IFAD grants $20 M to RP

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is set to grant a new $20-million loan to the Philippines.

This was announced yesterday by IFAD vice president Dr. Kanayo Nwanze at the end of during two-day IFAD-Philippine 2nd Knowledge Learning Market  held at the Astoria Hotel in Pasig.

The IFAD Board is set to deliberate in December a $20-million Rapid Food Production Enhancement Program.

The Rapid Food Production Enhancement Progam is the IFAD’s reponse to soaring food prices and is an emergency program to help boost food production.

The program is comprised of two projects – the Rapid Seed Supply Financing Project and the Irrigated Rice Production Enhancement Project.

In an interview, Dr. Nwanze said the IFAD hopes that following IFAD board approval in December, the Philippine government would be able to do its own approvals so that seeds could be released to beneficiaries in time for the rainy season planting next year.

The IFAD’s assistance to the Philippines from 1978 to to 2004 has amounted to $125.7 million for 10 projects of which three are still ongoing.

The three ongoing projects are the Northern Mindanao Community Initiatives and Resource Management Project, the Western Mindanao Community Initiatives Project, and the Rural Microenterprise Promotion Program.

IFAD loans are highly concessional with a long 40-year term plus a 10-year grace at zero interest and with a minimal service charge of 0.75 percent.

However, IFAD observes a performance-based allocation (PBA) to recipient countries whereby it strictly implements a Project at Risk rating (PAR) system.

A deterioration in the PAR rating of a recipient country will result in a reduction on the PBA, while an improvement will result in an increase in the PBA.

Next month, an additional $27 million loan for the second phase of the Cordillera Highland Agricultural Resource Management Program will be ready for release.

The 2nd Cordillera Highland Agricultural Resource Management Program (CHARMP) is a continuation of the CHARMP that was initially granted in 1995 and ended in 2004.

IFAD country program manager for the Philippines, in a previous interview with The STAR, had said that an additional $66 million in new assistance to the Philippines for the period 2009 to 2012 is being studied.     — Marianne Go