Announcement of World Bank Supporting Rural Development in Cameroon on April 19, 1984

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.* Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 84/64 Contact: Pamela Brennan April 19, 1984 (202) 477-3293 WORLD BANK SUPPORTS RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN CAMEROON Cameroon will use a $21.5 million loan from The World Bank for a rural development project designed to increase the productivity and incomes of about 85,000 farm families in Western Province. The S58 million project will help slow down the movement away from the land to the cities and contribute to achieving national food self-sufficiency and to improving the quality of coffee produced in the Province. The Union Centrale des Cooperatives Agricoles de l'Ouest (UCCAO)--a regional institution--will be strengthened with the aim of further decentralizing agricultural development. This is the second rural development project in Western Province to receive World Bank support. In 1978, a $13 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA), the Bank's affiliate for concessionary lending, supported a project which covered three of the Province's six administrative departments. That proiect, due to be completed later this year, was designed to strengthen existing institutions and to provide farmers with materials, techniques and basic infrastructure. The project has been largely successful. The second project, building on the achievements of the first, will expand UCCAO's field services (extension and crop protection) to all six provincial departments. Training and technical assistance will be provided to help in reorganizing the financial services and upgrading the skills of extension and cooperative staff. Farmers will receive improved seeds, and chemicals and light equipment will also be provided. Research aimed at adapting materials and techniques to local conditions will be carried out. Some 450 water points will be established and about 500 kilometers of feeder roads will be constructed or maintained. The project is expected to be completed in five years. The International Fund for Agricultural Development is contributing $14.5 million towards its cost and the Government of Cameroon, $19.7 million. The World Bank loan is for 20 years including five years' grace, with a variable interest rate linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75 percent on undisbursed balances and a front-end fee of 0.25 percent on the amount of the loan. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents. -2- IDA supported the first phase of the program with a credit of $14 million. This phase included the rehabilitation of some 920 km of unpaved roads and maintenance of about 900 km of the paved network. The second phase received an IDA credit of $13 million in 1979. It included the rehabilitation of some 975 km of unpaved roads and priority road maintenance. The third phase is aimed at providing continued assistance to the Government of Guinea in improving the road network; strengthening institutions in the road sector; training Guinean staff; and defining development priorities for the sector. The current project will be implemented over a four-year period at an estimated cost of $73.7 million. The government is contributing $22.1 million towards the cost. The IDA credit is for 50 years, including 10 years of grace; it carries no interest but has small annual charges (0.5 percent on the undisbursed balances and 0.75 percent on the disbursed balances). FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. *Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 84/64 Contact: Pamela Brennan April 19, 1984 (202) 477-3293 WORLD BANK SUPPORTS RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN CAMEROON Cameroon will use a $21.5 million loan from The World Bank for a rural development project designed to increase the productivity and incomes of about 85,000 farm families in Western Province. The 858 million project will help slow down the movement away from the land to the cities and contribute to achieving national food self-sufficiency and to improving the quality of coffee produced in the Province. The Union Centrale des Cooperatives Agricoles de 1'Ouest (UCCAO)--a regional institution--will be strengthened with the aim of further decentralizing agricultural development. This is the second rural development project in Western Province to receive World Bank support. In 1978, a $13 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA), the Bank's affiliate for concessionary lending, supported a project which covered three of the Province's six administrative departments. That proiect, due to be completed later this year, was designed to strengthen existing institutions and to provide farmers with materials, techniques and basic infrastructure. The project has been largely successful. The second project, building on the achievements of the first, will expand UCCAO's field services (extension and crop protection) to all six provincial departments. Training and technical assistance will be provided to help in reorganizing the financial services and upgrading the skills of extension and cooperative staff. Farmers will receive improved seeds, and chemicals and light equipment will also be provided. Research aimed at adapting materials and techniques to local conditions will be carried out. Some 450 water points will be established and about 500 kilometers of feeder roads will be constructed or maintained. The project is expected to be completed in five years. The International Fund for Agricultural Development is contributing $14.5 million towards its cost and the Government of Cameroon, $19.7 million. The World Bank loan is for 20 years including five years' grace, with a variable interest rate linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75 percent on undisbursed balances and a front-end fee of 0.25 percent on the amount of the loan. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents. -2- IDA supported the first phase of the program with a credit of $14 million. This phase included the rehabilitation of some 920 km of unpaved roads and maintenance of about 900 km of the paved network. The second phase received an IDA credit of $13 million in 1979. It included the rehabilitation of some 975 km of unpaved roads and priority road maintenance. The third phase is aimed at providing continued assistance to the Government of Guinea in improving the road network; strengthening institutions in the road sector; training Guinean staff; and defining development priorities for the sector. The current project will be implemented over a four-year period at an estimated cost of $73.7 million. The government is contributing $22.1 million towards the cost. The IDA credit is for 50 years, including 10 years of grace; it carries no interest but has small annual charges (0.5 percent on the undisbursed balances and 0.75 percent on the disbursed balances). FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. Telephone: (202) 477-1 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 84/64 Contact: Fawzi Rihane April 19, 1984 (202) 477-5325 WORLD BANK ASSISTS AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND RESEARCH PROJECT IN TURKEY Turkey is launching the first phase of a nationwide program to improve agricultural extension and applied research with the help of a loan of $72.2 million from The World Bank. This phase is designed to increase productivity and agricultural incomes in 16 provinces in western and southern Turkey by improving the flow of information between farmers and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Affairs. Agriculture represents about 20 percent of Turkey's gross domestic product, about half of export earnings, and some 60 percent of civilian employment. The government's priority in the sector is to further raise agriculture yields and livestock productivity through improved production methods. To achieve this, efforts will be made to increase the flow of information about improved technology to farmers. Based on the earlier success of World Bank-supported projects which helped increase production through intensified cultivation practices and improved crop rotation, the government is adopting the training and visit (T&V) extension system for nationwide use. This system has been used in earlier projects assisted by the Bank. The current project represents the first step towards its use throughout the country. The project will also improve the flow of information between the research workers and the extension staff, and develop programs for conveying agricultural information through the media. Personal contact between extension agents and farmers will be increased through field demonstrations. Technicians will be posted in villages rather than in the towns. Village housing and vehicles for extension workers will be provided and extension staff increased. Additional facilities will be constructed at six research institutes, and vehicles and equipment will be supplied to field researchers. Equipment and facilities will be provided for the establishment of an Extension Information Center. Project staff will be given intensive training. The six-year project has an estimated total cost of $205.7 million. The government is contributing $123.7 million and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, $10 million. The World Bank loan is for 17 years including four years' grace, with a variable interest rate linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75 percent on undisbursed balances and a front-end fee of 0.25 percent on the amount of the loan. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents.