"Thanks to this new micro- lending, I’ve improved the sprinkling system on my land. Next year I plan to ask for a larger sum", -- says Sergey Sen, resident of Beloush  Sergey Sen’s academic background is happily married with his calling. An agronomist with experience, he has been commercially growing vegetables on his homestead land in the village of Beloush for 9 years. “Official” jobs are in short supply in this densely populated area. The locals have therefore been engaged in this small of business for quite a while now, because it needs no startup capital. Sergey is making enough money to keep a family of four, improve his homestead, and help his elderly parents.
“Previously, I couldn’t apply for a loan in a bank, because I wasn’t officially employed and I couldn’t provide an income statement. Thanks to this new micro- lending, I’ve improved the sprinkling system on my land. Next year I plan to ask for a larger sum,” the peasant says. The micro-lending program for homestead owners who reside on territories contaminated with radiation in 1986 yet deemed fit for safe living has successfully moved on for two years. The main challenges the people face in these areas are economic depression and lack of development funds. FERT, a French association which helps farmers in the developing world, is also present in Belarus. Aiming to satisfy the peasants’ immediate needs, it has mobilized the interested parties and introduced a new micro-lending mechanism. The association has deposited 73 mln Belarusian roubles as a guarantee fund at ASB Belarusbank, and the bank’s local branch has opened a micro-lending facility for peasants in the districts of Stolin and Slavgorod.  Stolny, a Belarusian mutual lending society with experience in such financial operations, has become the promoter and coordinator of the new program. The World Bank has helped the campaign with a 5,000 dollar grant.
Stolny has built a dialogue between all stakeholders: local authorities, bankers, and FERT representatives. Stolny has also helped local residents elect a decision-making lending committee for evaluation of applications from borrowers and organized trips to these territories for economists and specialists in agriculture. Stolny has conducted a series of training seminars for local residents. Specialists explained to participants basics of micro-lending and the rules of compiling a loan application. The project has also included publication of a guidebook, An Economic Viability Analysis of Principal Homestead Crops Grown in the Districts of Stolin and Slavgorod. In 2005, peasants in these districts received 36 micro-loans, 2.07 mln Belarusian roubles on average. In 2006, they took 41 such loans, BYR 1.817 on average. The borrowers used the money to buy seeds, fertilizers, protective film, greenhouse construction materials, and tools. All loans were repaid in time. At the moment, the locals are compiling new applications for 2007. In the meantime, the project organizers intend to expand their activities and go to other contaminated territories. The plans for 2007 include expansion to the Bragin district in the oblast of Gomel. The Beloush peasants do not fear loans anymore. They spend borrowed cash wisely and use their homesteads to make money. If you bow to your land from morning till night, it will repay you a hundredfold, they say around here.
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