Release number IFAD/38/07

Rome, 13 September 2007 – The Executive Board of IFAD approved almost US$164 million in loans and close to US$25 million in grants to support development programmes and projects that will improve the lives of poor rural people in 14 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Near East.  

The Board also approved close to US$9 million in grants to six international centres that conduct agricultural research and development activities in rural regions of poor countries. 

The 91st session of the Board took place at IFAD headquarters in Rome from 11 to 12 September.

Western and Central Africa to receive a US$5.7 million loan and US$15.0 million in grants

A loan of US$5.7 million and a grant of US$0.3 million will allow small-scale farmers in the Woleu-Ntem province of Gabon to diversify their incomes by developing and marketing new products from staple crops such as banana, cassava and peanut. Through training courses, farmer exchange visits and a new market information system, the project will also help farmers’ organizations better defend the economic interests of their members and market their goods more efficiently. The project will directly benefit 28,000 small farmers, half of whom are women and a third young people. The project is expected to indirectly benefit 70,000 more through awareness-raising activities in the province.

In Guinea, a US$10.0 million grant will help finance the second phase of a project to strengthen local governance in rural areas and promote the social and economic empowerment of people in those areas. Women, youth and other marginalized groups in about 300 communities will benefit from the project. The project will support ‘learning by doing’ and promote strong accountability measures to foster an environment of transparent and equitable governance. The long-term goal is for local communities and their governments to identify, plan, implement and manage their own infrastructure and service needs.

One of the world’s poorest countries, Guinea-Bissau, will receive a US$4.7 million grant to help about 100,000 rural people take part in building and sustaining their communities. The project focuses on rehabilitating infrastructure, including 65 kilometres of essential rural roads, improving basic social services and strengthening grassroots organizations. The project will also strengthen the role of the most vulnerable groups – women and youth – in project implementation and community decision-making and management. 

Eastern and Southern Africa to receive US$19.35 million in loans and a US$4.35 million grant

A US$4.35 million loan and a US$4.35 million grant will develop member-based rural financial services and formal financial institutions for rural outreach in Lesotho, where the majority of people have neither reliable nor regular access to financial services. About 37,000 people will benefit from their association with member-based financial institutions. Formal financial institutions will improve outreach to a wider range of clientele, including poor rural people who may not belong to such grassroots institutions supported by the programme. The programme will also establish a regulatory framework for non-bank financial institutions and enhance the supervision capacity of the Central Bank of Lesotho.

Uganda will receive a loan of US$15.0 million for infrastructure improvements that will strengthen farmers’ access to markets in a country where lack of road access to many rural communities and limited processing facilities make it extremely difficult for farmers to market their produce. To promote a sense of ownership, the programme will ensure that small farmers and their communities participate in the selection of infrastructure projects and in rehabilitation and construction work. The programme will cover 26 districts in central and eastern Uganda, representing about 27 per cent of the country’s land area and about 8.8 million people.

Asia and the Pacific to receive US$73.5 million in loans

A loan of US$35.0 million will increase employment and reduce poverty in Bangladesh by expanding existing microenterprises and establishing new ones. The project will directly benefit 117,700 borrowers selected from existing microcredit groups, nearly 90 per cent of whom will be women. In addition, about 200,000 extremely poor people, who lack basic assets such as land, will benefit as more jobs are created by microentrepreneurs. 

In the Maldives, a US$3.5 million loan will support producers and processors in the agriculture and fisheries sectors by helping them improve the quality of their products and access new niche markets in which to sell them. The programme will focus on fresh farm products, processed farm products and Maldive fish, a traditionally processed tuna fish that is a speciality of the region. It will develop commercial agreements with supermarkets, tourist resorts and export markets, and provide credit to producers and processors for inputs and marketing. About 8,400 islanders, including producers and processors, will benefit.

