AFDB grants Burundi $24 million to boost food output

BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - The African Development Bank has granted Burundi $24 million to help the central African nation increase food output, a government official said.

Finance minister, Clotilde Nizigama said the aid which will cover the period 2010-2015, will help improve food security for 500,000 people from the drought hit northern part of Burundi.

"This aid will help the beneficiaries to reduce poverty through new techniques of boosting food production," she told reporters late on Wednesday, after signing the grant agreement.

Burundi' s economy is largely based on coffee and tea exports, and relies on external support to finance 50 percent of its budget.