Press Release

Poverty reduction scheme in Burkina Faso receives support with US$2.89 million OPEC Fund loan

111/2005 November 22, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
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The OPEC Fund for International Development today signed a US$2.89 million loan agreement with Burkina Faso to co-finance a multi-faceted rural development project in five impoverished provinces in the north/central part of the country. The scheme aims at reducing poverty by boosting agricultural production, improving access to social services and marketplaces and carrying out a wide range of capacity building initiatives.

Agriculture represents the primary income-generating activity in Burkina Faso. However, rural poverty is widespread, due to the combination of inadequate rural infrastructure, outdated cultivation practices and poor management of natural resources. This situation is particularly acute in the food-insecure, densely-populated provinces of Bam, Lorum, Passore, Zandoma and Yatenga, home to more than 1.3 million people.

To help reverse this situation, the project will target some 440,000 individuals in 374 villages. Activities will include, among others, organizational strengthening of village committees and 600 other groups and associations; creation of literacy programs for around 9,000 people; construction of 120 km of rural roads, classrooms and health/social welfare centers; and, installation of 200 wells with pumps. Throughout implementation, a strong emphasis will be placed on empowering communities to assume a greater role in the decision-making process.

Also envisaged is the establishment of a Community Investment Fund for financing priority small-scale projects. Agricultural production will be improved through the development of watersheds, the construction of irrigation systems and small dams, promotion of soil conservation methods and provision of training for extension workers. Rural credit services will be made available with the creation of five new savings banks and 100 micro-finance outlets.

Burkina Faso has previously received OPEC Fund loans totaling over US$129 million. This amount includes loans for balance of payments support, a commodity imports program, and projects in the multi-sectoral, transportation, water supply and sewerage, education, health and agriculture sectors, as well as debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. The country has also received a number of grants and has benefited from the Fund's initiative against HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Today’s agreement was signed in Ouagadougou by HE Mr. Jean Baptiste Campaore, Minister of Finance and Budget of Burkina Faso, and by Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish, Director-General of the OPEC Fund