Press Release No. IFAD/02/01

Rome, 11 January 2001 – A USD 22.85 million project the ‘Community-Based Rural Development Project’ in the Kingdom of Cambodia, will receive a USD 10 million loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). A loan agreement was signed today at the Fund’s Headquarters by H.E. Keat Chhon, Senior Minister, Minister of Economy and Finance and John Westley, Vice - President of the Fund.

The project area covers the provinces of Kampong Thom and Kampot, two of the four provinces most vulnerable to food insecurity in Cambodia. The predominant farming system is based on the cultivation of rainfed paddy, sometimes with small areas of other crops and livestock. Rural households are poor due to lack of access to sufficient land and/or draught animal, shortage of labour for farming with no knowledge of and/or access to improved technology or the capital required for investment. There is also a lack of access to government support services, safe drinking water and other social services. The target group includes 77 400 poor households living below the poverty line of USD 112 per year. It is expected that at full development about 49 600 families will benefit directly from this project.

The strategic goal of the project is to reduce the poverty of targeted households in the project area. The target group will benefit through the improvement of the capability of the poor to use their natural resources effectively and to access the services available for the social and economic development. Proven crop and livestock production technologies through a farmer-based extension and demonstration programme will address the constraints of the target group and increase their farm productivity and income. Small and medium irrigation and water control schemes will be rehabilitated to improve the availability of water while provisions will be made for access to safe drinking water and road communications to improve target-group health, labour productivity and marketing opportunities.

Participatory development in local planning, field demonstrations, seed-multiplication programmes, farmer training as village extension workers and livestock assistance will be promoted. Sustainable arrangements for full beneficiary responsibility for operation and maintenance of the infrastructure investments financed by the project have been introduced. The innovative features of the project include the promotion of gender awareness among communities and project staff, and promotion of family agreements between women and other family members to ensure women’s participation. This is the first multisector rural development project financed by IFAD in Cambodia.

To date, the International Fund for Agricultural Development has financed three projects in the Kingdom of Cambodia, for a total loan amount of USD 23.34 million.

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IFAD is a specialised agency of the United Nations with the specific mandate of combating hunger and poverty in the most disadvantaged regions of the world. Since 1978 IFAD has financed 578 projects in 114 countries, allocating almost US$ 7 billion in the form of loans and grants. Through these projects, about 250 million rural people have had a chance to move out of poverty.

IFAD makes the greater part of its resources available to low-income countries on very favourable terms, with up to 40 years for repayment and including a grace period of up to ten years and a service charge of 0.75% per year.