1. Introduction
As a result of economic reforms in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) new
structures in agriculture are emerging. The changes of agriculture together with
macroeconomic uncertainty have created difficulties in the normal process of financing
agricultural activity. At the same time the banking sector is undergoing a major
transformation, and so credit markets are underdeveloped, inhibiting the effectiveness of
monetary, credit and trade policies (Calvo and Frenkel, 1991).
The problems in the credit market for agriculture stem from both demand and
supply forces. Table 1 illustrates these problems based upon a 1993 survey by Euroconsult
(1995) in five CEE countries. The majority of both private farmers and large scale farm
managers indicated that problem in accessing credit were mainly due to- “high interest rates”
in all these countries. These high interest rates reflect both transition and structural problems
with CEE agriculture. Lack of collateral, low profitability and macroeconomic uncertainty
makes banks view the agricultural sector as a high risk consumer. Expected declining
profitability and macroeconomic uncertainty are discouraging borrowing at high nominal
interest rates. Immediate plans of farmers are uncertain because of the lack of working capital.
There is also the long-term problem of ensuring adequate funds to facilitate structural
adjustment and to enable farmers to apply effective technologies.
In this paper we assess the problems of financing CEE agriculture during the
transition and what the role of government is in this process. We first discuss why credit
markets work imperfectly even in well developed market economies, leading to widespread
government intervention in this sector. Then we discuss additional credit market problems that
emerge during transition of CEE agriculture. Afterwards we discuss the potential role for
governments and review actual government intervention in CEE countries.