Announcement of Upper Volta to Expand Rural Development with Twenty-Three Million Eighty Thousand US Dollars Credit on April 1, 1982

1':!c;~r:" .. ' . o . .. I :._~ ~' l,MMEDIA . TE RELEASE · . . . oWorldBank 1B18 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 ~DA NEWS RELEASE NO. 82/45 Contact: Pamela Brennan Apd] 1, 1982 (202) 477-5344 UPPER VOLTA TO EXPAND RURAL DEVELOPMENT WITH $23.8 MILLION CREDIT Upper Volta will expand its support for small-scale rural investments through a credit of SOR 20.2 million ($23.8 million) from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank 1 s affiliate for concessionary lendung. The IDA credit includes a $7.8 million grant provided by the Kingdom of the Netherlands under a participation arrangement. The $28.9 million project will continue the plan of two previous projects to strengthen the Rural Development Fund (RDF) which organizes and supervises smalU=scale investments in rural areas where the majority of the population lives. Over a four-year period, the RDF will direct investments to small sub- projects, which have been largely identified, including land development, support for regional development organizations, credit to farmers, and improved water supply for villages. 0 land development, the main component of the project, will involve engineer- ung design services, equipment, and supervision for construction of anti-erosion embankments for some 20,000 hectares of dry land farms. Earth structures, to improve flood control in bottom1and areas, and small-scale irrigation works wili also be built. To ensure that proposed structures are ade~uate for the area involved, design specialists wi11 be consulted in the planning stages. Credit to fa~"mers wi 11 provide them with easier access to improved agri- cultural equipment and therefore help them increase production. By the time the pro~ect is completed, some 60,000 villagers will also benefit from a greater su~p]y of clean water because of improv~ments ·in hundreds of existing wells and boreholes and construction of 60 new weils. The West African Development Bank is considering providing $3.7 million as part of the co-financing. The IDA credit,which brings the total of IDA lending for agricultural investment in th~ ~u~~try to about $90 million, is for 50 years, :nc]uding 10 years of grace; it carries ~o interest, but bears a small annual service charge of 3/4 of 1% to help cover IDA 1 s adminis~:ative costs. NOTE: ICA credits are deno~inated in SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), which are valued on the basis of a 11 basket 11 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. ()  ORMN0.1121 US-78) T E C HN I CA L DA T A PROJECT: Third Rural Development Fund COUNTRY: Upper Vol ta TOTAL COST: $28.9 mil 1 Ion IDA FINANCING: SDR 20.2 million ($23.8 million), on standard IDA terms, of which $7.8 mill ton will be provided under a participation arrangement wfth the Kingdom of the Netherlands. OTHER FI NANCI.NG: West African Development Bank, $3.7 million Government of Upper Volta, $1 .4 mill fon IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATION: The Ministry of Rural Development/The Rural Development Fund (RDF) P.O. Box 148 Ouagadougou, Upper Volta PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The project includes: (a-) 1:::.,d development comprising engineering design services, equipment, and su~ervislon for construction of anti-erosion bunds on 20,000 ha. of dry land farms, simple bunding, earth dams, and small-scale irrigation works; (b) support to the Regional Development Organizations for training staff and farmers, credit and Input supply administration, •~ and research; (c) credit to farmers; (d) village storage sheds; (e} village water supplies, Including 60 new wells; (f) tree plantations, including 6 nurseries; (g) 'projE~ct management, consisting of a headquarters building for the RDF and costs of managing the Investment program; {h) funds for small-scale rural projects to be Identified during project execution. PROCU.REMENT: Contracts for construction materials and supplies, vehicles, tractors,and most equipment ($6.6 million) will be subject to International competitive bidding if greater than $93,000, to local competitive bidding tf between $18,500 and $93,000 and to local competitive shopping if under $18,500. Animal traction equipment ($3 million) will be supplied by the Rural Equipment Fund. The RDF office building ($0.9 mill ion) will be subject to local competitive bidding. CONSULTANTS: Contracts for technical assistance personnel required for the rural water supply component will be awarded in accordance with the procedures of the West African Development Bank. ECONOMIC RATE OF RETURN: 14% ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 1986 - 0 - tew 1 t·t' ct HM e-1·,w l' I Uk- fWlt r1·00-11w ff··