Rome, 14 November 2011 –The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will provide a US$14 million loan to the Republic of Uganda to improve agricultural research.  

The loan agreement for the Agricultural Technology and Agribusiness Advisory Services Project was signed by Deo K. Rwabita, the Ambassador of the Republic of Uganda, and Kanayo F. Nwanze, IFAD President.

Agriculture is one of the mainstays of the Ugandan economy. Raising agricultural productivity and promoting agriculture businesses are high priorities for the government. The project will focus on increasing the incomes of poor rural households by improving the performance of agricultural research and advisory services, while enhancing environmental sustainability and resilience to climate risks and land degradation.

Being national in scope, the project will build on the IFAD co-financed National Agricultural Advisory Services Programme, which was successfully completed in December 2010. The new project will promote a greater role for private-sector operators in agricultural development, and will introduce technologies for sustainable land management to help farmers cope with risks associated with climate change.

With the introduction of more profitable crops, smallholder farmers are expected to improve their yields and be able to set higher farm prices for their produce. More than 1.7 million rural households consisting of women and young people will benefit from the project.

With this new project, IFAD will have financed 14 programmes and projects in Uganda for a total investment of US$296.5 million benefiting more than 4 million households.

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Press release No.: IFAD/81/2011

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 about US$13.2 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries through projects empowering about 400 million people to break out of poverty, thereby helping to create vibrant rural communities. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome – the United Nation’s food and agricultural hub. It is a unique partnership of 167 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).