April 6 (SeeNews) - The World Bank said on Thursday it signed with Romania’s finance ministry a 60 million euro ($65.7 million) loan to finance a project for preventing and reducing pollution in the country’s rural areas.
The project will be implemented by Romania’s Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests over a five-year period, the World Bank said in a press release.
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The Romania Rural Pollution Prevention and Reduction project aims to strengthen the country’s ability to monitor agricultural pollution, increase awareness around its environmental impacts, as well as help Romanian farmers adopt sustainable agricultural practices that reduce and prevent pollution.
The draw deadline for the loan is June 30, 2028, the finance ministry said in a separate press release on Thursday. The project will be fully financed through the loan, the ministry added.
With a high share of smallholder farms on less than five hectares, estimated at more than 93% of Romania’s farming population, the country hosts the largest share of EU’s subsistence and semi-subsistence farms which produce goods mainly for their own consumption. While often excluded from the EU’s financial flows due to size, smallholder farmers can benefit from greater awareness of the environmental impacts of farming activities, the World Bank noted.
“Sustainable farming practices can contribute significantly to building resilience to climate change and to a more inclusive growth to benefit all Romanians, but particularly those in rural areas, where 70% of the country’s poor lives,” said Anna Akhalkatsi, World Bank country manager for Romania.
The Romania Rural Pollution Prevention and Reduction project builds on the World Bank’s Integrated Nutrient Pollution Control Project, providing a platform to strengthen Romania’s environment and agricultural sectors. The project also contributes to the bank’s Blueing the Black Sea (BBSEA) programme, a regional initiative to tackle maritime pollution and climate change.
In June 2022, the World Bank and the Romanian finance ministry signed a 600 million euro inclusive and green growth development policy loan.
($=0.913 euro)