The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the transitional government of Guinea have signed an agreement for a U.S.$28 million loan to support agropastoral development, digitisation and market access in the West African country.

Development Diaries reports that the project aims to improve the contribution of agriculture to Guinea’s economic development.

It also aims to ensure food and nutritional security for rural households and enhance their incomes, financial inclusion, and resilience to climate change.

It is understood that the project is designed to promote the production of maize and soya for processing into poultry and livestock feed, and the development of processing and marketing infrastructure for the two target sectors, including grazing facilities.

‘It will help strengthen resilience to climate change among agricultural producers and livestock farmers, support women’s empowerment and reduce vulnerabilities and inequalities between men and women in agriculture’, the bank said in a statement.

About 67 percent of Guineans live in rural areas, and most of them are subsistence farmers. In fact, about 63 percent of rural people are poor, twice the rate in urban areas.

In its overview of Guinea, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said productivity is low because farmers have little access to information, new technologies, basic infrastructure or rural financial services.

Therefore, it is expected that the project’s innovative nature, particularly in digitisation and financial inclusion, will guarantee better access to information and a more secure income for producers.

What this means, too, is that the key actors involved in this project must act diligently in implementing the project.

Photo source: ICRISAT