IFAD in Guatemala

IFAD has been working in Guatemala since 1986. It has provided almost US$96.2 million in loans for seven projects with a total cost of US$190.8 million. The projects have benefited 97,316 households in rural Guatemala. IFAD’s work in Guatemala is designed to support the government’s efforts to consolidate the peace and reconciliation process, reconstruct the social fabric of Guatemala’s war-torn regions and create a solid foundation for development and reconstruction in the country, especially among rural poor people.

IFAD invests in operations that help poor rural people increase their incomes and improve their living standards. It focuses on rural and indigenous communities affected by a high incidence of poverty, with a particular focus on smallholder subsistence farmers, landless people, wage labourers, microentrepreneurs, traditional handicraft artisans, rural women and young people.

The organization’s most recent investment in the Sustainable Rural Development Programme for the Northern Region, approved in December 2008, supports improvements in market access for small-scale farmers and rural entrepreneurs in disadvantaged communities.

IFAD’s strategy in Guatemala
Since the peace accords of the mid 1990s, IFAD has supported the government and its strategy for poverty reduction and for pacification, reconstruction and development of war-torn areas. IFAD has undertaken initiatives specifically in war-affected areas, but is now expanding its approach through support for the government’s nationwide rural development programme.

IFAD’s strategy, outlined in the Country Stategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) for the period 2008–2012, is built on a platform of:

• programme implementation experience and innovative approaches for rural development themes such as gender awareness, market access and agriculture-related technical services
• the organization’s coverage of a large area of the country through ongoing programmes
• a favourable institutional context under the country’s new administration

Strategic alliances with key private, public and international partners enhance IFAD’s position in Guatemala.

The objectives of the organization’s country strategy are to:

• promote the market-driven development of agricultural and non-agricultural rural businesses and microenterprises, focusing on market access and rural business development through private-sector entrepreneurial linkages
• develop social and human capital, with the aims of building entrepreneurial capacities particularly among rural and indigenous women and young people, supporting the consolidation and performance of economic associations and enhancing community organization
• enhance pro-poor rural policy dialogue and sectoral planning, by strengthening participatory planning and proactive involvement of communities, promoting sectoral coordination and facilitating the participation of indigenous organizations in policy dialogue

IFAD’s strategic approach also takes into account the pressing need to reduce vulnerability to the impact of climate change and food price increases, the need to affirm the identity of the country’s indigenous peoples, and the need for greater gender and intergenerational equity.

Country strategic opportunities programme (2008)

Source: IFAD