The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) recently awarded Egypt an $18 million loan to finance the West Noubaria Rural Development Project, reported KUNA. The project aims to improve housing and social amenities in rural areas.
It supports the adoption of better on-farm water-management practices while encouraging the development of small and medium enterprise in agricultural production and marketing also through improved marketing training and access to information and with the additional support of improved micro-credit services.
IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations with the specific mandate of combating hunger and poverty in the most disadvantaged regions of the world. Since 1978 IFAD has financed 603 projects in 115 recipient countries and in the West Bank and Gaza for a total commitment of approximately $7.3 billion in loans and grants.
Egypt is one of IFAD's important and priority borrowers in the Near East and North Africa with eight loans totaling about $174 million, of which seven are on concessional terms, to support agricultural and rural development projects focusing on rural poverty reduction. With a total cost of $445 million, including government contributions, these projects are benefiting more than 4.8 million of the poorest rural people nation-wide, particularly in West Beheira, Minya, Fayoum, Sohag and in newlands West and East of the Delta. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
