increase advance payments to farmers.