Rome, Dec. 17 (NsNewsWire) —  The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a cofinancing agreement today to continue the agencies’ ongoing collaborative work to transform rural areas into vibrant, productive and food secure communities in the Asia and the Pacific region.The agreement, which identifies and facilitates financing modalities that that both agencies can quickly accommodate, was signed in Rome by John McIntire, IFAD Associate Vice-President of Programmes, and Rune Stroem, ADB Head of Office, Cofinancing Operations.

“With this agreement, we will be in an excellent position to channel knowledge, experience and financial resources to the rural areas in the region most in need,” McIntire said. “This partnership will enable us to maximize on all of our resources, which makes good development sense.”

“Being able to link ADB’s investments with IFAD-supported smallholder farmers is an important opportunity for both agencies to make an impact in rural areas and effectively reduce poverty and hunger in the region,” said Stroem.

According to ADB, approximately 1.6 billion people in the region are poor and unable to access essential goods, services, assets and opportunities.

The agreement capitalizes on IFAD’s longstanding experience in working with smallholder farmers and links them to ADB’s infrastructure investments that facilitate increased food production and access to markets through improved road networks and irrigation schemes.

The countries outlined in the agreement include: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka in South Asia; Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Philippines, Myanmar, and Viet Nam in South East Asia; Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Timor Leste in the Pacific; and Afghanistan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan in Central West Asia.

The agreement is an outcome of a Memorandum of Understanding signed last year between the two agencies. The ADB has long been a strategic partner for IFAD, cofinancing 34 projects and six technical assistance grants in 10 countries, of which seven projects are ongoing.

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Press release No.: IFAD/82/2014

IFAD invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, we have provided over US$16 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached more than 430 million people. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and agriculture hub.