World Bank loans $100m to fund poverty relief project in China

BEIJING - The World Bank has approved a $100 million loan to create income-boosting opportunities for poor farmers in China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The project will support the establishment of farmer cooperatives and partnerships with agricultural businesses and rural tourism, according to the Beijing office of the World Bank.

Farmer cooperatives play an important role in the agricultural industry, enabling farmers to engage with a rapidly changing food market, improve production efficiency, adopt new technologies and standardize production, said Paavo Eliste, the World Bank lead agriculture economist and team leader for the project.

About 64,000 households are expected to benefit from the project, the World Bank said.