MANILA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday said it has approved an 85 million U.S. dollars loan to promote the development and profitability of the horticulture sector in Indonesia.

The Manila-based bank said the Horticulture Development in Dryland Areas Sector Project will improve the climate resilience, sustainability, efficiency, and profitability of horticulture production in dryland areas located in several provinces across Indonesia.

The ADB said an estimated 25,000 poor and near-poor farmer households, including 5,000 women farmers, are expected to benefit from the project directly.

The ADB said Indonesia's horticultural sector faces several challenges, including a lack of access to quality and affordable seeds, inadequate infrastructure and technology, and insufficient logistics support. Improving horticulture in Indonesia is vital to meet the country's growing food needs and to help smallholder farmers profit from their plots of land.

The International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) will also extend a 40 million U.S. dollars loan to the project to be partially managed by the ADB. ■