Representatives of the World Bank and the government of Kazakhstan signed an agreement on 1 April to undertake a $96.1 million project to support agriculture in Kazakhstan. The World Bank will provide $35 million for the project, which is intended to support agriculture development and raise standards of living in rural areas. The current project marks the second stage of a post-privatization agriculture-support project begun in 1998. Kazakh Finance Minister Arman Dunaev noted that the second stage differs from the first in that the Kazakh government is now providing the bulk of financial support. (\"Kazakhstan Today\")