Talks with government leaders in Bangladesh will focus on smallholder agriculture and food security

Rome/Dhaka 15 July 2012 – Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), will visit Bangladesh from 16 to 19 July. He will travel to Sunamganj to see for himself progress on the IFAD-supported Sunamganj Community Based Resource Management Project and learn first- hand how the project has helped participants improve their lives.

In the capital, Nwanze will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Minister of Finance Abdul Maal Abdul Muhith and Minister of Agriculture Begum Matia Chowdhury to discuss IFAD’s investments in the country and new partnerships in the future.

During his stay in the country, Nwanze will sign with the Government of Bangladesh a financing agreement of a US$55 million IFAD loan, a US$1 million IFAD grant and a US$ 30 million Spanish Trust Fund loan for the Haor Infrastructure and Livelihood Enhancement Project.  This project will help reduce poverty in five districts of the Haor basin: Netrakona, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, Kishorganj and Sunamganj. It aims to improve roads, build local capacity and expand access to natural resources, technology and markets.  Improved infrastructure will reduce transportation time and costs while increasing the volume of marketed goods. Over 115,000 households composed of smallholder farmers with less than 2.5 acres of land will benefit directly from the project, as well as fishers, poor women and small traders and intermediaries in local markets.
IFAD has been working in Bangladesh for more than 30 years and has invested over US$578 million in low-interest loans and grants for a total of 28 projects and programmes, which have enabled about 9 million of households to break out of poverty.  

With the approval of the new Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) for 2012-2018, by IFAD’s Executive Board, IFAD’s investment in Bangladesh will target rural poor people living in areas vulnerable to climate change. Small producers and entrepreneurs will benefit from improved value chains and greater market access, and economically and socially marginalized groups, including poor rural women will be empowered.

In Bangladesh, agriculture is an important sector of the country’s economy. It contributes 19 per cent of GDP and employs 44 per cent of the labour force. About 60 million people depend on it to feed themselves and their families. However, the country remains a low-income country with substantial poverty and inequality.

Press release No.: IFAD/43/2012

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 almost US$14 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 Nations’ food and agriculture hub. It is a unique partnership of 168 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organization for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD)