The World Bank approved a loan to the state of Piaui, in Brazil, to support public policy in the areas of land tenure titling, education and sustainable agriculture, to benefit impoverished and isolated rural communities and allow them to access the green economy.
6 March 2012: The World Bank has approved a US$350 million loan to promote sustainable agriculture, education and social inclusion in Piauí, one of Brazil’s poorest states.
The Piauí Green Growth and Inclusion Project will target over 200,000 poor farmers and 40 Quilombola communities (isolated rural communities of former escaped slaves), by helping them to regularize their land titles, and build capacity to achieve sustainable agriculture production, generating higher incomes. The loan will support the state of Piauí in achieving its goals of promoting: rural green growth through improved land tenure titling and the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices; socially inclusive growth through the provision of state-wide public education, and the promotion of youth participation in the labor market; and fiscal sustainability through stronger institutions and more efficient, results-based public service delivery. [World Bank Press Release]