Armenpress
WORLD BANK APPROVES NEW RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT FOR ARMENIA
YEREVAN, JULY 8, ARMENPRESS: The World Bank’s Board of Directors approved
yesterday a new credit in the amount of US$20 million for the Rural
Enterprise and Small-scale Commercial Agriculture Development Project
(RESCAD) in Armenia, a press release by the World Bank said.
. With this four-year project, the International Development Association
(IDA) credit will assist the government to support the development of
Armenia’s small and medium-scale rural businesses by improving the ability
of farmers and rural entrepreneurs to access markets and by stimulating
market-oriented private and public investments in rural areas. `The
agricultural sector continues to be a key sector for the Armenian economy
with significant contributions to the country’s GDP and employment. The
project aims to build on the positive development of the sector over the
past few years and will assist the government to support the continuing
development of the sector,’- said Frauke Jungbluth, Head of the World Bank
team designing the project. `The project aims to stimulate economic
development in rural areas by supporting commercially-oriented farmers and
rural entrepreneurs.
The main target groups of the project are small and medium-scale farmers
and rural entrepreneurs who would benefit from improved information
services, access to finance, improved inputs and technologies, and support
for marketing activities. The RESCAD project has been developed within the
framework of Armenia’s Agricultural Sustainable Development Strategy. The
project has a three-tiered approach with emphasis on the farm, agribusiness
and community levels: The project consists of three major components: The
Rural Business Support Component will focus on improving the link between
production and markets for rural businesses. The component will aim to
enable businesses to develop their supply chains efficiently, and to expand
market opportunities through the provision of adequate financial services
and targeted business support.
The Farm-Focused Development Support Component will enable farmers to
improve their productivity, production quality and market access through a
sustainable advisory system and by increasing availability of quality
planting material. The Community-Focused Economic Development Support
Component’s objective will be to stimulate economic development at the
community level in selected rural areas through increased capacity of the
communities to plan and manage their resources, and prioritize, fund and
maintain key infrastructure investments with clear market linkages. The
project will also be supported by a US$ 1.755 million co-financing Grant
from the Japanese Government, supporting the capacity building and technical
assistance activities of the RESCAD project.
The Credit will be made to Armenia on standard IDA terms, including 40
years maturity and a 10-year grace period. Since joining the World Bank in
1992 and IDA in 1993, the commitments to Armenia total approximately US$881
million for 39 operations.