Economic Growth and Income Generation
Mercy-USA for Aid and Development, with support from a local milling company, Miell Tirana, assisted wheat farmers in Albania and Kosovo. The farmers were provided with seed and fertilizer, as well as technical training and business and marketing skills.
Mercy-USA made a difference between sustenance farming and farming that benefitted the entire community.
Sustenance Farming to Profitable Farming with Micro-Financing: In 1996, Mercy-USA began supporting family-based agricultural businesses by providing small interest-free loans. Small farmers received loans to purchase sheep, dairy cows, beehives, water pumps, and materials to build greenhouses. Additionally, small dairy product manufacturers received loans to purchase new equipment to upgrade and expand their production capacity.
Together, these projects not only assisted the direct recipients of the loans, agricultural inputs, and training, but also allowed them to expand and employ more persons, increase their demand for services and products from local vendors, and, in general, helped to stimulate the economy within their communities.
