News Releases

Nov 6, 2009

IDB supports food production by Bolivian farmers in low-income rural communities

A $20 million loan will help farmers adopt modern agricultural technologies to boost productivity and increase production

The Inter-American Development Bank today approved a $20 million loan to help Bolivia's farmers adopt agricultural technologies to boost productivity, increase food production and develop market-oriented enterprises.

The project will help raise the income and food security of indigenous and campesino men and women engaged in small-scale and family agriculture in areas where 80 percent of the population is poor. These farmers typically have limited access to modern technologies and their crops have poor yields.

The project will initially target communities in 43 municipalities with high food insecurity levels but good production potential. It will have two components:

• Component 1 will transfer direct payments (subsidies) to farmers to purchase one or more eligible technological goods and services including fruit dehydration, dual-purpose storage, power feed milling, mechanized sowing, live barriers, drip irrigation, and sprinkler irrigation.
• Component 2 will extend matching grants for implementing agrifood enterprise plans to add value to production, increase market access, and strengthen management capacity.

The expected outcome is that at least 80 percent of early recipients obtain returns of 12 percent or more; no less than 13,600 beneficiaries adopt one or more technologies; and 4,000 producers participate in a selected enterprise.

The IDB concessional loan consists of a $14 million financing from the Bank's ordinary capital for a 30-year term with a 6-year grace period, and a $6 million financing from the Fund for Special Operations for a 40-year term with a 40-year grace period. Local counterpart funding will amount to the equivalent of $5 million.

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