IFAD and Sudan invest US$47.5 million to raise incomes and resilience to climate change

IFAD and Sudan invest US$47.5 million to raise incomes and resilience to climate change

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Sudan signed a financing agreement 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 encompasses 129 villages and reaches 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.

Original source: IFAD
Published on 15 February 2018