Announcement of IDA Approves Twenty-Three Million Fifty Thousand US Dollars for Rural Development in Togo on November 24, 1982

LS~ JNorltJ Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, 0.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 !' !} /( IDA NEWS RELEASE 83/23 Contact: Pam Brennan November 24, 1982 (202) 477-5344 IDA APPROVES $Z3.5 MILLION FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN TOGO Cotton production in Togo will expand under a second rural development project, to be assisted by an SDR 21.7 million ($23.5 million) credit approved by the International Development Association (IDA). The credit from the World Bank's affiliate for concessional lending will enable work begun under a first project .to be expanded. The 46»000-square kilometer project area, where the cash crop cotton is grown in rotation with food,crops, covers most of the country's land. Under the project, annual cotton production is expected to increase by 18,400 tons and food crop production by 38,000 tons. Food crops grown by cotton farmers include maize, sorghum, millet, groundnuts, paddy, and cowpeas. Improved cultivation techniques and the use of ox-drawn plows will be promoted through further development of the extension system. The first rural development project in the cotton areas, assisted by a $14 million IDA credit, was successfully completed in mid-1982. It resulted in more than trebling national cotton production (from 6,700 tons to 20,800 tons a year.) The second project will benefit more farm families, raising the number from about 42,100 to 65,500, or roughly one-third of the total number of families in the project area. With higher yields per hectare, their average income is expected to increase from $412 to $765 a year. The extension network and management of the executing agency, the Societe Togolaise du Coton, will be strengthened under the project. Improved research, seed multiplication, village water supplies, and feeder road development will also bring long range benefits to the rural population. The Caisse Centrale de Cooperation Economique and the Fonds d'Aide et de Cooperation of France will provide co-financing arn.ounting to $16.2 million and $4.4 million, respectively. The IDA credit to Togo is for 50 years, including a grace period of 10 years; it is interest-free, but bears a service charge (0.5% on the undisbursed balances of the credit and 0.75% on the disbursed balances). NOTE: IDA credits are denominated in SDRs ( Special Drawing Rights), which I are valued on the basis of a "basket" of currencies. The U.S. dollar equivalent of the SOR amount of the IDA credit reflects the exchange rates existing at the time of negotiation of the credit.