1. FINCA

A leader in the international Microfinance Institution, FINCA offers financial services and products to small scale businesses in an effort to help these businesses start to grow, and diversify with resulting increases in family income, nutrition, employment and well-being.

2. ACDI/VOCA

Broad-based economic growth and poverty alleviation is what ACDI/VOCA is dedicated on accomplishing. They make use of innovative application of sound business practice as they strive to promote economic opportunities for cooperatives, enterprises, as well as communities.

3. IFC

IFC has the backings of the largest global development institution, the World Bank Group that is focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries. They aid and assist their partners in overcoming operational and political challenges by putting their financial resources, technical expertise, global experience, and innovative thinking into practice.

4. Farm Credit Armenia

Made and was founded by farmers and for the farmers, Farm Credit is known to be the only financial institution in Armenia based on international cooperative principles which essentially differentiate the organization from others existing in the market.

5. USDA

The team at USDA Rural Development is committed in helping improve the economy and quality of life in rural America. They offer a variety of services which includes rural finance loans, grants and loan guarantees to support essential services. This in turn allows their clients to pursue housing, economic development, health care, first responder services and equipment, water, electric and communications infrastructure and the likes.

6. Oiko Credit

A worldwide cooperative and social investor Oikocredit is able to provide the much needed funding to the microfinance sector, fair trade organizations, cooperatives and small to medium enterprises.

7. CAIConsulting

Central Asia International Consulting is a leading Central Asian consultancy company that has expanded their services across Central Asia providing an excellent understanding of their local business climate, governmental institutions, educational establishments, ecology, local and regional economy, and political environment.

8. EBRD

With its agricultural financing facility, the folks at European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are tackling rural poverty in Tajikistan. As a result, small farmers are able to diversify production and improve profitability with the help of EBRD funding.

9. KFW

KFW Development Bank was able to help to reduce poverty and to protect the climate and the environment with its experience in developmental policy.

10. OFID

OFID helps stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in all disadvantaged regions of the world with them cooperating with developing country partners as well as the international donor community.

11. GFA Consulting Group

GFA Consulting Group proved to provide providing effective solutions to the challenges in the global consulting market with its sound track record. This led to company’s international recognition and is incorporated in a set of values which focuses on performance, innovation, credibility and quality.

12. IFAD

A strong partnership with the Government of Armenia is what IFAD has established over the years. This in turn led to the successful expansion of the Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA) with the ongoing partnership between IFAD and Armenia’s Ministry of Finance that resulted to a wide range of financial services in rural areas.

Rural communities in the Caucasus are not free from health problems. Women in general are more prone in developing a variety of health problems compared to men. What is the overall status of women’s health in rural communities and what are the actions that need to be done in order to help improve them?

It should be noted that health care is less accessible in most rural communities found today. As a result, rural women suffer poorer health outcomes when compared to urban women. The reason behind this is due to the fact that health care providers are very much limited in rural areas and as such, women in rural communities find it time consuming and troublesome to pursue proper health care.

Caucasus is rich in history and culture with that being said, due to its geographical location, access to health care for rural residents can be a bit complicated. As such, most rural residents in Caucasus are often lacking in the health insurance aspect. In addition, in order to receive the much needed care and assistance, they are required to travel longer distances just to access a variety of medical, dental as well as mental health specialty services.

Among the limited health services in rural communities include obstetric as well as gynecologic. The same can also be said with regards to family planning having little to no to access with regards to contraception. In a perfect world, residents will be able to have complete access to primary care, dental, behavioral health, emergency, and public health services and have them within their reach in a timely and convenient manner. However, such is not the case particularly in Caucasus.

As mentioned earlier, people in living in rural areas will need to travel long distances just to have access to healthcare services. Many find this to be quite a burden especially with regards to both their time and resources. Furthermore, one hurdle that they need to overcome is access to a reliable transportation.

Rural areas don’t have the pleasantry to provide public transit for patients just to get to medical appointments. As such, it is quite a struggle reaching your appointments and schedule on time. In addition, elderly residents living in rural communities who have chronic conditions will require visits to outpatient healthcare facilities on a repeated basis. As a result, they may need to find a reliable means of transportation and sometimes are left with no other option but to move out of their community and find temporary refuge in the city.

