The Board of Directors of the ADF on Wednesday approved a loan of 31.57 million Units of Account (UA*), equivalent to 46.12 million US dollars and a grant of 9.85 million UA, equivalent to 14.38 million US dollars to finance the Farm Income Enhancement and Forest Conservation Project in the country.

The project aims to reduce poverty by improving incomes, rural livelihoods and food security, through sustainable natural resources management and agricultural enterprise.

The project comprises three components:

The President of the African Development Bank Group, Donald Kaberuka, arrived in Abidjan Sunday night at the start of a 3-day official visit to Cote d’Ivoire at the invitation of the government.

He was received on arrival by Plan and Economic Development Minister Antoine Bohoun Bouabre, ADB Alternate Governor.

The President will meet with Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny and some government Ministers on Monday before dinner with President Laurent Gbagbo later in the day.

The Supplementary Poverty Reduction Strategy Support Program II, whose financing was today approved by the Board of Directors of the ADF, amounts to 15.50 million Units of account (US$ 22.64 million).

The reforms under the Supplementary Program hinge on three themes: acceleration of growth by consolidating macro-economic stability and strengthening competitiveness; improving the access to basic social services for the poor; and promoting good governance.

Tunis, Tunisia, 20 July 2009 – Gabon’s efforts to enhance technical skills in potential growth sectors received the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group on Wednesday in Tunis, where the institution’s Board of Directors approved a loan of CFAF 71.5 billion, equivalent to 99.30 million Units of Account (US$154 million) to finance a Public Services Higher Education and Vocational Training Support Project.

In order to arrest this scourge, the African Development Fund (FAD) has approved a project on the Integrated Management of Invasive Aquatic Weeds in West Africa (IMIAW) for a total amount of US$11.76 million. This funding includes a loan of US$7.4 millions and a grant of US$1.45 million.

The goal of the project is to ensure the sustainable management of the natural resources, especially the water resources, and optimize their contribution to social, economic and environmental development of the sub-region.

The ECOWAS will implement the three components of the project: