ISLAMABAD, Nov 18: The Asian Development Bank will provide a $42 million loan to improve the lives of the people in Fata by promoting sustainable and productive use of the region’s natural resources.

An ADB statement said the project would be undertaken in three northern districts of Bajaur, Khyber and Mohmand where dry and rocky land was mostly not suitable for farming but the poorest families had to earn their living as sharecroppers or through agricultural labour.

“The poor and inefficient management of available natural resources contributes to the pervasive poverty in the tribal areas,” said ADB’s environment specialist S. Ranawana.

“Poor farm and livestock productivity in the area holds back the potential for better livelihoods, while poor access to infrastructure such as irrigation, roads and water supply restricts their ability to explore other opportunities.”

To address these issues, the project will promote integrated resource management to improve productivity and arrest degradation of environment in the tribal areas. It will help improve farming and livestock rearing practices by selecting appropriate technologies and training farmers, and will promote effective forestry and range management. In addition, it will conduct work to improve the availability of irrigation and drinking water supplies, as well as roads to improve accessibility between adjacent valleys and villages.The project will increase the productivity of about 52,500 hectares of rain-fed lands and benefit about 37,500 households. The ADB’s loan, from its concessional Asian Development Fund, carries a 32-year term, a grace period of 8 years, and an interest rate of 1 per cent per annum during the grace period and 1.5 per cent thereafter.

The government will contribute $15.4 million towards the project’s total estimated cost of $60.4 million and the beneficiaries will shoulder the balance of $3 million.

The Ministry of States and Frontier Regions is the executing agency for the project, to be completed by June 2011.