The Middle East is represented by case studies from the Pèople's Democratic Republic of Yemen and the Yemen Arab Republic. Both projects were funded by the same international organization, the IDA. The PDRY loans were provided through a government body, the Public Corporation of Fish Wealth, to fishermen's cooperatives. In the YAR credit was provided to individuals or groups through the Cooperative and Agricultural Credit Bank.
The provisions to fishermen were similar; both projects funded fishing vessels and infrastructures for improved handling and marketing. The YAR project also placed some emphasis on hull construction and boat repair.
While the YAR project has sustained a reasonably good loan recovery rate of an average 71 to 81 per cent, the PDRY suffered a drop in recovery rates after the first three years, due to a series of organizational and logistic problems.
PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF YEMEN
The case study presented for the PDRY revolves around fishermen's cooperatives. A project was initiated on the basis of an IDA loan in 1973. The principal aims of the IDA Fisheries Development Project were to provide cold storage facilities, improved fishing vessels and technical assistance to fishermen. In the first stage of the project 64 equipped vessels were distributed on credit to fishermen's cooperatives.
Loans were made through the Public Corporation of Fish Wealth, at an interest rate of 8 per cent per annum, with six-monthly repayment instalments. Cooperatives agreed to sell their catch to the Public Corporation of Fish Wealth.
Apart from the vessels provided under this scheme, other benefits include the construction of cold storage facilities, a fish freezing plant and fish receiving station. As a result, there was a considerable increase in employment.
In the first three years loan repayments were considered satisfactory, but from 1979 the rate dropped. This problem was probably caused by the lack of training of project personnel, the remoteness of the villages concerned and the lack of clear loan recovery procedures.
YEMEN ARAB REPUBLIC
The project carried out in the YAR was identified by a FAO/World Bank mission and established by a Development Credit Agreement between the YAR government and the IDA in 1980, credit provided by the IDA and the government of Denmark.
The objective was to increase production and improve the economic conditions of fishermen by providing infrastructures for improved handling, transport and marketing and by financing fishing vessels and insulated trucks. The target group were skilled fishermen. Credit funds were channeled through the Cooperative and Agricultural Credit Bank (CACB).
An interesting aspect of this project is the concept of credit camps: visits by fisheries credit personnel to fishing villages to deal with loan applications and encourage recovery, thus providing fishermen in remote villages with better access to credit and expanding the fisheries credit portfolio. Other distinctive elements of the project include a group guarantee system and watch dog panels, composed of villagers who are charged with gathering information on loan utilization, the clandestine sale of boats and migration of fishermen.
Good recovery rates have resulted from this project - from 71 to 81 per cent. If villages fall below 60 per cent the possible threat of the halting of further disbursements is usually sufficient to improve recovery rates. Disbursements have proved somewhat lower than expected due to the non-availability of engines as a result of import restrictions; this situation has been resolved and the credit portfolio should now expand.
A section of the study outlines the marketing system in the YAR and its link to the credit recovery mechanism. CACB has, in fact, already implemented a series of such links by maintaining contact with auctioneers dealing with loanees' catches.
