Since the early 2000s, CICA has maintained close ties for discussion and partnerships with regional farm lending associations, which were created on the initiative of the United Nations and the World Bank to support agricultural and rural development in several of the world’s major regions, including Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America.

These four associations serve as umbrella organisations for agricultural and rural banks of their continents or regions, organise training programmes and promote sharing of know-how. Each three years they hold, jointly with CICA, conferences on agricultural and rural financing, which are now a very important international event for agricultural banks and financing institutions.

The first conference was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2005 at the invitation of AFRACA. The next ones were held in Bangkok, Thailand in 2007 at the invitation of APRACA; in Marrakesh, Morocco in 2010 at the invitation of NENARACA; in Paris, France in 2013 at CICA’s invitation; and in Dakar, Senegal in 2016, at the invitation of AFRACA. APRACA will be the main organiser of the next conference, in India in 2019.