Credit Adviser to the Department of Public Welfare

PROJECT DURATION

February 1978 – January 1984

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

When Thai-German Technical Cooperation took up activities to support development in the Thai-German Land Settlement – Saraburi and later to other settlements in Thailand, a small revolving fund offering credits to the settlers was introduced as component of the project. However, the demand for credits rose considerably in the beginning of the 1970s and other donors (e.g. ADB and World Bank) started to provide funds to the Land Settlement Division. Therefore, an effective credit handling system had to be established and institutionalized.

Hence, a credit handling system within the Credit Subdivision (CSD) on the Self-Help Land Settlement Division of the Department of Public Welfare was established as the core of this project and the main tasks of the German adviser. The principal objective was to ensure an efficient and ordered loan workout, both with regards to the borrowers (farmers) and lenders.

To this end the German adviser developed a locally integrated accounting system, a regulatory framework for credit handling and management. This credit handling system was gradually introduced into ever more settlements (3 pilot settlements ? introduction into 13 further ones). Although the different framework conditions in the different settlements (such as quality of the advisory services, weather conditions affecting production yields, etc.), the project’s overall aiming to benefit the farmers in land settlements throughout the country was achieved in most of the project areas. This success can – at least partly – be attributed to the continuity by which it was characterized (one adviser for the whole project time frame) and the fact that its actions were based on a sound evaluation of the existing situation and measures were designed accordingly.