In the first week of September, Organic Services organized a study tour on behalf of the Bankers Institute of Rural Development (BIRD), India. BIRD is an institute for providing training, research and consultancy services in the field of agriculture and rural development banking in India.  The programme was designed for 16 senior bankers from state and cooperative banks, government representatives and representatives of cooperatives.

The participants got deeper insights into the European agricultural sector along the various supply chains, learned more about the cooperative structures in Germany and about the financing of the agricultural sector.

Content of the study tour:

• Presentations on the agricultural sector, agri-business and rural financing in Europe and Germany
• Visit of organic farms, processing businesses and traders, e.g. Rapunzel or Hofpfisterei
• Visit of cooperative banks
• Question & answer sessions, information exchange among participants, evaluation and reporting