Release number IFAD/26/08

IFAD’s Executive Board concludes meeting at its headquarters

Rome, 28 April 2008 – IFAD’s Executive Board approved more than US$70 million in loans and US$1.6 million in grants for two programmes and three projects that will help poor rural people in developing countries overcome poverty.

The 93rd session of the Board, which met in Rome from 24 to 25 April, approved an additional US$12.42 million in grants to support agricultural research and development activities in rural regions of poor countries   

Western and Central Africa to receive US$4.25 million in loans

In Cape Verde, a loan of US$4.25 million will help strengthen and expand the work of the existing Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme. The additional funds will improve the lives of about 60,000 poor rural people, particularly women, by further integrating them into Cape Verde’s fast-growing economy. The programme will improve food security and nutrition, diversify incomes, improve market access, and raise production and productivity in agriculture, fisheries and livestock. The existing Rural Alleviation Programme will be expanded to cover all rural areas of Cape Verde, using legal, institutional and financial mechanisms that have already proved effective in reducing rural poverty during the first two stages of the programme. 

Eastern and Southern Africa to receive US$5.6 million in loans and US$0.40 million in grants

A new programme in the Republic of Mauritius willsupport the government’s pro-poor reform agenda as the country undergoes a period of economic adjustment. The government has requested IFAD assistance in agriculture, rural development and pro-poor policy reform. The programme will help develop pro-poor policies and programmes within the framework of the Mauritius Reform Programme and contribute to the reform of marine resources policy. It will work to improve, on a sustainable basis, the livelihoods of coastal communities threatened by the over-exploitation of the marine environment. It will also help rural households diversify their on- and off-farm enterprises, and provide training to improve the job prospects of participants.

Asia and the Pacific to receive US$56.86 million in loans and US$1.161 million in grants

A loan of US$30.3 million and a grant of US$600,000 will increase agricultural production and boost employment prospects for 95,000 poor households in the Republic of India. The project will increase income generating activities primarily in the livestock, handicraft and tourism sectors. It will also improve watershed management and farming practices, promote self-employment as well as wage employment opportunities, and provide access to financial services and markets. Participants in the project are from the poorest households in Western Rajasthan, which suffers from a harsh arid climate and low and erratic rainfall. They  include landless labourers, small and marginal farmers, owners of marginal land or wastelands, traditional artisans, women, and young people with no employable skill sets.

In the Philippines, a US$26.56 million loan and US$561,000 grant will support the second phase of a project that successfully reduced poverty among indigenous peoples in the uplands of the Cordillera region in the northern Philippines. The project focuses on environmentally sustainable indigenous farming systems. Joint public/private ventures will help improve the links to high-value niche markets, allowing participants to receive premium prices for their products. About 34 per cent of the 190,000 inhabitants are expected to benefit from the project. Livelihoods will be improved and enhanced watershed management and conservation will lead to many environmental benefits, including greater protection of groundwater tables and reduced land degradation.

Latin America and the Caribbean to receive US$4.2 million in loans

Persistent poverty and limited access to financial services and markets in rural Panama will be tackled by a participatory development and rural modernization project, supported by a US$4.2 million loan. The project will empower poor rural people and their organizations by helping them become active participants in their own development. It will also improve income potential and job opportunities by helping producers identify dynamic markets and sell their products in these markets. About 10,000 people are expected to benefit from the project.

The Executive Board approved two grants under the global/regional grants window to CGIAR-supported international centres for a total of US$3 million:

• International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), for the Programme Linking Livelihoods of Poor Smallholder Farmers to Emerging Environmentally Progressive Agro-industrial Markets

• World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), for the Programme on Rewards for Use of and Shared Investment in Pro-poor Environmental Services (RUPES-II)

The Executive Board approved seven grants under the global/regional window to non-CGIAR-supported international centres and organizations for a total of US$8.17 million:

• Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO): Regional Capacity-building and Knowledge Management for Gender Equality programme;
• FAO: Medium-term Cooperation Programme with Farmers’ Organizations in Asia and the Pacific Region
• Self Employed Women’s Association: Medium-term Cooperation Programme with Farmers’ Organizations in Asia and the Pacific Region
• West Africa Rural Foundation for the FIDAFRIQUE-IFAD AFRICA Network: Programme for Promoting Knowledge-sharing and Innovation for Rural Poverty Reduction in sub-Saharan Africa
• International Development Research Centre (IDRC): Regional Research and Dissemination Programme on Campesino Innovations
• International Network for Bamboo and Rattan: Programme for Enhanced Bamboo-based Smallholder Livelihood Opportunities –Phase II
• Traidcraft Exchange: Local Market Services Development Project

The Executive Board also approved a grant (under the global/regional window) to the Global Mechanism of the United Nations for US$1.25 million:

• Global Mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Droughts and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa: Programme for Designing Integrated Financing Strategies for UNCCD Implementation in Selected Countries of Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean

IFAD’s Executive Board is the organization’s second main governing body, consisting of 18 elected members and 18 alternate members elected for a three-year term of office. The Board meets three times a year in April, September and December. It has full authority to decide on the programme of work, to approve projects, programmes and grants, and to adopt or recommend action, pending the final approval of the Governing Council, on matters related to policy, the annual administrative budget, applications for membership and staffing.

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IFAD was created 30 years ago to tackle rural poverty, a key consequence of the droughts and famines of the early 1970s. Since 1978, IFAD has invested more than US$10 billion in low-interest loans and grants that have helped over 300 million very poor rural women and men increase their incomes and provide for their families.

IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency. It is a global partnership of OECD, OPEC and other developing countries. Today, IFAD supports more than 200 programmes and projects in 81 developing countries and one territory.