Rome, 15 February 2010 – A US$6.69 million loan and a US$6.69 grant to the Kingdom of Cambodia from IFAD will directly benefit 630,000 households who are resource-poor smallholders.

The loan agreement for the Tonle Sap Poverty Reduction and Smallholder Development Project was signed today in Rome by Aun Porn Moniroth, Minister attached to the Prime Minister and Secretary of State of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of IFAD.

This project will respond to the need for increased productivity of integrated farming systems and improved livelihoods of the resource poor households in four provinces of Banteay Meanchey, Kompong Cham, Kompong Thom and Siem Reap in the Tonle Sap basin. Growth in the agricultural sector has fluctuated in recent years and communes with a surplus of paddy still have large pockets of people suffering from hunger. Mainly, this is due to low incomes, high energy prices, crops sold at low prices to repay debts and limited access to credit.

Through commune block grants and extension services, farmers will be able to invest in technology and other supplies to intensify and diversify their on-farm and off-farm incomes.

Increased agricultural productivity and improved access to markets is the objective of the project. Improvements expected include: incremental benefits from higher yields and improved productivity of crops and livestock, better agricultural support, improved rice yields, improved access to rural financial services, increased diversification of household economic activities, improved rural infrastructure, social and economic empowerment of the men and women in the target population.

To date, IFAD has funded six projects in Cambodia for a total investment of more than US$ 66.20 million.

Press release No.: IFAD/08/2010

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).