Press release number: IFAD 45/05

Rome, 13 December 2005 - The 86th session of IFAD’s Executive Board approved US$204.8 million in loans to support rural development programmes and projects in 12 countries: Albania, Bangladesh, Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Pakistan, the Republic of Moldova, Tunisia and Zambia. The Board also approved US$11.25 million in grants to support indigenous producers, farmers, farmers’ organizations, agricultural research and exchange of information and training programmes.

US$91 million in loans for Asia and the Pacific

Bangladesh: making markets more accessible
IFAD will provide a US$25 million loan to support the US$43.9 million Market Infrastructure Development Project in Charland Regions. About 87,500 rural poor households that include small traders, producers and women labourers will benefit from the project. The project will support the development of physical infrastructure for markets. Roads will be repaired and new roads and piers will be constructed. It will also support the formation of market management committees, enabling local communities, farmers and women to have a greater voice in market decisions and management. The project will also promote market-oriented production of crops, livestock, fish and non-farm products and provide credit and assistance to primary producer groups.

India: helping women help themselves
A US$39.5 million loan will help finance the US$208.7 Tejaswini Rural Women’s Empowerment Programme. The programme will support the formation of new self-help groups and strengthen existing self-help groups in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh states. Women will have access to credit, insurance and other financial services so they can increase their incomes and hence their financial security, and improve their livelihoods. Literacy classes and skills training activities will also be supported, enabling women to increase their decision-making role within their households and communities. The programme will also promote capital formation and build sustainable grassroots institutions.

Pakistan: empowering rural households
The US$30.5 million Microfinance Innovation and Outreach Programme will provide access to new financial services and resources to rural poor households and women. The programme will support pilot projects to test and develop new microfinance products and services that respond to the needs of rural poor people. Young graduates will gain practical experience and training, helping to improve their institution’s capacity for professional development and growth. Local lending institutions will also be strengthened so they can expand their outreach and provide better financial services in rural areas. IFAD will support the programme with a US$26.5 million loan.

US$35.6 million in loans and US$845,000 in grants for Eastern and Southern Africa

Kenya: support for dairy farmers, traders and operators
IFAD will provide a US$17.5 million loan and US$845,000 grant to support the US$19.8 million Smallholder Dairy Commercialization Programme. Poor dairy farmers, traders, and operators of small milk bars and shops, 65 per cent of whom are women, will benefit directly from the programme. Skills training and technical support will help dairy farmers improve milk production and increase access to commercial markets for processing and trading of milk. The programme will set up a market information system at the Kenya Dairy Board to provide farmers and traders with information on dairy products and encourage them to adopt dairy product standards. The programme will assist the Dairy Training Institute to develop its curriculum and increase the institute’s capacity to provide training for small dairy farmers and traders.

Malawi: increased incomes and bigger harvests
The US$52.1 million Irrigation, Rural Livelihoods and Agricultural Development Project, co-financed with the World Bank, will increase the incomes and agricultural productivity of 196,550 rural poor households. In response to the current food crisis in the country, the project will provide farmers with seeds and fertilizer to restore agricultural production. In order to reduce the risks associated with rainfed farming, the project will also support the rehabilitation and development of new irrigation systems, reservoirs and rainwater harvesting structures. Farmers will gain access to support services that will enable them to improve the marketing of their produce. The project will also strengthen local government institutions and support capacity building for farmers and their organizations. IFAD will provide a US$8 million loan for the project.

Zambia: ploughing more lands to improve food production
An IFAD loan of US$10.1 million will support the US$15 million Smallholder Livestock Investment Project. During the past 15 years many poor farmers who depend on animal power to plough their land have lost their cattle to infectious diseases. Without cattle, they have been forced to prepare their land using a hand hoe, a technique that does not allow them to grow enough food for their households. The project will support a vaccination campaign to control the main cattle killing diseases, leading to the gradual recovery of the cattle herds. Traditional community organizations that have lost their cattle to disease will be provided with locally purchased cattle that they will manage and share with members of the community. Offspring will be distributed, increasing the number of small farmers who own cattle. This will enable rural poor communities to increase their food production and their incomes.

US$52.7 million in loans for Near East and North Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States

Albania: making mountain areas more profitable
The US$24.3 million Programme for Sustainable Development in Rural Mountain Areas will support economic development in mountain areas and enable rural poor households to increase their incomes. The programme will establish the IFAD-financed Mountain Areas Development Agency (MADA) as a specialized organization dealing with economic development. It will promote private sector investment in the region and strengthen the capacity of the mountain communities to participate in their own development. The programme will also transform the Mountain Areas Finance Fund (MAFF), a public foundation, into a licensed rural commercial bank that provides full financial services. IFAD will provide a US$8 million loan.

Morocco: developing remote areas
IFAD will support the US$34.4 million Rural Development Project in the Eastern Middle Atlas Mountains with a US$16.2 million loan. The project will assist rural poor people living in remote mountain villages to generate more income by increasing and diversifying their crop production and by reducing pressure on the natural resources of the mountain’s fragile ecosytem. Through skills training and literacy courses the project will enable local communities to design and implement their own development initiatives. Rural financial services will be made more accessible so that rural people, especially women and unemployed youth, can generate additional income through microenterprises and non-farm related activities. The project will rehabilitate small-scale irrigation systems and improve access to drinking water supply and markets. It will also provide support to soil and water conservation initiatives and help promote rural tourism.

