Enabling poor rural people
to overcome poverty



The following project/programme proposals were approved by the Seventy-Third Session of the Executive Board:

Africa I (Western and Central Africa)

Mauritania: Poverty Reduction Project in Aftout South and Karakoro

The Executive Board reviewed the proposal and unanimously approved a loan of SDR8.8million for the above project.

Nigeria: Community-Based Agricultural and Rural Development Programme

The Executive Board approved a loan of SDR23.8million for the above programme. The Executive Director for Nigeria welcomed the proposed programme that aimed at building up the capacity of the continuum of institutions under the decentralized administrative system and at facilitating support for poor rural communities. The same Executive Board Director expressed concern, however, regarding the conditions for loan effectiveness, which might lead to extensive delays in programme start-up, and proposed that conditions be established for disbursement rather than for effectiveness.

 

Africa II (Eastern and Southern Africa)


Malawi: Rural Livelihoods Support Programme

The Executive Board reviewed the programme, which will be financed under the flexible lending mechanism, and approved a loan of SDR10.7million to help finance it.

Mozambique: Sofala Bank Artisanal Fisheries Project

The Executive Board approved a loan of SDR14.0million for the above project.

 

Asia and the Pacific


Bangladesh: Sunamganj Community-Based Resource Management Project

In approving a loan of SDR17.55million, the Executive Board stressed that the project would enable the Government of Bangladesh to focus on improving the livelihoods of over half a million poor people living in one of the most vulnerable flood-prone areas of Bangladesh. With regard to the choice of the flexible lending mechanism, it was clarified that this was due to both the dynamic institutional environment and the need for a long-term development perspective because of the project’s focus on community institution building. The Executive Board highlighted the importance of ensuring the sustainability of the proposed community organizations and of the village extension workers, and stressed the need to monitor the sustainability of any emerging semi-autonomous body. Finally, the importance of conflict resolution in fisheries development was emphasized.

India: Livelihood Security Project for Earthquake-Affected Rural Households in Gujarat

While approving a loan of SDR11.65million for the above project, the Executive Board noted the choice of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), a reputed member-based organization, as the lead project implementing agency for the project and encouraged IFAD management to extend this innovative approach in future. The Board also expressed its appreciation of IFAD management’s prompt decision to respond to an emergency caused by a natural disaster and its preparation of a comprehensive project in a very short period of time. The Executive Board also appreciated the provision for selection of other agencies, if so required, from the voluntary, private or public sectors, within the overall arrangement of SEWA maintaining the role of the lead project agency, as that would ensure effective implementation.

Near East and North Africa

Lebanon: Cooperative Rural Finance Programme

The Executive Board approved a loan of SDR10.25million for the above programme, which will be financed under the flexible lending mechanism.

In addition, the following President’s Memorandum was approved by the Seventy-Third Session of the Executive Board:

Mozambique: Family-Sector Livestock Development Programme (Loan432-MZ)– Proposal to Pass IFAD Loan Funds through the Common Flow of Funds Mechanism of the Agricultural Sector Investment Programme (PROAGRI)

The Executive Board approved the proposal, noting that this was an appropriate step towards consolidating a multilateral approach to financing and disbursement.

The following grant proposals were approved by the Seventy-Third Session of the Executive Board:

Technical Assistance Grant to the Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty for Strengthening the Capacity of the Rural Poor to Gain and Sustain Access to Productive Assets
EB 2001/73/R.22

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD500000. In approving the technical assistance grant, the Executive Director for Mexico spoke on the overall importance of this work and expressed satisfaction that Central America was among the regions receiving support through this programme.

Technical Assistance Grants for Agricultural Research and Training by CGIAR-Supported International Centres
EB 2001/73/R.23

International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA): Programme to Foster Wider Adoption of Low-Cost Durum Technologies

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD1.1million.

International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)/International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE): Programme for Enhancing the Diffusion of new Tsetse Control Technologies for Improved Livestock Health and Productivity in Smallholder Indigenous Communities of Sub-Saharan Africa

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD1.258million.

Technical Assistance Grant for Agricultural Research and Training by a Non-CGIAR-Supported International Centre
EB 2001/72/R.24

Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources (SAFIRE): Programme to Promote the Sustainable Use of and Trade in Natural Products through the Southern African Natural Products Trade Association (SANProTA)

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD1.0million for the above programme.

Technical Assistance Grant to the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) for the Western and Central African Hub for Rural Development and Food Security – A Tool for Rural Poverty Alleviation
EB 2001/73/R.25 + Corr.1 (now EB 2001/73/R.25/Rev.1)

The Executive Board approved a three-year grant in the amount of USD1.2million to be administered on behalf of IFAD by UNOPS for the establishment of a Western and Central Africa Rural Development Hub. The Board was especially appreciative of this initiative, given the need for IFAD to seek ways to boost its participation in policy dialogue in the region, and to enhance harmonization of these efforts with the other stakeholders including governments, inter-governmental institutions, civil-society organizations and donors.

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