The French Development Agency, or AFD, will provide 327 billion Vietnamese dongs (USD20 million) to improve irrigation facilities in the rice-growing Vietnamese province of Bac Ninh, VOVNews reports. The loan will be used to upgrade irrigation channels in the province’s Gia Binh district and build three new pumping stations in Luong Tai. The construction of these facilities is part of a program of Vietnam’s agriculture and rural development ministry to improve the country’s water and irrigation facilities.