Republic of Moldova: building rural business
The US$20.3 million Rural Business Development Programme will assist rural entrepreneurs, rural unemployed people, farmers, agro-processors, suppliers, traders and community groups by providing access to rural financial services and support services. The programme will assist in the rehabilitation of the country’s rural infrastructure, improve irrigation systems, and build roads and gas supply networks. IFAD will provide a US$13.0 million loan to the programme.

Tunisia: empowering poor communities
An IFAD loan of US$15.5 million will support the US$38.9 million Integrated Agricultural Development Project in the Governorate of Siliana-Phase II. The project will benefit poor households in the areas covered under phase 1 of the project and extend to all the southern districts of the governate and eight subdistricts in the north, assisting directly and indirectly at least 15,000 poor households. It will support the establishment of privately operated agricultural advisory services, which will improve the livelihoods of the poor by boosting agricultural productivity. The project will assist in the development of small and medium size businesses by decentralizing and building the capacity of the two main regional institutions involved in microenterprise and private sector development. Women and youth will gain better access to the labour market through market oriented vocational training and enterprise support. Local institutions will be encouraged to adopt a participatory and gender sensitive planning approach. The project will also support the development of a system to monitor sustainable land management and to oversee soil and water conservation initiatives.

US$25.5 million in loans and US$300,000 in grants for Western and Central Africa

Benin: developing rural business
IFAD will provide a US$10.0 million loan to support the US$14.8 million Rural Development Support Programme, which will benefit 56,000 rural poor people, at least half of whom are women. The programme will assist both groups and individuals in starting or expanding income generating activities and micro-businesses. It will help rural poor people to increase their incomes and will create new employment opportunities in their villages. Local village institutions will be strengthened so they can manage their own development plans and undertake joint efforts with other villages.

Democratic Republic of Congo: assisting rural farmers and fishers
IFAD will support the US$26 million Agricultural Rehabilitation Programme in Orientale Province with a US$15.5 million loan and a US$300,000 grant. The programme will help poor farmers, fishers and livestock owners to increase their incomes and food security. It will rehabilitate the agricultural and fishery sectors by improving access to financial services and new technology. Farmers’ groups will receive support and funding to build infrastructure and to develop economic activities such as fish farming and processing. New trunk roads will be built and feeder roads re-opened so that farmers can travel to markets to trade and sell their goods. Village repair committees will be trained to maintain local roads. Basic social services will also be made more accessible.

US$10.11 million in grants to support indigenous farmers, small farmers, farmers’ organizations, agricultural research, information exchange and training programmes

The Executive Board has approved seven grants under IFAD’s global/regional grants window and two stand alone grants under IFAD’s country-specific window.

The International Farming Systems Research Methodology Network (RIMISP) will receive a US$1.32 million grant to support a fourth phase of the FIDAMERICA network’s: Learning and Communication for Impact on Poverty Reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean. The initiative will strengthen communication between IFAD, local and regional governments, organizations and institutions and improve the exchange of information.

A US$1.2 million grant was approved for the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA),a research centre supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The grant will help finance ICARDA’s Community Action in Integrated and Market Oriented Feed-Livestock Production in Central and South Asia, a programme that will improve the livelihoods of small farmers and livestock owners.

A US$1.2 million grant will go to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), a CGIAR supported research centre. It will help finance ICRISAT’s Growing Out of Poverty: Intensification of Sorghum and Millet Systems by Unlocking the Potential of Local Biodiversity and Market Opportunities in Semi-Arid West Africa. The programme will support research and the use of new technologies to create improved crop varieties and increase the food security of poor farmers.

A US$1.5 million grant will go to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to support a programme that will help reduce poverty in eight countries by strengthening the capacity of key government agencies to formulate and implement pro-poor policies. The programme will also promote the sharing of experiences and lessons learned through a knowledge network, and encourage policy dialogue and the dissemination of the results of pro-poor policies.

The Board approved a US$500,000 grant for the National Peace Fund for the Smallholder Agricultural Production Reactivation and Infrastructure Reconstruction Programme in Response to Hurricane Stan. The programme will help re-establish economic production in 13 municipalities in Guatemala’s Solola’ Department that were affected by Hurricane Stan. The funds will be used to restore agricultural production and repair bridges, irrigation systems and rural roads in order to assist indigenous producers and poor farmers affected by the hurricane.

A grant of US$485,000 was approved for the Centre for Environmental and Agricultural Policy Research, Extension and Development (CEAPRED) to support the Local Livelihoods Programme in Mid-Western Nepal. The programme will improve the livelihoods of 5,000 farmers. It will help rural poor people plan and implement local development initiatives. Women will be encouraged to participate. The programme will also enable farmers to move from subsistence agriculture to more profitable activities.

The Board also approved three other grants totalling US$3.9 million to support training, agricultural research, and sustainable and productive management of resources in non-CGIAR international centres.

• US$1.1 million for the International Agricultural Centre of the DLO Foundation (IAC)
• US$1.4 million for the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology(ICIPE)
• US$1.4 million for the International Center for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC)

---

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 - 800 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 192 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totalling US$6.5 billion. IFAD has invested about US$2.8 billion in these initiatives. Cofinancing 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 almost US$8.7 billion in 690 projects and programmes that have helped more than 250 million poor rural men and women achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Governments and other financing sources in the recipient countries, including project beneficiaries, have contributed about US$8.4 billion, and multilateral, bilateral and other donors have provided about US$6.9 billion in cofinancing.