Press release number: IFAD 22/05

Rome 4 March 2005 – About 30,000 families in nine districts of Al-Dhala in central Yemen will be able to grow more crops and raise healthier animals through a project that will introduce new farming technologies. The families will also gain access to credit.

The US$22.8 million project will be financed by a US$14.4 million loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The loan agreement was signed today at IFAD headquarters by Lennart Båge, President of IFAD and Ahmed Mohammed Sofan, the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation for Yemen.

Farmers in this area plant crops on small rainfed plots of land and have little money to pay for fertilizer. They rely on livestock for food and animal power for agricultural production, but do not have easy access to medicines or veterinary services to keep their animals healthy. As a result, yields are low, and poverty acute.

“This project will revive and modernize many elements of the traditional way of life,” says Mohammed Hassani, country programme manager of Yemen. “It will make water harvesting systems more efficient, help herders gain access to animal medicines and train women in basic finance so informal credit schemes become even more potent.”

Families in this mountainous region collect rainwater in catchment basins and then channel it to a cistern. The project will build larger basins and fit the cisterns with filters and covers to keep out insects and debris.

The women of Al-Dhala traditionally form small groups that lend each other money, a system referred to as hakba. Through this project, they will take that knowledge one step further, learning basic accounting methods and financial management techniques.

Another time-tested activity, beekeeping, will also receive a boost. Honey from Yemen is highly prized but many farmers had abandoned the practice because bouts of disease had vastly reduced yields. The project will help farmers to treat damaged hives, or start afresh.

With this loan, IFAD will have financed 17 projects for a total of approximately US$150 million.

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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.