IFAD development project in north Kordofan

A rural development project to assist close to 700,000 people in Sudan's western provinces of Um Ruwaba and Bara will be financed through a US$ 10.5-million loan provided by the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). "The overall goal of the 7-year North Kordofan Rural Development project and the target communities is to assure their food security and enhance the resilience of their way of life to drought and natural disaster," an IFAD statement said. The project will provide farming families, including women-headed households, with technical, logistical and other support for "productive enterprises" through training, on-the-job experience and professional assistance. Objectives include increasing the capacity of communities to plan and manage their own development and improving informal savings and credit systems, the statement said.