Rome, 6 November 2009 – A US$22 million loan from IFAD to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh will improve rural livelihoods through investments in sustainable management of water resources, including flood management, drainage improvement and water conservation.

The Participatory Small-Scale Water Resources Sector Project – to be implemented nationwide – will closely involve communities in better management of their natural resources.

The loan agreement for the project was signed today in Rome by Masud Bin Momem, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, and Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of IFAD.

Bangladesh faces both severe annual flooding and water shortages in the dry season as well as river-induced erosion. The situation is further aggravated by urban encroachment of agricultural land and the food demands of an ever-increasing population

The new project is expected to benefit some 324,000 households comprising small and marginal farmers and also landless households.

To date, IFAD has funded 26 projects and programmes in Bangladesh for a total investment of about US$465 million.

Press release No.: IFAD/51/09

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The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) works with poor rural people to enable them to grow and sell more food, increase their incomes and determine the direction of their own lives. Since 1978, IFAD has invested over US$11 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries, empowering some 350 million people to break out of poverty. 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).