IFAD funds food and water project in the eastern Kassala State

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is lending Sudan US $24.9 million to fund the Gash Sustainable Livelihoods Regeneration for Agricultural Development project in the eastern Kassala State. IFAD said between 350,000 and 480,000 poor people, especially women, living in the Gash area would benefit from the project through improvement and sustainability of food security and higher income levels. It would also help them to acquire the right to viable and secure land-holdings and establish an irrigation system for their crops. The loan agreement, signed on 27 January in Kassala city by Abdelmajid Slama, the director of IFAD's Near East and North Africa division and Shaykh Muhammad al-Mak, the director of international cooperation in Sudan's ministry of finance and international cooperation, will provide the bulk of the total funds needed for the project. "The Gash Sustainable Livelihoods Regeneration Project brings hope of greater economic and social stability to communities struggling with rapid growth and shrinking resources. Drought and civil unrest have pushed tens of thousands of internally displaced people and refugees to the Gash Delta area in search of vital resources, particularly water and food," IFAD said in a statement. "The number of people living near the seasonal Gash river is estimated to have increased sevenfold in the past 20 years. This population boom has reduced the land available for farming by half, and put other important resources under increasing strain," it added. Under the project, small livestock owners will gain access to improved animal breeds and veterinary care, and participate in land and water management activities to preserve their pastures. Small loans will also be given to poor people to help them start generating better incomes through cash crops, livestock or off-farm activities. IFAD, a specialised agency of the UN that combats rural poverty, said the project would devolve land and water management to users’ groups, stress the importance of equity, transparency and accountability, and help community groups learn to manage local resources better. "The Gash Sustainable Livelihoods Regeneration Project is the first such initiative designed and approved on the basis of IFAD’s Country Strategic Opportunities Paper for Sudan. IFAD will work closely with the government to address the structural causes of rural poverty and to strengthen peace initiatives that will contribute to local development," it said.