San Giorgio Group Case Study: Pilot Program for Climate Resilience in Nepal

The IFC-PPCR project in Nepal aims to build climate resilience in the agricultural sector by incentivizing private actors to train farmers in improved agronomic practices and expanding access to climate-adaptive finance. The project targets 15,000 farmers growing rice, maize, and sugarcane in the Terai region. Key strategies include using PPCR grants to cover start-up training costs for agribusinesses and developing a risk-sharing facility to encourage local commercial banks to lend to the high-risk agricultural sector. While agribusinesses see a business case through improved crop supply and quality, banks are motivated by market potential and regulatory mandates to increase agricultural lending. The project highlights the importance of early consultation and tailored capacity building to overcome public and private sector reluctance in Least Developed Countries.

• The project targets 15,000 farmers in the Terai region, specifically those growing rice, maize, and sugarcane, with the goal of increasing their productivity and income by approximately 20%.
• Agribusinesses are incentivized to participate because climate-induced risks and poor farming practices directly impact their profitability; for example, some sugar mills operate at only 75-80% capacity due to insufficient sugarcane supply.
• For a sugarcane processing company, an investment of between USD 32,000 and USD 95,000 in training is projected to be recouped in three to eight years under a 20% productivity increase scenario.
• Local commercial banks are constrained by high risks and poor risk management in agricultural lending, but are motivated by a regulation requiring them to increase agricultural lending to at least 10% of their total loan portfolio by July 2014.
• To unlock bank lending, the IFC is designing a USD 20 million risk-sharing facility to transfer 50% of the risks associated with eligible climate-resilient loans from a local bank to the IFC and PPCR.
• The project utilizes a 'trainers of trainers' approach, where 15 experts train company technical teams and dealers, who then train lead farmers, who in turn train other farmers.
• Early engagement of the private sector was achieved through a 15-member Technical Private Sector Working Group and extensive consultations, which helped overcome the Nepalese government's initial reluctance to allocate PPCR funds to private actors.
• The project identifies several risks to success, including low farmer literacy levels, socio-cultural diversity, and the potential for a decrease in market prices for sugar, maize, and rice.
• Experiences in other PPCR pilot countries like Zambia, Mozambique, and Niger show that replication is hindered by unfavorable investment climates, limited awareness of climate risks, and a mismatch between investment returns and private sector time horizons.

APA

Trabacchi, C., & Stadelmann, M. (2013). San Giorgio Group Case Study: Pilot Program for Climate Resilience in Nepal. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/SGG-Case-Study-Pilot-Program-for-Climate-Resilience-in-Nepal.pdf

Chicago

Trabacchi, Chiara, and Martin Stadelmann. San Giorgio Group Case Study: Pilot Program for Climate Resilience in Nepal. Climate Policy Initiative, 2013. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/SGG-Case-Study-Pilot-Program-for-Climate-Resilience-in-Nepal.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Trabacchi |first1=Chiara |last2=Stadelmann |first2=Martin |title=San Giorgio Group Case Study: Pilot Program for Climate Resilience in Nepal |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=December 2013 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/SGG-Case-Study-Pilot-Program-for-Climate-Resilience-in-Nepal.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{trabacchi2013san, author = {Trabacchi, Chiara and Stadelmann, Martin}, title = {{San Giorgio Group Case Study: Pilot Program for Climate Resilience in Nepal}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2013}, month = dec, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/SGG-Case-Study-Pilot-Program-for-Climate-Resilience-in-Nepal.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }