Parliament has given the Ministry of Finance the go-ahead to borrow 46 million dollars for Farm Income Enhancement and Forest Conservation. The loan will be obtained from the African Development Bank.
The African Development Bank Board of Directors approved the loan in 2004, pending approval by parliament. The project aims at reducing poverty by improving incomes and rural livelihoods through sustainable natural resources management and agricultural enterprise. The project will cover 36 districts.
The approval of the loan received stiff resistance from the Parliamentary Committee on National Economy, which suggested that the loan terms be renegotiated to avoid what it called the loss of money on non-productive activities.
Both the Bujenje County MP, Kabakumba Matsiko, and the Disabilities Member of Parliament, James Mwanda, argued that in order for the project to be effective, it should be extended to the whole country.
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Over 42,000 farm families are expected to benefit from the project.
About 33,000 households will benefit from the forestry support component. In the Farm Income Enhancement component, 2,750 households will participate in the development of small-scale irrigation systems, while a total of 80 households will benefit from the rainwater harvesting. An additional 6,000, majority of them women, will benefit directly from the soil fertility management practices.
