Rome, 8 April 2009 – A US$14.98 million loan will fund a project in the central regions of the Republic of El Salvador to transform subsistence agricultural and off-farm activities into profitable, rural businesses and micro-enterprises.

The project will support land management in selected micro-watersheds and involve organized groups in rehabilitating environmentally deteriorated areas. Participants will then have access to financial services and receive specialized technical and business assistance to help them access local and external markets.

The loan agreement was signed today at IFAD headquarters by José Roberto Andino Salazar, Ambassador of the Republic of El Salvador, and Kanayo Nwanze, IFAD President.

The project has been established in priority zones facing extreme poverty and soil erosion and in communities of marginalized populations with indigenous traditions. The project, which will directly benefit about 33,000 people, focuses on inclusive development and the modernization of agricultural production. The target group are inhabitants of poor communities, landless farmers and agricultural labourers, rural women and youth, and owners of small businesses and micro-entrepreneurs.

The total cost of the programme is US$20.62 million over 18 years. To date, IFAD has funded eight rural development programmes and projects in El Salvador for a total of US$108.5 million.

Press release No.: IFAD/18/09

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The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) works with poor rural people to enable them to increase their incomes, build their livelihoods and have a voice in the decisions that affect their lives. Since 1978, IFAD has invested over US$11 billion in grants and low-interest loans, helping 340 million people in developing countries worldwide. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and agricultural hub. It is a unique partnership of 165 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).