Gaël Raballand and Faiziddin Kakhhorzoda. Photo: World Bank press service
The World Bank will provide the Tajik government with more than $45 million in additional financing for agricultural projects and social programs, including early childhood development. The agreements were signed by Tajikistan's Finance Minister Faiziddin Kakhhorzoda and the World Bank's resident representative in Tajikistan, Gaël Raballand, the international organization said in a post on Facebook.
The International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank institution, will allocate $7.5 million to the Strengthening the Resilience of the Agricultural Sector project.
The funds will be used to complete construction of an agrotechnology center in Dangara district and to equip a similar facility in Dushanbe. In Dushanbe, the money will go toward installing equipment for processing and packaging agricultural products. World Bank analysts expect the centers to help Tajik farmers increase their incomes, create jobs and expand export opportunities. The project is also expected to strengthen the country's food security.
Another project is called Early Childhood Development for Human Capital Development in Tajikistan. IDA will provide €30 million ($33.5 million) for it, while the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents, an organization operating under the World Bank's auspices, will add another $4.5 million.
The program will cover four regions of the country and create conditions for establishing 300 preschool groups and expanding the use of new forms of preschool education. Part of the funds will also go toward improving the quality of health care services by strengthening the capacity of medical workers and introducing digital tools into the system for assessing and monitoring child development.
Experts say the project will improve children's readiness for school, support their healthy and well-rounded development, and strengthen the foundations of human capital in Tajikistan.
The World Bank has been implementing the program since 2020. Initial funding totaled $73 million.
