The Contract Farming Program being implemented by Piraeus Bank is an innovative initiative that is helping to reinvigorate the country’s agricultural economy as a whole. It reflects the bank’s firm commitment to support the primary sector of the economy, a sector which is considered by the bank as a core pillar in efforts to overcome the current crisis and achieve steady, long-term growth.

Through the program, the bank offers integrated support to the agri-food industry in the form of coordination, services and financing, which creates synergies between producers and processing-exporting companies while at the same time facilitating the better organization and development of the agri-food chain. Based on the contract between producers and food manufacturers, Piraeus Bank directly finance the production process and create multiple benefits, not least the manufacture of products to strict quality specifications, as well as their assured sale and payment, thereby enabling the agricultural sector to adopt a more outward-looking approach. In particular, contract farming results in more efficient farm management and increased productivity. By gaining access to bank credit and having ensured the sale of their products, producers can exercise more rational management of input costs and thus generate higher farm income. At the same time, the liquidity provided to the buyer of the production, generally a food processing company or cooperative, facilitates and encourages the purchase of certified raw materials, enables better programming and releases resources for implementation of other business plans. In the framework of running and developing the program, the bank sees the dynamic Peloponnese as a particularly important region.

So far, 21 contract farming arrangements have been put in place across the peninsula, covering a broad spectrum (olives, olive oil, grapes, raisins, citrus fruit, horticultural, organic and dairy products). Exports of these products amounts €92 million annually, while the participating enterprises have 670 employees. The producers collaborating through the program with Peloponnese-based enterprises now number 4,300. Moreover, there is considerable margin for the further development of the program in the Peloponnese, given that the region is blessed with a big variety of agricultural products, including many with PDO and PGI status.

Through Contract Farming Program, Piraeus Bank contributes to:
• Highlight the outstanding quality of Greek agricultural products
• Ensure a sufficient supply of basic and certified agricultural products
• Foster a more outward-looking approach of Greek enterprises
• Strengthen commercial cooperation
• Build strong relationships among all the parties involved
• Maintain and bolster local economic and social cohesion.