WASHINGTON, April 30, 2018 –The World Bank approved a $41 million grant to the Government of Chad from the International Development Association (IDA)* to promote the adoption of technological innovations in the agricultural sector, sustainably boost productivity, and enhance climate resilience in targeted areas.
The Climate Resilient Agriculture and Productivity Enhancement Project (ProPAD) will benefit some 360,000 people and prioritizes smallholder farmers cultivating 1 to 5 hectares of land annually. In addition to enhancing rural household food security and nutrition, the project aims to boost households’ income and help them market a larger share of their production.
“Although Chad possesses a total agricultural area of over 49 million hectares, only 6% is currently being farmed. Moreover, only 9% of the available water resources are used and less than 1% of agricultural land is irrigated,” said Soukenya Kane, World Bank Country Director for Chad. “While other projects are targeting livestock systems in the Sahelian agroecological zone (AEZ), this project will focus on the Sudanese AEZ, which offers a unique opportunity to diversify agricultural production and to develop dynamic and complementary crop and livestock value chains.”
The ProPAD seeks to improve access to and accelerate the adoption of improved technologies adapted to rural production systems of the Sudanese AEZ, which includes the Salamat, Moyen-Chari, and Mandoul regions. The project also aims to strengthen climate resilience by enabling smallholder farmers to make informed decisions and anticipate climatic events.
The ProPAD also aims to scale up key value chains, such as rainfed cereals (sorghum, millet, corn, rice) and associated crops (peanuts, cowpeas, sesame), in addition to diversifying livestock and dairy production in periurban areas. To accomplish this, the project will strengthen national capacities in agricultural research and development and advisory services.
The project chose the Salamat, Moyen-Chari, and Mandoul regions because they offer high agricultural potential, while displaying very concerning rates of rural poverty and food insecurity.
“The project will be implemented in areas where almost 1.5 million people--that is, more than 11% of the total population--live. The targeted regions are also characterized by high poverty levels: 70.9% in Mandoul, 61.4% in Moyen-Chari, and 48.4% in Salamat. In these communities, the average fertility rate is estimated at approximately 6.5 children per woman,” said Francois Nankobogo, World Bank Country Manager for Chad.
* The International Development Association (IDA) is the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries. Founded in 1960, IDA provides grants and low-interest or interest-free loans for projects and programs aimed at stimulating economic growth, reducing poverty, and improving the lives of the poorest. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 75 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. IDA resources help effect positive change in the lives of the 1.5 billion people living in the countries that are eligible for its assistance. Since its inception, IDA has supported development work in 113 countries. Annual commitments have increased steadily and averaged about $18 billion over the past three years, with about 54% of commitments going to Africa.
