Washington, DC (February 26, 2003) -- International Resources Group (IRG) has been selected by the U.S. Agency for International Development to implement an
$11.7-million, five-year contract for agricultural natural resource management in Senegal.

"We will be working with local producers to boost rural household incomes and agricultural investment through natural resource management," said IRG President Asif Shaikh. "It is always very special for us to work in the Sahel, since so many of us at IRG have devoted our professional lives to that region."

IRG's Robert Winterbottom, a forester and environmental policy specialist with more than 25 years of professional experience, including 15 years in Africa with community-based natural resource management and rural development programs, will serve as chief of party for the project.

With a focus on increasing the productivity of agricultural and rural production systems, the project will develop a synergy between rural governance programs and private sector enterprise development by strengthening community-based organizations and rural entrepreneurs, supporting policies that clarify local rights and responsibilities, training communities in sustainable land use, and developing and expanding non-traditional agricultural enterprises. The contract also includes a small-grant fund to further enable participation of local organizations.

The project will be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection and local resource organizations by a team of professionals from IRG, Winrock International, the National Cooperative Business Association/CLUSA,
and the U.S. Geological Survey.