World Bank approves $535 million loan for Pakistan’s social protection, aquaculture and animal husbandry sectors

ISLAMABAD:

On Friday, the World Bank’s (WB) Board of Executive Directors approved $535 million in financing for Pakistan to support two key projects: Crisis-Resilient Social Protection (CRISP) and Transformation of Sindh’s Livestock and Aquaculture Sectors (LIVAQUA).

The additional funding for the CRISP program aims to strengthen the country’s social protection system and build the resilience of poor and vulnerable households to shocks.

On the other hand, according to the press release, the LIVAQUA project will promote climate-smart and competitive small and medium producers in the animal husbandry and aquaculture sectors in Sindh.

“The catastrophic floods that hit Pakistan in 2022 were a tragic reminder of the importance of building resilience to such disasters, including by strengthening both social protection and sectors that support economic growth and recovery,” said Najy Benhassine, country director of the Bank World to Pakistan.

“It is also essential to help vulnerable people absorb climate shocks through innovative climate-friendly technologies and contingency planning,” he added.

The additional CRISP funding ($400 million) will build on the program’s ongoing efforts to equip Pakistan’s social protection system with the policy and delivery framework needed to respond more effectively and quickly to future crises.

The program will focus on long-term policy actions to further improve the effectiveness, reach and coordination of the national cash transfer program at the federal and provincial levels.

“Since its inception, the CRISP program has achieved significant results with regular safety net support for over nine million families and a demonstrated ability to quickly reach 2.8 million families during the recent floods,” said Amjad Zafar Khan, project task force leader.

“Additional funding would not only help families become more resilient to climate and economic shocks, but would also encourage the province to leverage its capacity to take a greater role in social welfare.”

LIVAQUA ($135 million) will fund interventions to promote climate-smart production, add value and inclusive access to markets, and help create growth opportunities in the livestock and aquaculture sectors.

These interventions will include improving sector policy and strategic frameworks, as well as evidence-based decision-making.

It will also contribute to strengthening the capacity of public and private providers to provide the necessary knowledge, inputs and services, such as disease surveillance and control, diagnostic laboratory services, breeding programs, food safety and the development and transfer of green technologies.

LIVAQUA will cover all districts of Sindh using a phased approach. More than 940,000 farming families are expected to benefit, including 930,000 livestock farms and 10,000 aquaculture producers. The project also includes measures to ensure the participation of women farmers and reduce the gender gap.

“The project will improve the livelihoods of small and medium-sized livestock farmers and aquaculture producers, increase their resilience to animal health and climate-related shocks, strengthen the overall growth of these two sectors in Sindh, and, more broadly, improve food and nutrition security and reduce the sectors’ carbon exposure greenhouse gases,” said Myriam Chaudron, leader of the project task force.