IDB funds agribusiness growth in El Salvador

Last June the IDB approved a $25 million loan to increase the competitiveness of agricultural and forestry activities in El Salvador. The loan, which will be matched by $6.2 million in local counterpart funds, will allow El Salvador’s Ministry of Agriculture to strengthen production support services that are essential to improving efficiency in these sectors. These include information systems for producers, phytosanitary protection and food safety measures, rehabilitated irrigation systems and access to better agricultural and forestry technology. These measures should help to increase competitiveness and wages in a sector that accounts for a mayor proportion of the country’s jobs.

See link at right for a complete listing of recently approved IDB projects and other Bank news.

New appointments

Alvaro R. Ramírez has been named chief of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Division in the IDB’s Sustainable Development Department. He previously led the operations team within the same division. A Nicaraguan national, Ramírez holds a degree in industrial engineering from Purdue University. He joined the IDB in 1980 to work on the Equity Financing Program for small enterprises in the former Operations Department.

Date posted: September 2001