Press release number: IFAD 25/06

Rome, 22 May 2006 - Better seed distribution, disease-resistant plant cuttings, stronger markets and better financial services are some of the proposed benefits from a new development project to help rehabilitate some of the poorest rural areas of the Congo.
 
The Rural Development Project in the Departments of Niari, Bouenza and Lékoumou will be funded partly by a loan of US$8.4 million from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The loan agreement was signed today at IFAD headquarters in Rome by Lennart Båge, the President of IFAD and Her Excellency Mrs Jeanne Dambendjet, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Congo.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) is providing cofinancing of US$7.5 million to the project.

The Congo is rich in natural resources - mainly oil, water, forests and arable land, but poor management in the 1980s and conflict in the 1990s led to a steady decline in the country's prospects. Since the end of the war in 1999, economic recovery has been slow. Although the Congo is Africa's third largest oil exporter, there is vast inequality in the distribution of income from oil and severe poverty is widespread, especially in rural areas.

Smallholders produce more than 90 per cent of the Congo's food using traditional methods. Despite this, agricultural development has been neglected and production does not meet demand. Much of the country's potential is also not realized, with less than 2 per cent of arable land cultivated at present.
 
The people in Niari, Bouenza and Lékoumou are primarily subsistence farmers with little access to markets and financial resources. Women and young people are particularly vulnerable.

The project will support the rehabilitation of roads and improve access to markets. Distribution of better quality seeds and planting material will be promoted, in particular disease-resistant cuttings for cassava. The project will also work with farmers' groups to boost their management and negotiating skills.

The project will take a participatory approach to planning and implementation, with special attention being given to enabling vulnerable and marginalized groups to express their needs.

About 160,000 people will benefit from improved infrastructure and empowerment, and about 15,000 households will benefit by participating directly in project activities.

This is IFAD's fifth loan to the Congo. In total, the organization has made loans of US$37.6 million to the country.

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IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. Through low-interest loans and grants, it develops and finances projects that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves. There are 187 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totalling US$6.2 billion. IFAD has invested more than US$2.9 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 nearly 80 million rural poor women and men to achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested US$9.0 billion in 705 programmes and projects that have helped nearly 300 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 participants, have contributed almost US$8.8 billion, and multilateral, bilateral and other donors have provided another US$7.0 billion in cofinancing.