Health literacy plays a very integral part in improving the quality of life in rural communities of the Caucasus. It is important to help women understand basic health information which includes managing a chronic illness, or taking medication properly. Literacy programs go a long way in helping rural communities be up to date with the latest innovation and trends in the health industry and people are encourage to support such endeavors to keep them going.

Whether you believe in climate change or not, one thing is certain: farmers are constantly at the mercy of the elements and extremes of weather. Too hot or too cold environmental temperatures can seriously damage the viability of seasonal crops. This leaves a lot of farmers in a precarious legal position and end up with a lot of debt.

Reasons Why Farmers Incur Debt

In the U.S., debts incurred by farmers can seriously affect not only the agricultural industry, but also the country’s economy. But why do farmers get racked up in huge debts?

One reason cited by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City is that crop growers expend their wealth rather than their revenues in funding their agricultural endeavours. This can lead to accumulation of debts, bankruptcy or worse, being driven off their land. Most farmers use their lands as collateral when applying for farm loans. If their ventures fail, they will be in serious debts. The threat of ever-increasing loan rates adds up to the burden of crop growers.

While in the United Kingdom, dairy farmers start to exit the industry as their arrears climb to critical levels. Over the years, the rise and fall of the wholesale price of milk forced a lot of dairy farms to operate at a loss. With the increase in operation costs, debts continue to stack up.

In India, severe drought affects the country’s yield of cotton, rice, etc. As a response, the government increased their budget on irrigation and crop insurance; however, these measures have little effect on the farmers’ plight. They still owe banks and moneylenders huge sums. Indian farmers use their loaned monies in procuring seeds and fertilisers. But because of erratic weather conditions and minimal crop harvest, they accumulate debts. Most farmers who cannot overturn their situation end up hanging themselves.

Farm debts in Australia have swelled by 75 percent in just a decade. In 2004, debts were recorded at A$40.4 billion. After ten years, it grew to A$70 billion. When venturing for new machineries, technologies or farm expansion, crop growers rely on debts as their fund resource. But because of high equity levels, debts are becoming a severe problem. For instance, the value of agricultural lands climb but the ratio of debt to equity remains the same.

If and when you incur debt, there are debt collection agencies in Australia that will manage your arrears and get you out of trouble.

Most of the rural communities in the present don’t have the time and resources to spend in applying and integrating the latest innovation with regards to waste management approaches found today. With that being said, this does not mean that the community will not be able to find deal with their waste in a timely and effective manner. Here are a few eco-friendly waste management approaches rural communities can apply today.

One of the most popular waste management activities is found through incineration. Here people are able to create an energy source with the waste that they are removing. Flue gases, particulates, incinerator bottom ash, and heat are converted with burning a variety of waste materials. These are then used as a generator of electric power with the heat source it has accumulated. It should be noted before being dispersed into the atmosphere, flue gases as well as its particulates are filtered free from pollutants. With that being said, not every waste should be burned and people should be wary of them. This includes the likes of plastic as well as rubber.

Landfills are also a popular waste management option that is still being practiced and put into use all over the world. Previously unused or abandoned mines, quarries, or pits that had already been dug work great as landfills which helps save people a great deal of time and resources when setting up their landfill for use. As a result a landfill can become an inexpensive and hygienic means of waste disposal practice especially when it is properly taken care of. Furthermore, over time most of the materials disposed in landfills will eventually break down into gases and dissipate into the atmosphere. Industries can then use them as alternative fuel or energy sources in the process.

Last but definitely not the least of eco-friendly waste management activities rural communities can engage in is found through recycling. Recycling waste has been done for the past several decades and has proven to be very effective when put into practice and use. Basically, people are encouraged to reuse as many items as possible through their original form or perhaps turning them into something that is also relatively useful. For instance, paper products can be recycled and made into new forms of paper while at the same time contribute in preserving trees and rainforests. To save space for local landfills, people are encouraged to recycle plastics and glass.

It is good to hear that there exists a variety of eco-friendly waste management procedures rural communities can consider for in the present. Other noteworthy alternatives can also be found simply by looking them up over the internet today. With that being said, waste disposal is not a one man’s effort. People are advised to work hand in hand with the officials to ensure success with their waste management endeavors. As a result, a considerable amount of waste is saved in the process. Consider the eco-friendly waste management tips listed above.