Samoa, Oct. 22 -- The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Samoa have signed a financing agreement to significantly increase agricultural production and incomes for 25,000 smallholder farmer and fisher families, and to help protect against natural disasters on Samoa's Savai'i and Upolu islands.

The agreement for the Samoa Agriculture and Fisheries Productivity and Marketing Project was signed by Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD, and Sili Epa Tuioti, Minister of Finance, Samoa.

The total cost of the national project is US$30.28 million, including a $3.6 million grant from IFAD. The project will be cofinanced by the Government of Samoa ($.74 million), the International Development Association ($19.95 million), t...