Press release number: IFAD 11/05

Rome , 15 February 2005 - A new US$38 million programme will help 440,000 rural poor people in Burkina Faso's poorest region.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will provide a loan of about US$16 million for the Sustainable Rural Development Programme. The programme is being co-financed with highly concessional loans from the West African Development Bank and the OPEC Fund, and a US$6 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The loan agreement was signed today by the President of IFAD, Lennart Båge, and the Ambassador of Burkina Faso in Rome, Mamadou Sissoko, at IFAD headquarters in Rome.

The new programme targets small-scale farmers, landless migrants, women and young people in the provinces of Bam, Loroum, Passoré, Yatenga and Zondoma, in the central and northern part of the country, where there has been a sharp rise in poverty.

The programme will improve economic opportunities through increased agricultural production, better use and management of water resources, and support for income-generating activities. It will also improve poor farmers' access to land. The programme will also focus on improving the organizational capacities of participants, empowering them to take part in the decision-making that affects their lives.

Land degradation in Burkina Faso's rural areas will be addressed through soil conservation and anti-erosion measures .

Nearly 80 per cent of poor people in Burkina Faso live in rural areas of the country.

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IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries. Seventy-five per cent of the world's poorest people - 900 million women, children and men - live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihoods. Through low-interest loans and grants, IFAD works with governments to develop and finance programmes and projects that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves.

There are close to 200 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totaling US$ 6.5 billion. IFAD has invested about US$ 3 billion in these initiatives. Co-financing has been provided by governments, beneficiaries, multilateral and bilateral donors and other partners. At full development, these programmes will help more than 100 million rural poor women and men to achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested US$ 8.5 billion in 676 projects and programmes that have helped more than 250 million poor rural men and women achieve better lives for themselves and their families