Press release number: IFAD/37/06

Rome, 15 September 2006 – The 88th session of the Executive Board of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has approved US$85.3 million in loans to support rural development programmes and projects and improve livelihoods in Colombia, Gambia, Nigeria, Senegal and Viet Nam. The Board also approved US$11.4 million in grants to support smallholder farmers, rural women, microfinance enterprises and ongoing efforts to combat desertification in a number of developing countries.

Western and Central Africa to receive US$39.3 million in loans and US$1.1 million in grants

Gambia: delivering financial services to the rural poor
The US$8.7 million Rural Finance Project in the Republic of the Gambia will be financed, in part, by a US$6.1 million loan and a US$400,000 grant from IFAD, with the remainder provided by the Government of Gambia and those participating in the project’s activities. The project will provide a broad range of carefully targeted support to strengthen and consolidate the ability of existing microfinance institutions to deliver financial services to economically active poor rural people. An apex body will be established to support village savings and credit associations, and provide funds for training at all levels, including ordinary members and members of management committees.

Nigeria: building rural financial institutions
A US$27.2 million loan and a US$400,000 grant from IFAD will help finance the US$40.0 million Rural Finance Institution-Building Programme in Nigeria. The Government of Nigeria will contribute US$6.2 million, with US$4.8 million provided by other participating institutions. The Ford Foundation is expected to provide US$500,000 and the participants US$985,100. The programme will strengthen microfinance institutions and establish linkages between these institutions and formal financial institutions in 12 states of Nigeria, in an effort to create a viable and sustainable rural financial system that reaches poor rural people. The goal is to expand and improve productivity in agriculture and rural micro- and small enterprises, and reduce poverty, particularly among poor rural people and especially women, youth and the physically challenged. An estimated 345,000 families will benefit directly, of which at least 138,000 will be households headed by women. The programme will complement a number of ongoing IFAD-supported agricultural and rural development programmes and projects, as well as other Nigeria partners’ rural poverty eradication programmes.

Senegal: supporting agricultural services and producer organizations
The Agricultural Services and Producer Organizations Project – Phase II in Senegal will be partially funded by a US$6.0 million loan and a US$300,000 grant from IFAD. The four-year project is worth a total of US$47.0, including US$20.7 million from the Government of Senegal and US$20.0 million cofinancing from the World Bank. The project, as the second phase of a planned three phase programme, aims to reduce poverty in rural areas of Senegal by improving access by smallholder farmers to sustainable and diversified agricultural services and innovations. Diversifying and stabilizing agricultural production, increasing incomes of smallholder farmers and improving household food security are also key objectives. The project will strengthen the institutional framework put in place during the first phase, expand the coverage of agricultural advisory services nationwide, support the emergence of private service providers, strengthen research capacity, and focus and empower producer organizations, while increasing their social accountability and representation.

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Asia and the Pacific to receive a US$26.0 million loan and US$400,000 grant

Viet Nam: enhancing market access for poor rural people
A US$26.0 million loan and a US$400,000 grant from IFAD will partly fund the US$37.3 million Programme for Improving Market Participation of the Poor in Ha Tinh and Tra Vinh Provinces. Other contributors include the Government of Viet Nam with a contribution of US$4.1 million. , US$3.9 million from a bilateral donor. US$600,000 from the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland., US$1.2 million from the Viet Nam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, and US$1.1 million from the participants. The programme will contribute to raising the incomes of poor rural people in 50 communes in Ha Tinh province and 30 communes in Tra Vinh province by facilitating their access to markets. The selected communes will be among those with the highest poverty rates, which have had little or no previous donor support. The programme will concentrate on improvement of key markets and market mechanisms, off-farm job creation and improvement of agricultural incomes. It will also seek to link market-based initiatives to the needs and priorities of poor communes within a better functioning market environment.

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A US$20.0 million loan for Latin America and the Caribbean

Colombia: increasing the assets of small-scale entrepreneurs
The US$32.1 million Rural Microenterprise Assets Programme: Capitalization,  Technical Assistance and Investment Support in Colombia will be financed partly by a US$20.0 million IFAD loan. The Government of Colombia will contribute US$10.0 million and the participants US$2.1 million. The programme will promote income-generating microenterprises and improved markets in poor rural areas of Colombia by increasing the social, human, financial, physical and natural assets of small-scale entrepreneurs, especially women and young people.

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US$9.9 million in grants to increase productivity and food security, boost natural resources management, extend rural financial services, control pests and disease and combat desertification

The Executive Board approved two additional grants under the country-specific grants window.