A loan of US$35.0 million is set to give poor rural people in Pakistan greater access to financial services by promoting the microfinance sector. With increased access to credit, programme participants will be able to invest more in their businesses, resulting in higher production from farm and non-farm enterprises, improved livelihoods in rural households and greater economic growth. The programme will work with three groups: small farmers, livestock owners, traders and microentrepreneurs; women and households headed by women; and vulnerable rural households living below the poverty line. About 160,000 households will benefit from increased access to financial services.

Latin America and the Caribbean to receive US$18.46 in loans and a US$3.9 million grant

In El Salvador a US$14.56 million loan will fund a project in the central and surrounding regions with the aim of transforming subsistence agricultural and non-agricultural activities into profitable, rural businesses and microenterprises for local and external markets. The project will support land management in selected microwatersheds and involve organized communities and groups in rehabilitating environmentally deteriorated areas. Participants will have access to financial services and receive specialized technical and business-related assistance and resources. The project will directly benefit about 33,000 people.

A loan of US$3.9 million and a grant of US$3.9 million will enable poor rural people in Nicaragua to take part in local and national social and economic processes to improve their income and employment opportunities. The project will directly benefit the households of 8,000 small-scale coffee, dairy and grain producers. It will create 8,400 jobs and contribute to a more dynamic local economy by renovating rural roads, indirectly benefitting about 45,000 rural people who live near the roads. It will also benefit 2,500 vulnerable rural households by establishing links with other programmes that work to reduce poverty and hunger.

Near East and North Africa to receive US$46.8 million in loans and US$1.0 million in grants

In Armenia a loan of US$11.9 million and a grant of US$0.5 million will provide innovative financing for poor rural and peri-urban people. People who are already economically active, or could become so, but do not have access to conventional forms of credit will benefit. The programme will develop a venture capital fund through the Fund for Rural Economic Development in Armenia (FREDA). Applicants for FREDA support who engage women as suppliers and employees will be given preference.

In the mountain zones of Errachidia province of Morocco a US$18.3 million loan and a US$0.5 million grant will help tackle the root causes of rural poverty. These include inadequate social and economic services, poor infrastructure, mismanagement of land and water resources, and high illiteracy rates. About 140,000 poor rural people will benefit from improved vocational skills and training designed to help them start on-farm and off-farm microenterprises or boost agricultural production. The project will also promote soil and water conservation and encourage income diversification by providing sustainable access to local financial and business counselling services.

A US$16.6 million loan will address the growing stress on available natural resources in Yemen, which is caused by a rapidly increasing population with greater demands and expectations. The aim of the project is to halt and reverse the accelerating trend of resource degradation through participatory natural resource management initiatives. It will upgrade and diversify rainfed agricultural and livestock production. It will also promote microfinance and microenterprise development, marketing and partnerships with the private sector. The project will benefit about 185,000 households, about one third of them headed by women. 

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

• Two grants, one for US$1.4 million and one for US$1.5 million to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
• US$1.2 million to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
• US$1.5 million to the Africa Rice Centre (WARDA)

The Board approved three additional grants to non-CGIAR-supported international centres:

• US$1.1 million to the African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA)
• US$1.0 million to the International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC)
• US$948,000 to the Microfinance Information Exchange, Inc. (MIX)

A grant of US$500,000 was awarded to Papua New Guinea’s Ministry of Finance to promote local governance and community participation in oil palm-growing provinces.

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IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. Through low-interest loans and grants, IFAD develops and finances programmes and projects that enable poor rural people to overcome poverty themselves. There are 191 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, worth a total of US$6.6 billion. IFAD has invested US$3.1 billion, with cofinancing provided by partners including governments, project participants, multilateral and bilateral donors. These initiatives will help about 82 million poor rural women and men to achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested US$9.8 billion in 751 programmes and projects that have reached more than 310 million poor rural women and men. Governments and other financing sources in recipient countries, including project participants, contributed US$9.2 billion, and multilateral, bilateral and other donors provided another US$7.2 billion in cofinancing.