Bangladesh:

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has committed to providing a loan of $106 million to enhance water management and promote agricultural productivity in rural regions of Bangladesh. To formalize this agreement, the Bangladesh government and the ADB signed a loan agreement on Sunday, October 29.

Additionally, an agreement was reached for a grant assistance of $17.60 million from the government of the Netherlands, which will be allocated for innovative initiatives. The ADB will oversee the administration of this grant.

The signing of the agreement was conducted by Sharifa Khan, Secretary of the Economic Relations Department on behalf of the Bangladesh government, and Edimon Ginting, the ADB Country Director. The ADB released an official press statement on Sunday to announce this development.

ADB Country Director Edimon Ginting said, there are water management projects at the rural micro level in Bangladesh to deal with climate and disasters. Under the project, the loan amount will be spent on building and sustaining dams to combat climate impacts and food security, and deepening river channels to increase water flow. Apart from this, the loan money will also be spent on providing electricity-driven modern irrigation pumps and providing training to the beneficiaries.

At the same time, the agriculture-related project aims to enhance the livelihoods of approximately 380,000 families, with a special focus on women and rural marginalized communities. This project will concentrate on increasing agricultural and fisheries production and streamlining marketing efforts.