Press Release No. IFAD/23/01

Rome, 17 August 2001 - A USD 107.93 million National Agricultural Advisory Services Programme initiated by the International Development Association (IDA) in Uganda will receive a USD 17.50 million loan from the International Fund of Agricultural Development (IFAD) on highly concessional terms. A loan agreement was signed today at the Fund's headquarters by the President of IFAD, Mr Lennart Båge and by HE Mr Vincent Kirabokyamaria, Ambassador of the Republic of Uganda to Italy.

The Republic of Uganda has been entitled to debt relief under the Heavily-Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative (HIPC DI). The Uganda Government's Poverty Eradication Plan was established to utilize the resources available through the HIPC DI within the frame of the Plan for the Modernization of Agriculture. In this context, the seven-year National Agricultural Advisory Services Programme's purpose is to ensure that farmers become aware of and apply improved crop, animal and fishery husbandry and management practices. Using appropriate knowledge, they will be able to identify and solve their technical and marketing problems. The programme aims to establish decentralized, largely farmer-owned and private-sector delivered farm advisory services that will increase farmers' access to essential information and support to improve farm productivity. The programme will raise incomes of farming households in a sustainable way, while at the same time enhance technical skills and institutional capacity to generate indirect benefits.

The Programme beneficiaries are the three million households that form Uganda's farming base; about 75% of them are subsistence smallholder farmers, including women and youths. They will participate in the programme through farmer groups, sub-county and district officials on behalf of farmer groups, farm advisory service providers, and specialist contractors. The constituent groups and associations will have direct responsibility to decide on their needs for advisory services and other assistance and assess how to meet challenges and make use of opportunities, prepare their proposals and feasibility assessment to justify programme assistance, and generally respond, each year, on how to address their needs.

To date, IFAD has supported twelve projects in Uganda. The new loan brings IFAD's total investment in the country to approximately USD 130 million in loans, as well as about USD 19 million in grants from the IFAD-Belgian Survival Fund Joint Programme.

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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 584 projects in 114 recipient countries and in the West Bank and Gaza for a total commitment of approximately USD 7.2 billion in 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.