BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, June 3. The budget, economic, and fiscal policy committee of Kyrgyzstan's parliament has approved in the first reading a bill concerning a loan agreement between the Cabinet of the Ministers of the country and the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) for the Resilient Agri-Food Clusters Development Project, Trend reports.
As per the Kygyrz parliament, the agreement includes $5 million as a grant and $30 million as a zero-interest loan with a 12-year term and a 6-year grace period. The project is scheduled to be implemented from 2024 to 2029. It will be implemented in the Chuy, Jalal-Abad, and Naryn regions.
According to the WB, the project aims to assist farmers and other participants in the food production chain in enhancing the quality and quantity of their products and accessing more markets. Selected agri-food clusters will receive investment financing, training, support, improved seed systems and animal breeding, and information management system upgrades.
Moreover, the project will prioritize the adoption of improved technologies and practices to mitigate and adapt to the impact of climate change. It will also promote the use of digital tools for accessing market information and adopting climate-smart technologies.
The project targets to provide direct support to 8,000 beneficiaries involved in the agricultural value chain, with an additional 20,000 benefiting indirectly. Direct beneficiaries include individual farmers, producer groups, small and medium processors, and other participants in the dairy and horticulture clusters.
Indirect beneficiaries comprise farming communities, household members of loan and training recipients, as well as other stakeholders in the value chain and broader rural communities.