The main objective of the Second Agricultural Development and Credit Project (ADCP) for Azerbaijan is to further increase rural productivity and incomes by enhancing the access of farmers and small and medium rural enterprises to rural business and agricultural support services including financial, advisory and veterinary services and by stimulating market-oriented investments in rural areas. The extension is necessary to satisfactorily complete the remaining project activities and continue funding of some on-going activities to ensure sustainability of project interventions. An action plan for the satisfactory completion of the project has been developed by the Project Management Unit (PMU). An extension will also allow building into the project as many activities as possible to help prepare the next agricultural project. Such activities would include: continued lending to medium agribusinesses, advancing the pilot brucellosis program, further development of the animal disease information system, specialized studies on food safety standards, agricultural insurance, value chains in agriculture, due diligence of banks interested in lending to agribusiness under the next phase of ADCP, and social and environmental assessments. Finally, the extension would also provide the opportunity to adequately finalize and evaluate the project, articulate lessons learned and incorporate these lessons in the preparation of the subsequent agricultural operation.
