Announcement of IDA Approves Pilot Project for Agricultural Development in Upper Volta on September 23, 1982

~orldBank '\~ ml \I C . \ 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 47,\( :1214 0 IDA NEWS RELEASE NO. 83/15 Contact: Pam Brennan September 23, 1982 (202) 477-5344 IDA APPROVES PILOT PROJECT FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN UPPER VOLTA \l The introduction of new technology ~hat small farmers will accept is at the heart of a pilot project to be launched by the government in Upper Volta, the International Development Association (IDA) announced today. The World Bank's affiliate for concessional lending is assisting this effort with a credit of SOR 6.3 million ($7 )Jlillion) • The pilot project: will be carried out in the Koudougou region of the central plateau. It will concentrate on increasing agricultural production and farm incomes through extension activity and through the provision of farm equipment and supplies in two pilot areas. The training and visit system· will be introduced to. improve the extension service. \,; \\ The purpose of the $10.8 million project is two-fold: to deteri,\aj.ne the effectiveness of a technical package in the northern half of the regioh'und~_r the ~~dougou Regional Development Organization, which is responsible for carrying out the ~ j e c t ; and to investigate the acceptability to farmers of the technical package designed for the southern half of the region. Because cotton production in the south has virtually disappeared in recent yeari, an important objective of the project is also to determine whether cotton production can be revived. Besides the IDA credit, t.he project will receive a grant of 7.5 million Dutch guilders (about $2.9 million) from the Netherlands. The IDA credit is for 50 years, including 10 years of grace; it carries no interes·t, but bears a small annual service charge of O. 5% on the undis bursed balance of the credit, and O. 75% on the disbursed balance. Since 1970, IDA has approved $109 million for the development of the country's rural sector. NOTE: ·IDA credits · are denominated in SDRs ( Special Drawing Rights), which are valued on the basis of a "basket" of currencies. The U.S. dollar equivalent of the SDR amount of the IDA credit reflects the exchange rates existing at the. time of negotiation of the credit.