The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), has granted a loanThe International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), has granted a loan of 10.244 billion FCFA and a donation of 2 billion FCFA for the financing of the Agricultural Emergency Project in Côte d’Ivoire, called PUA-CI.Ce, with a view to supporting rural households weakened by the Covid-19 health crisis and contributing to the revival of the agricultural economy.
To this end, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Adama Coulibaly and the To this end, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Adama Coulibaly and the Deputy Vice-President of IFAD, Donald Brown, proceeded to the signature of the Financing Agreement of the said project, this Thursday, July 22, in the conference room on the 20th floor of the Sciam-Plateau building, in the presence of the Minister of State, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani and other IFAD leaders.
Minister Adama Coulibaly indicated in his speech that The PUA, of which Minister Adama Coulibaly indicated in his speech that The PUA, whose duration is three years (2021-2023), relates to a total amount of approximately 27 billion FCFA. And it is financed by IFAD, the State of Côte d’Ivoire and the Initiative for Inclusive Green Financing (IGREENFIN), respectively to the tune of 12.255 billion FCFA, 597 million FCFA and more than 15 billion FCFA.
The agreement signed today, he added, relates to the contribution of The agreement signed today, he added, relates to the contribution of IFAD, the amount of which is in the form of a loan ( 15.64 billion Euros or 10.244 billion FCFA) and donation (3.07 billion Euros or 2 billion FCFA).
“It should be noted that the “loan” component of the financing is granted under favorable conditions, insofar as the interest rate is less than 1%, for a period of 20 years, including 5 years of deferred” , underlined Minister Adama Coulibaly, specifying that the PUA-CI will thus directly affect 53,600 direct beneficiary households, equivalent to 294,800 people.
In addition, the Minister of Economy and Finance noted that this project has In addition, the Minister of Economy and Finance noted that this project aims in particular to maintain and improve food and nutritional security households, while supporting recovery with the Build Back Better approach, with a view to strengthening agricultural productivity, the climate resilience of smallholder farmers, and their ability to generate income on the long term.
“The Agricultural Emergency Project therefore affects the agricultural sector in its “The Agricultural Emergency Project therefore affects the agricultural sector in its diversity, both crop and animal production, as well as the marketing of food crops and access to credit agriculture ,” said the Minister.
The Minister welcomed the financing of this project, which will enable the actors of the The Minister welcomed the financing of this project, which will allow the actors of the agricultural sectors concerned to benefit from zero-interest loans and facilitate their transition to a market economy based on agricultural practices .Not without reiterating its thanks to IFAD for its commitment alongside the Government in favor of the well-being of vulnerable populations.
The Minister of State, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, The Minister of State, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani also welcomed the signing of this PUA financing agreement. THIS. He said that the project will cover the West, Center and North regions of the country and will impact the most vulnerable populations who have not yet been taken care of by the various funds aimed at combating the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. For his part, the Deputy Vice-President of IFAD, Donald Brown stressed that in the face of the effects of the health crisis, IFAD wants through this project to support Côte d’Ivoire in the revival of its agricultural economy.