A US$552,000 grant over three years to the Anuradhapura Participatory Development Foundation will help fund the Microfinance and Institutional Capacity Development Project in Sri Lanka. The Anuradhapura Foundation was established under the IFAD-initiated North-Central Province Participatory Rural Development Project, which ended in December 2003. The aim of the new project is to improve the living conditions and incomes of poor households in the Anuradhapura district. It will achieve this through the development and expansion of sustainable microfinance and microenterprise activities for members of the foundation, and by building the foundation’s institutional capacity to ensure its members undertake effective income-generating and microenterprise promotion activities. The project will provide matching grants to the foundation to supplement the savings mobilized by village organizations and self-help groups.

A US$1.0 million grant over three years to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) will help finance the Programme for Accelerating Agricultural Technology Adoption to Enhance Rural Livelihoods in Disadvantaged Districts of India. The programme will help farm families in poor districts improve their incomes and livelihoods.  Agricultural technologies that enhance productivity and conserve resources will be more rapidly identified, validated and made available to smallholder and marginal farmers, landless people, women and the socially excluded. Activities will take place in selected disadvantaged districts of the country identified by the Planning Commission of India, and will include districts covered by other IFAD-financed projects.

The Executive Board approved seven grants under IFAD’s global/regional grants window.

An IFAD grant of US$1.25 million over two years to the Global Mechanism (GM) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The grant is a second instalment from IFAD that will fund Support to Resource Mobilization for and Implementation of Action Programmes and Related Initiatives – Phase II. It will mobilize and broaden financial resources in affected countries to support implementation of the UNCCD. The grant will also cofinance the development and implementation of the GM’s communication strategy, which aims to provide the UNCCD constituencies with information and knowledge on effective strategies to implement the UNCCD as an integral part of sustainable development programmes.

A US$1.5 million grant to the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) to fund, in part, the US$2.7 million Programme to Support Smallholder Conservation Agriculture Promotion in Western and Central Africa. The centre is supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The four-year programme will help reduce rural poverty in Western and Central Africa by improving poor rural people’s access to technology and natural resources, including land and water. The programme will promote community and smallholder-driven natural resource management, knowledge-sharing, cropping and farming systems. A farmer-innovator network will be established to achieve the large-scale adaptation of Central Africa-based systems.

A US$1.3 million grant to the CGIAR-supported International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) will partially fund the US$2.6 million Programme for the Integrated Protection of Cassava from Emerging Pests and Diseases that Threaten Rural Livelihoods. The three-year programme will increase and sustain cassava productivity and improve the livelihoods of farmers by reducing crop losses due to pests and diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. The programme will develop, test and implement sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) technologies in collaboration with various partners in five sub-Saharan African countries: Benin, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea and the United Republic of Tanzania.

A US$1.2 million grant to the Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA) will partly fund the five-year Programme for Accelerating the Financial Empowerment of Poor Rural Communities in Asia and the Pacific through Rural Finance Innovations. The goal of the programme is to promote the financial empowerment of poor rural people in the region through policy dialogue, innovative pilot initiatives and knowledge sharing in the rural finance sector.

A US$800,000 grant to the Participatory Microfinance Group for Africa (PAMIGA) will help fund the five-year Programme for the Promotion of Participatory Microfinance in Africa. The programme will use an innovative approach to strengthen the decision-making role of poor rural people and contribute to their empowerment as users and user-owners of local financial institutions.

A US$1.3 million grant to Sasakawa-Global 2000 to finance, in part, the four-year US$1.9 million Market-Driven Initiative for Millet and Sorghum Development in West and Central Africa – Phase II. Building upon the achievements and lessons of the first phase, the initiative will improve food security in the semi-arid zones of Western and Central Africa, stimulating the consumption of traditional cereals, in particular millet and sorghum, and raising incomes in the traditional cereal sector.

A US$990,000 grant to the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) will help finance the three-year Programme for Building Inclusive Financial Sectors in Western and Central Africa (BIFSA). The grant will support collaboration of the UNCDF and IFAD in implementing IFAD’s rural finance strategy in Western and Central Africa from 2006 to 2009 and closer cooperation by the two institutions on the BIFSA programme. The programme will improve access by poor rural people in the region to appropriate and sustainable financial services.

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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 188 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totalling US$6.3billion. 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 85 million rural poor women and men to achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested US$9.2 billion in 716 programmes and projects that have helped approximately 301 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$8.9 billion, and multilateral, bilateral and other donors have provided another US$7.0 billion in cofinancing.