Announcement of Five Hundred and Eighty-Four Thousand Dollars for Agriculture in Niger on June 17, 1970

• INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 IDA Preas Release No. 70/33 Subject: $584,000 for agriculture in June 17, 1970 Niger Niger's efforts to increase its agricultural output, aj.med at increasing farmers' incomes and foreign exchange earnings derived from its exports, will be supported by the International Development Associ.ation (IDA) with a credit of $584,000. The IDA funds will help finance an agricultu~al credit program that will combine expansion of credit facilities and provision of additional exten- sion services to farmers. Agriculture provide~~ livelihood for about 95% of Niger's approximately 3.9 million people. The main cash crop, groundnuts, yields about two-thirds of the • country's export earnings. The project will be implemented in areas producing the bulk of the country's groundnuts and all of its cotton and rice. The project will enable Caisse Nationale de Credit Agricole (CNCA), the Govern- ment agricultural credit bank, to expand its credit operations to farmers and rural cooperatives for the purchase of seasonal inputs, animal-drawn farm implements and scales. Funds will be provided Union Nigerienne de Credit et de Cooperation (UNCC), the Government agency in charge of cooperative and extensiqn services, for the hiring of additional extension agents and for the setting up of a new branch deal- ing with groundnut producers. CNCA and UNCC will be responsible for execution of the project, which is sched- uled for completion in 1974 at a cost estimated at the equivalent of $871,000. The IDA credit will finance $584,000 of this amount, and the remainder will be provided • by CNCA, and participating farmers • The credit will be extended to the Republic of Niger for a term of 50 years, including 10 years of grace, interest-free, but with a service ~harge of 3/4 of 1% to cover IDA's administrative costs. - 0 -