Press release number: IFAD 47/02

Rome, Wednesday 18 December 2002 –, The ‘Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihoods Programme’, a USD 91.2 million project in the Republic of India will receive a USD 20 million loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). A loan agreement was signed today at the Fund’s Headquarters by H. E. Himachal Som, Ambassador of India and Mr. Lennart Båge, President of IFAD.

The incidence of rural poverty is high in Orissa which is the second poorest state in the country. The Orissa Tribal Programme will cover eight districts in Western Orissa, where poverty is highest in areas where tribal people live. On an average, households have enough food through agriculture for a maximum of only six months in a normal year. This is due to poor agricultural land productivity partly due to pre-dominance of rainfed agriculture, relatively small landholdings, and insecurity of land tenure.

The Programme is expected to benefit approximately 75,000 households living in over 1000 villages. About 61% of the total population are members of various tribal groups and 12% belong to the so called ‘scheduled castes’. In this context, the Programme will adopt an ‘inclusive approach’ - targeting all households living in the participating villages and hamlets in the selected micro-watersheds. As the tribal population is the most disadvantaged among the social groups, their development has been accorded high priority by the Government of India. This Programme thus reflects IFAD’s response to the national priority.

The Programme seeks to ensure sustainable improvements in the food security and livelihoods of poor tribal households which will be achieved by promoting a more efficient and self-managed, sustainable exploitation of natural resources. In addition, the Programme will emphasize increased access to land, water, forests resources, financial services and markets by the tribal poor and facilitate off-farm enterprise development. Technological innovations will strengthen the institutional capacity of government organizations, local self-government institutions and non-governmental organizations. A wide range of interventions, conducive to implementing the inclusive approach of the Programme will assist the poorest to the relatively less poor, by engaging them in wage employment, microfinance services and short and medium-term investments in agriculture and related activities.

With the project, IFAD will have financed 17 projects in the Republic of India, for a total loan amount of about USD 425 million.

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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.