November 27 (SeeNews) - Bosnia's government said it has signed an 11.8 million euro ($14.1 million) loan agreement with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to boost rural development in the country.
The loan should be repaid in 18 years, with a grace period of three years, the government quoted vice-chairperson Vjekoslav Bevanda as saying on Thursday.
The goal of the project is to increase the income of the youth from the rural areas and poor households by engaging them in profitable agro-businesses.
The project will be implemented in the next five years in 90 municipalities in the country.
The project should directly benefit 8,650 users from the target households and some 5,000 indirect participants which will benefit from the infrastructure investments, Bevanda also said.
The Federation will get 60% of the loan while the remainder will be allocated to the Serb Republic.
Bosnia comprises two autonomous entities - the Federation and the Serb Republic.
($ = 0.8379 euro)