Announcements of IDA Continues Assistance to Rural Development Program in Malawi on April 7, 1983

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ' "r' •World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 IDA NEWS RELEASE NO. 83/60 Contact : Pus hpa Schwartz April 7, 1983 ( 202) 47 7-3294 IDA CONTINUES ASSISTANCE TO RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM IN MALAWI Farm productivity will increase and living standards improve in Dedza Hills and Lilongwe Northeast districts of Malawi upon the conclusion of the fourth phase of the National Rural Development Program being assisted by the International .Development Association (IDA). The World Bank's affiliate for concessionary lending will provide SDR 9.8 million ( $10. 6 million) to help the Malawian government achie,. e its o bJ ecti ve of improving the life of the rural people in these areas. To help farm productivity, the number of extension staff will be increaLsed so that there will b,= one for every 800 farmers, instead of for every 1, OOC as at present. Additional research staff, equipment, and vehicles will be • prov;ided • For helping livestock farmers, three new dip tanks will be constructed and 27 existing ones upgraded. A vaccine and drug bank will be established and seven hygienic slaughter facilities will be constructed. Seasonal and medium-term credit will be made available to farmers for growing tobacco, maize, groundnuts, wheat, potatoes, and for feeding steers ~nd dairy cows, and for fodder, seed, and farm equipment. Year-round potable water will be provided by constructing bore holes or shallow wells at some 1,500 sites and rehabilitating some 250 existing water points. Upon completion of the $12.5 million project, a maize farmer can almost double his income to $200 a year in Dedza Hills and by about 70% to $239 in Lilongwe Northeast. In all, about 10,500 farm families, most of them smallholders, will benefit. The IDA credit is for 50 years, including 10 years of grace; it carries no interest but has a small annual 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 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 the negotiation of the credit.