Announcement of Twelve Million Dollars for a Second Agricultural Credit in Tunisia on November 24, 1976

•world Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. • Telephone: (202) 393-6360 BANK LOAN NO. 77133 November 24, 1976 $12 MILLION FOR A SECOND AGRICULTURAL CREDIT IN TUNISIA Some 1,235 farmers in Tunisia wi 11 benefit from a $12 mill ion loan approved today by the World Bank for the country's Second Agricul- tural Credit Project. The second Bank loan for an agricultural credit project in Tunisia wi 11 finance part of the Banque Nationale de Tunisie's (BNT's) agricultural lending programs. It will provide over a period of four and one-half years medium- and long-term credit for the purchase by small farmers of 1 ight agricultural equipment, seeds, dairy cattle, and • construction of well and irrigation improvements; the purchase by commer- cial farmers of heavier agricultural equipment, pure breed dairy stock and concomitant facilities, and construction and improvement in irriga- tion infrastructure; date palm plantation development comprising ground- water development with irrigation and drainage networks, land levelling, planting and maintenance of date palms to be undertaken by four smal 1 farmers' associations; and expansion of investment in agro-industries, particularly olive oil mills. Moreover, the project wi l 1 create an estimated l ,300 man-years of additional family labor in investments in farm develo~ment and date plantations and 350 jobs in olive oil mills. Additional foreign exchange earnings wil 1 be generated through the improvement in quality of olive oil exports. The Bank's $12 mill ion loan to BNT, which is guaranteed by the Tunisian Government, will be at 8.7% annual interest for a term of 12 years, including four years of grace. Note: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents. • - 0 -