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Accord for agro project inked
KATHMANDU, JUL 05 -
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the government of Nepal on Monday signed a loan agreement of US$ 7.6 million and a grant agreement of US$ 7.6 million aiming to reduce poverty and vulnerability of people living in the hills and mountains through agricultural diversification.
The diversification effort will focus on high-value crops, non-timber forest products, medicinal and aromatic plants and livestock.
Lal Shankar Ghimire, joint secretary at the Ministry of Finance, and Ron Hartman, IFAD country programme manager, signed the loan agreement.
The project aims to reduce poverty and social disharmony in the hills and mountains of the Mid-Western Development Region and address the issue of economic isolation. Poverty persists in these areas because of conflict, poor infrastructure and lack of access to services and markets. The project will help to integrate the rural poor, especially women and marginalized groups, into high-value agriculture, value chains and markets and employment opportunities that lead to improved incomes.
This IFAD project is expected to benefit about 52,000 households (285,000 people). The target group consists of members of poor and vulnerable households that lack access to resources and opportunities. The most vulnerable among this group are women and members of socially disadvantaged groups such as Dalits and indigenous groups. The project will have an innovative approach to market-led value chain development, using the entrepreneur as the starting point rather than the producer, said IFAD.
Expected results include more efficient and profitable value chain systems for high-value commodities for producers, improved status and incomes for women and enhanced gender balance in rural households and increased employment opportunities for the landless and quasi-landless through project vocational training and job placement.
Posted on: 2010-07-06 08:16
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