Release number IFAD/47/06

Rome, 15 December 2006 – The Executive Board of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has approved US$284.1 million in loans and US$2.5 million in grants to improve the living conditions of poor rural people in 16 countries.

The 89th session of the Board, which met 12-14 December at IFAD’s headquarters in Rome, approved loans and grants to support rural development projects and programmes in Argentina, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, China, Egypt, Eritrea, Haiti, India, Laos, Mali, the Niger, Sri Lanka, the Sudan, Tanzania, Turkey and Uganda.

The Board approved the provision of more than US$9.4 million in grant money to eight international centres that promote agricultural research, training and technical assistance.

IFAD loans to countries in Western and Central Africa amount to US$40.4 million. There is also a grant of US$400,000 to this region.

In Burkina Faso, IFAD will provide a loan of US$13.8 million to strengthen the supply chain of five commodities: cowpea, sesame, goats/sheep, poultry and onions. About 20,000 rural households will improve their livelihoods through this project.

In the Kidal region of Mali, a programme designed to boost rural incomes for livestock farmers will be backed by a loan of US$11.3 million from IFAD. About 20,000 small livestock farmers will benefit from improved basic services and infrastructure, including water and fodder supplies.

IFAD will help fight rural poverty in the Niger, the world’s poorest country, with a loan of US$15.3 million and a grant of US$400,000. These will fund a project in the Maradi region to develop better ways to cope with natural crises, bolster child nutrition, increase income-generating activities, particularly crop and livestock production, and access to basic social services.

IFAD loans approved for countries in Eastern and Southern Africa amount to US$59.2 million and approved grants to this region total US$1.2 million.

In Eritrea, conflict, drought and unsuitable agricultural practices have led to severe environmental degradation and poverty in the rural regions of Debub and Gash Barka. An IFAD loan of US$12.2 million and a grant of US$343,000 will finance a programme to address these issues.

An IFAD loan of US$27.4 million and a grant of US$400,000 to fund a programme in Uganda will strengthen decentralisation and local governance to promote an environment for enhanced income generation by poor rural farmers in 13 districts.

Rural business people in six regions of Tanzania will improve the skills, knowledge and market access they need to increase their incomes through a small- and micro-enterprises support programme partly funded by a US$19.5 million loan and a US$450,000 grant from IFAD.

For Asia and the Pacific region, IFAD has approved loans totalling US$80.8 million.

In China, while poverty is declining in the eastern part of the country, innovative approaches are needed in some western provinces where rural poverty persists. An IFAD loan of US$25.1 million will help finance a US$55.0 million programme in the Xinjiang Uygur region to pilot and upscale new successful ideas, particularly with regards to technology, organic farming and marketing, and microfinancing.

An IFAD loan of US$30.2 million will finance a programme in India’s Mid-Gangetic Plains area for women and young girls to attain sustainable and improved livelihoods and to achieve social and economic empowerment. Grassroots institutions will be established in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, enabling rural women and girls to access productive resources, microfinance and business development services.

In Laos, an IFAD loan of US$3.0 million will contribute to a project to improve incomes through livestock development for about 17,000 households in the northern part of the country, where smallholders have limited access to land and forests to produce and gather food.

The productivity of Sri Lanka’s old tea plantations in the mid-country region, where many resettled and landless people live, will be improved through a programme backed by an IFAD loan of US$22.5 million. The programme will also support new and diversified rubber cultivation by smallholders in the Moneragala district.

IFAD loans of US$39.5 in the Latin America and Caribbean region will provide finance for projects and programmes in three countries.

An IFAD loan of US$19.3 million will help fund a development programme in Argentina to strengthen economic organizations working with rural poor people in 10 provinces. These organizations will enhance people’s social and economic conditions and improve interactions with local, provincial and national institutions.

Bolivia’s millions of llamas, alpacas and undomesticated vicuñas present poor rural families with the opportunity to market meat, hides, wool-based handicrafts and eco-tourism. A project to realize this potential will be backed by a loan of US$7.2 million from IFAD.

A project in Haiti, the poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean, will use a US$13.0 million loan from IFAD to develop small-scale irrigation where cultivation is possible. The project will focus on new technologies, land security and natural resource management in remote, rural areas.

Loans totalling US$64.0 million and a grant of US$950,000 were approved for projects and programmes in the Near East and North Africa region.

In Egypt, IFAD will provide a US$15.1 million loan and a US$950,000 grant to help fund the Upper Egypt Rural Development Project. The project will increase employment and rural household incomes by developing community groups, such as farmers’ and craftworkers’ marketing associations, to launch small businesses and access microfinance.

A project in the Butana region of the Sudan will be financed by an IFAD loan of US$24.8 million to improve poor rural people’s livelihoods and resilience during drought. More specifically, the project will enhance rural access to livestock and dairy markets, empower rural women by turning decision-making responsibilities of water and range management over to them and their organizations and improve agricultural practices to increase crop yields.

An IFAD loan of US$24.1 million will fund a programme to reduce rural poverty in the south-eastern provinces of Turkey, where people living in the poorest mountain villages will be able to expand both farm and non-farm-related employment opportunities.

The Executive Board approved two grants to international centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR):

• US$1.5 million to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT)
• US$1.4 million to Bioversity International (IPGRI)

Six additional grants were approved to give to other non-CGIAR international centres:

• US$800,000 to the Centro Internacional para el Desarrollo Humano (CIDH)
• US$1.2 million to the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)
• US$609,000 to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• US$952,000 to the Microfinance Centre for Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States (MFC)
• US$1.55 million to the Netherlands-based International Development Organization (SNV)
• US$1.4 million to the West Africa Rural Foundation (WARF)

Two additional grants were also approved. A grant of US$300,000 will assist Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in its formulation of a new rural development strategy in light of the country’s rapidly growing economy and upcoming World Trade Organization accession. A grant of US$1.7 million was approved to support the International Land Coalition in its 2007-2008 programme strategy and to strengthen future performance.

The Executive Board approved IFAD’s new strategic framework for the 2007-2010 period, as well as a new policy on supervision and implementation support.

IFAD’s Executive Board consists of 18 elected members and 18 alternate members. The Board meets three times a year, in the months of April, September and December.

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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 196 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totalling US$6.6 billion. IFAD has invested more than US$3.1 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 89 million rural poor women and men to achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested US$9.5 billion in 732 programmes and projects that have helped more than 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 US$9.0 billion, and multilateral, bilateral and other donors have provided another US$7.1 billion in cofinancing.