UN agency funds project in Guinea to promote more productive agriculture

More than 120,000 rural people in Guinea stand to benefit after the United Nations agency devoted to agricultural development and the West African country's Government signed a deal today to finance a project to improve the productivity of poor farmers.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has given a $14.2 million loan to Guinea for the project in the nation's North Lower region, where the poor quality of the soil and a lack of natural resources means most farmers are extremely impoverished.

The project, which costs $17.7 million in total, is designed to teach farmers and their families about the technologies and seeds - especially for rice and peanut farming - they can use to boost the productivity of their annual yields, IFAD said in a statement. Many rural roads will be improved so that farmers have greater access to markets.

IFAD said the project aims to promote local participation in decision-making, especially from women and young people. Guineans can also receive financial assistance to create their own agricultural, livestock or forestry projects and to develop their own rural financial system to support development.