Press release No.: IFAD/06/09

Rome, 16 February 2009 – A US$21 million loan from IFAD to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam will contribute to sustainable and equitable forest land management and improve livelihoods for poor rural people living in the Bac Kan Province of Viet Nam.

The loan agreement was signed today at IFAD headquarters by Vu Van Ninh, Minister for Finance of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and Lennart Båge, IFAD President.

Bac Kan Province, with its rugged terrain and limited availability of agricultural land, has the highest concentration of ethnic minority groups and the highest incidence of poverty in Viet Nam. The project will focus on poor upland farmers, most of whom belong to the Nung, Dao, Mong and Tay ethnic minority groups. It is expected to improve equity in land allocation, diversify income-generating opportunities and develop more sustainable hillside farming systems.

The total cost of the project is estimated at US$25.33 million over six years, with financing coming from IFAD, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Government of Viet Nam and the beneficiaries themselves.

To date, IFAD has funded nine rural development projects in the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam for a total of US$189 million.

IFAD was created 30 years ago to tackle rural poverty, a key consequence of the droughts and famines of the early 1970s. Since 1978, IFAD has invested more than US$10.6 billion in low-interest loans and grants that have helped over approximately 350 million very poor rural women and men increase their incomes and provide for their families. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency. It is a global partnership of OECD, OPEC and other developing countries. Today, IFAD supports close to 250 programmes and projects in 87 developing countries and one territory.