Release number IFAD/13/07

Rome, 16 February 2007 – A US$29.85 million project for better water management in the Butana region of the Sudan will enhance the ability of about 80,000 poor rural households’ to cope with drought conditions.

The Butana Integrated Rural Development Project will be backed by a loan of US$24.8 million from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The Government of the Sudan will contribute US$4.29 million and US$760,000 will be provided by the people living in the project area.

The loan agreement was signed at IFAD headquarters today by Mohamed El Amin Kabashi Eisa, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in the Republic of the Sudan, and Lennart Båge, President of IFAD.

The project will assist rural people in five states that share natural resources in the Butana region. In particular, the project will boost their incomes from livestock production and other small businesses and at the same time ensure the sustainable management of natural resources. It will also improve animal nutrition, access to veterinary services and the organization of meat and dairy marketing.

Smallholder farmers in the region are expected to benefit from higher meat and milk production, lower production costs, and improved market prices.

The Butana region of the Sudan is comprised mainly of smallholders and has been prioritised by the country’s government to receive support as it is one of the poorer drought-affected areas of the country.

Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has provided financing for 15 projects and programmes in the Sudan, with loans and grants totalling US$211 million.

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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 poor rural people to overcome poverty themselves. There are 185 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totalling US$6.1 billion. IFAD has invested 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 77 million poor rural 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$9.1 billion, and multilateral, bilateral and other donors have provided another US$7.1 billion in cofinancing.