IFAD extends deadline for $16.5-million loan to agri sector

MANILA, Philippines - The International Fund for Agricultural Develoment (IFAD) is willing to extend the deadline for the drawdown of a $16.5 million loan and grant assistance for the Rapid Food Production and Enhancement Program (RAFPEP) which has encountered some delays in implementation.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the launching RAFPEP yesterday at the Seameo Innotech in Quezon City, IFAD country program manager San K. Jatta, said the IFAD is willing to consider the extension of the drawdown rather than cancelling the loan because of failure to meet drawdown targets.

The $42.24-million RAFPEP is funded by the IFAD, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the European Commission, with counterfund funding from the Department of Agriculture and local government units.

The RAFPEP includes of two other programs – the Rapid Seed Supply Financing Project (RaSSFIP) and the Irrigated Rice Production Enhancement Project (IRPEP).

According Director Frisco Malabanan of the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani Rice program, the DA is targeting the procurement of 803,000 bags of 40-kilogram certified inbred seeds for distribution in an equivalent 803,000 hectares.

The seed distribution program, Malabanan said, started in September last year.

The RaSSFIP alone has a total cost of $23.44 million.

The total cost of RaFPEP is $42.24 million spread over seven years, starting in 2009.

The RaFPEP is being financed by an IFAD loan of $15.9 million (which is equivalent to about 37.7 percent of the program cost); a European Commission grant of $13.15 million equivalent; a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) technical assistance grant of $500 million; Philippine counterpart funding of $9.82 million; counterpart funding from local government units of $1.97 million; an in-kind beneficiary contribution of $400,000 and lastly a possible IFAD grant of $500,000 next year.

The financing agreement for the EC and IFAD contributions to RaFPEP was signed last Sept. 2, 2009. — Marianne Go