Thursday, June 23 2011 16:17
International Development Association to provide a US$16 million for development of agriculture in Armenia
ArmInfo. The Armenian Parliament has ratified a loan agreement with the International Development Association, part of WB, in the amount of US$16 million.
Agriculture Minister Sergo Karapetyan said the agreement was signed on April 1 2011. The loan maturity is 20 years and the annual interest is 0.75% for the first 10 years and 0.5% for the next ten years. The loan is provided on rather preferential terms, the minister said.
The funds will be provided to implementation of the sustainable rural development strategy for 2010-2020. In particular, an efficient agricultural production development program will be implemented till 2016. A total of 21.33 million dollars will be spent on the program. The share of the government's co-funding is 3.35 mln dollars. Beneficiaries will pay another 1.8 mln dollars.
The program aims to boost cattle breeding in the country and provision of high-quality fodder.