The UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Government of Bolivia have announced the signing of a financing agreement that will ensure the implementation of the ACCESOS Rural Project.
The latest intervention is expected to help small-scale farmers in Bolivian to counter the great impact of climate change on the country’s rural areas to increase staple food production, thus enhancing food security.
Since the 1980s, when IFAD started its engagement with Bolivia, the Fund has invested in 14 projects in the country with a total value of $291.52 million ($164.57 million from IFAD funds), benefitting more than 277,460 rural families.
The total investment for the project which is expected to benefit more than 19,000 families from the departments of Chuquisaca, La Paz, Cochabamba, Potosí and Tarija over the next five years, will be US$26.5 million dollars ($23.6 million from IFAD funds).
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ACCESOS rural is expected to target 430 communities in 35 different municipalities of the above-mentioned departments and will focus on improving the production of potatoes, tomatoes, onions, broad beans, corn, apples and peaches.
According to IFAD’s Country Director for Bolivia, Anni Mandelin, these agricultural products have been identified as priorities due to their key role in the country’s food security, as they are among the most demanded in the domestic market and, therefore, more prone to inflation.
She noted that facilitating small-scale farmers’ access to markets and dealing with problems such as low productivity and vulnerability to climate change is needed to guarantee healthy and accessible food for everyone in Bolivia.
“If we want the country to enjoy a resilient food system, we must invest in their productive capacities, adaptation to climate change and market access, as they provide near 80 per cent of the Bolivian food basket,”she said.
Through the intervention, ACCESOS Rural will also create opportunities for small-scale farmers to strengthen their organizational and productive infrastructure.
This is even as the project will provide funds and specialized technical assistance with the main objectives of improving farmers’ resilience by adapting their production systems to the effects of climate changes and extreme weather phenomena such as droughts, floods, frosts and hailstorms.
The project will further seek to strengthen the capacities of the implementation agency, the Ministry of Rural Development and Lands (MDRyT, by its Spanish acronym) to provide key services for farmers, such as an early climate warning system, price monitoring and insurance.
“The project will also have a nutrition component and will pay special attention to the inclusion of vulnerable groups such as women, youth and indigenous people,”Mandelin said.
Story was adapted From reliefweb.
