The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has announced the signing of a US$17m loan agreement with the Guatemalan authorities to help promote rural development in the country’s central and eastern regions.
According to IFAD, which is part of the United Nations (UN), the US$38m project will be implemented over the next six years in Guatemala’s poorest communities and municipalities of El Progreso, Zacapa, Jalapa, Jutiapaand Santa Rosa regions.
The move aims to upgrade basic infrastructure, improve socio-economic conditions, provide marketing and training opportunities and facilitate access to production resources such as land, water, technology and farm credit, which are widely recognised as the major cause of poverty in rural Guatemala.
Some 30,000 small holders, microentrepreneurs, artisans and landless peasants, mainly women and young people and of mixed Mayan and Ladino origin, are expected to benefit from the scheme.
