Press release number: IFAD 45/02

Rome, Monday 25 November 2002. A loan agreement was signed today at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) headquarters by H.E. Chultem Ulaan, Minister of Finance of Mongolia and by Mr. Lennart Båge, President of IFAD in Rome. The loan to Mongolia, in an amount of USD 14.8 million, will help fund the ‘Rural Poverty-Reduction Programme’, with a total cost of USD 19.1 million.

The project area comprises four of the poorest provinces in the country – Arhangai, Bulgan, Hentii and Huvsgul. Most of the households are very poor and they include a group of vulnerable poor consisting of single women with young children – representing almost 8% of the population, facing among other hardships: isolation, harsh living conditions, weak basic infrastructure, scarce food availability and low cash income. Eighty thousand households will benefit from the ‘Rural Poverty-Reduction Programme’.

Poverty prevails among practically the entire rural population in the Programme area including the residents of the aimag and district townships. Many herders’ households live in precarious circumstances on the ranges or in the remote rural areas and villages where opportunities for livelihoods outside herding are scarce. The rural centres suffer from the lack of social amenities, high incidence of unemployment and low individual income opportunities.

The overall objective of the programme is to sustainably increase the productive capacity of herders and cultivators and to offer increased access to economic and social resources, including education, health and social services. Specifically, the effects of the programmes activities will be: strengthened rangeland management systems and increased herder resilience to natural calamities; strengthened livestock support services and establishment of emergency funds; establishment of poverty and gender sensitive livestock and crop extension services and implementation of training programme; creation of over 70 income generating activity promotion centres; provision of micro-finance loans and training to herder and non-herder households; improved rural social services, particularly primary education and health care.

With this loan, IFAD will have financed two projects in Mongolia, for a total loan amount of USD19.84million.

IFAD is a specialized 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 603 projects in 115 recipient countries and in the West Bank and Gaza for a total commitment of approximately USD 7.3 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 favorable 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.

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IFAD is a specialized 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 603 projects in 115 recipient countries and in the West Bank and Gaza for a total commitment of approximately USD 7.3 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 favorable 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.