Since 1983, IFAD has financed six projects in the Congo. The organization’s commitments in the country amount to US$46.2 million, while the total cost of the five projects is US$82.1 million. The La Cuvette Artisanal Fisheries Project, the Kindamba Food Crops Development Project and the Marketing and Local Initiatives Project have been closed.

IFAD has initiated a lending programme for two operations to support the government’s Interim Post-Conflict Programme for agricultural development, food security enhancement and poverty reduction. The Rural Development Project in the Plateaux, Cuvette and Western Cuvette Departments is ongoing. The Rural Development Project in the Departments of Niari, Bouenza and Lékoumou was approved in April 2006.

IFAD's strategy in the Congo

IFAD’s strategy in the country was set out in the Country Strategic Opportunities Paper prepared in 2002, which takes the post-conflict situation into account and has the primary aim of bridging the gap between relief efforts and development activities. The strategy includes a major shift towards broadening the range of implementing partners. It emphasizes the need for a complementary mix of grants, supplementary funds and loans to maximize benefits in the post-conflict context.

Operations pursue the two mutually reinforcing objectives of facilitating the transition to sustainable peace and supporting economic and social development.

The aims are to:

• restore productive capacity, particularly in the south
• improve market access
• undertake research in new technologies
• promote use of new technologies through extension

IFAD’s strategy in the Congo follows four main lines of action:

• bridging the relief-to-development gap by restoring rural productive capacity and income-generating activities, and rehabilitating basic social services and infrastructure
• implementing a market-driven approach with a focus on marketable crops and other products in which small-scale farmers, particularly women, have a comparative advantage, making reduction of transaction costs a priority
• empowering small-scale farmers and local communities by consolidating grass-roots organizations and building effective rural organizations at local and national levels
• improving poor people’s access to financial services

The strategy is adapted to the characteristics of each region. It involves an area-based integrated approach that combines economic, social and community development activities, and other activities that respond to the target group’s needs, such as rural finance and natural resource management. Access to markets is an important factor in determining the location of initiatives.

Source: IFAD