BAKU, Azerbaijan, The World Bank (WB) has approved additional grant financing of $50 million from the Crisis Response window for the Strengthening Resilience of the Agriculture Sector Project in Tajikistan, Trend reports citing the bank’s official website.

As part of the additional financing, the project will support the procurement and distribution of emergency seeds, fertilizers and small-scale machinery to vulnerable farmers, procurement and distribution of micronutrient and vitamin supplements for pregnant and lactating women and young children under the age of five, etc.

“The project will also finance the establishment of additional agri-logistical centers to improve the competitiveness of horticulture value chains and improve farmers’ access to markets. It will strengthen national capacity on prevention and management of future crises and food fortification, as well as support the government in revising the food security law and development of a food security crisis preparedness plan,” the WB said.

According to the preliminary data, over 1.4 million people including 345,000 vulnerable farmers, over 350,000 pregnant and lactating women and more than 1 million children under 5 receiving iron-folic acid supplements will benefit from the project.

Notably, agriculture is the backbone of Tajikistan’s economy, accounting for 22 percent of GDP and 19 percent of exports while employing over 60 percent of the country’s population. Currently, the World Bank is financing 22 projects in Tajikistan totaling $1.4 billion.

Source: TREND News Agency