Press release No.: IFAD/11/09

Rome, 19 February 2009 – China has an impressive record of strong and sustained economic growth and has experienced an unprecedented decline in poverty in recent years. However, rural poverty persists in disadvantaged areas such as the Dabieshan area. A US$31.9 million grant from IFAD to the People’s Republic of China will help finance a poverty reduction programme in the Dabieshan area of Henan Province.

The loan agreement was signed today at IFAD headquarters by Zhang Xiaosong, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China and Lennart Båge, IFAD President.

The IFAD-supported Dabieshan Area Poverty Reduction Programme aims to increase incomes among poor farm households through various approaches to agricultural development and market access. The area is known for its high quality green tea. However, manual processing is still largely used by poor tea growers. Mechanical processing methods can stabilize production, improve quality and allow producers to obtain higher prices, but poor growers need training and investment to make the transition. The programme is expected to reach 77,000 households in 720 of the area’s poorest villages.

The total cost of the programme is US$70.8 million over six years, with financing coming from the Government of China and IFAD.

To date IFAD has funded 22 rural development programmes and projects in China for a total of US$560 million.

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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$10.6 billion in low-interest loans and grants that have helped over approximately 350 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 close to 250 programmes and projects in 87 developing countries and one territory.