Rome, 15 February 2018 – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Sudan signed a financing agreement today to improve household incomes and resilience to climate change in the States of Sinnar, North Kordofan, South Dordofan and West Kordofan.

The agreement for the Integrated Agricultural and Marketing Development Project (IAMDP) was signed by Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD, and Abdelatif Ijaimi, Federal Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Republic of Sudan.

The total cost of the project is US$47.5 including a $26.01 grant from IFAD. The project will be co-financed by the Government of Sudan, members of the private sector and the beneficiaries themselves. It will be implemented over six years.

Two thirds of Sudan’s population (36.2 million people) live in rural areas and nearly half rely on agriculture and agro-processing industries for their livelihoods, making agriculture vital to Sudan’s economy. In recent years, climate change has had a major impact on Sudan’s fragile environment, particularly in rain-fed areas, affecting the livelihoods of many who live there.

The IFAD-supported project will target farmers in rain-fed areas who engage in traditional agriculture (crop production and animal husbandry) and forest-based activities (mainly gum Arabic). It encompass 129 villages and reach 27,000 smallholder households, targeting small producers, rural women and youth with farm sizes of less than 6.3 hectares.

“IFAD's approach will be to enhance food security and reduce poverty in poor rural households through investment in crop production, marketing, access to credit and capacity building of public and private service providers,” said Tarek Ahmed, IFAD’s Country Programme Manager for Sudan.

Since 1978 IFAD has financed 21 rural development projects in Sudan, investing $203,737,528, directly benefitting 593,000 rural households.

Press release No.: IFAD/16/2018

IFAD has invested in rural people for 40 years, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, we have provided about US$19.7 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached some 474 million people. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and agriculture hub.