UN agency to support 10 lakh poor farming households

The government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have signed a financial agreement to increase incomes and reduce poverty for more than 10 lakh poor farming households by increasing agricultural production and improving access to markets.

The UN agency will provide $23.86 million as a highly concessional loan to fund the $214 million Second National Agricultural Technology Programme, said an IFAD press release yesterday.

The project will also be funded by the World Bank ($176 million) and USAID ($7.4 million).

The agreement was signed by Mohammad Mejbahuddin, senior secretary, Economic Relations Division and Hubert Boirard, IFAD's country programme manager.