MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFAD Lends India’s Uttarakhand State $105m for Rural Enterprise Acceleration Project (REAP) to Address Incomes, Climate Resilience, Out-migration

The government of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand and the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) recently partnered to launch the Rural Enterprise Acceleration Project (REAP) with the objective of reaching 560,000 households by “supporting smallholder farmers, agricultural laborers, and micro and small agribusinesses to start and expand competitive businesses” including by producing food in ways that use less water and are otherwise “climate-resilient.” The program builds on the Integrated Livelihoods Support Programme, which engaged 650,000 producers to participate in collectives, through which the majority reported making significant gains in income. Among the goals of REAP is to expand job opportunities and reduce out-migration by connecting these collectives with “access to technology, finance and business development services.”

Uttarakhand is funding REAP with USD 24 million from its internal accounts plus a loan of USD 105 million from IFAD. Additional funding is anticipated in the amount of USD 14 million from project participants, USD 187 million in private investment, and USD 48 million leveraged from other programs of the national and state governments.

Established in 1977, IFAD is governed by its 176 member nations with the goal of eradicating rural poverty in low- and middle-income countries. With a focus on agriculture and food supplies, the organization provides grants and loans to research organizations, governments, private firms and civil society organizations. As of 2020, IFAD had USD 9.5 billion in assets.

By Hasnat Aslam, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

IFAD press release
https://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/-/ifad-and-government-of-uttarakhand-partner-to-double-rural-incomes-and-build-climate-resilience-in-the-state

IFAD homepage
https://www.ifad.org

IFAD 2020 financial statement
https://www.ifad.org/en/web/knowledge/-/annual-report-2020

Previous MicroCapital story on IFAD
https://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/-/ifad-and-government-of-uttarakhand-partner-to-double-rural-incomes-and-build-climate-resilience-in-the-state

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