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Le FIDA au Burkina Faso


Depuis 1981, le FIDA a financé 12 projets et programmes au Burkina Faso pour un montant total de 158,6 millions de dollars des États-Unis. 

Approuvé en septembre 2007, le nouveau Programme d’options stratégiques pour le pays (COSOP) du FIDA au Burkina Faso vise à mettre en place des systèmes institutionnels durables afin de promouvoir des opérations, des politiques et des investissements en faveur des ruraux pauvres centrés sur l’innovation et l’apprentissage.

Les objectifs stratégiques du COSOP sont les suivants:

  • accroître et diversifier durablement les moyens de subsistance des ruraux pauvres et des groupes marginalisés, en particulier des femmes, à travers le développement d’un secteur privé participatif au niveau local; et
  • renforcer la gouvernance décentralisée des biens publics, des services et des ressources naturelles et en garantir l’accès équitable.

Ces grandes orientations s’articulent autour de stratégies et de politiques thématiques et opérationnelles précises, s’appuyant sur les meilleures pratiques et les enseignements tirés de l’expérience du FIDA dans le pays. En outre, elles sont reliées à des systèmes de savoirs et étayées par des processus politiques au niveau national.

Au cours des six prochaines années, le FIDA concentrera ses efforts sur l’harmonisation, l’innovation, le renforcement des partenariats et la concertation sur les politiques. Le Fonds mettra à profit son expérience de terrain afin de renforcer l’efficacité et l’impact de ses opérations dans une optique de collaboration et de responsabilisation réciproque. Le secteur privé sera lui aussi mis à contribution pour la fourniture de biens et de services aux populations rurales.

Source: FIDA

IFAD in Uganda


For more than 25 years IFAD has been strongly committed to working with Uganda to reduce rural poverty. The organization has contributed a total of US$230.5 million to finance 12 programmes and projects with the objective of empowering poor people in the country’s rural areas. IFAD provides financing and technical assistance for five ongoing programmes and projects.

As part of the donor effort to improve international development effectiveness, IFAD
has identified three key sectors as the focus of its investments in Uganda:

  • improving agricultural technologies to help farmers move from subsistence to market-oriented production in order to increase their incomes and improve their living standards and food security
  • promoting the decentralization process to strengthen local levels of government and improve rural infrastructure in order to promote rural economic growth
  • supporting rural financial services to encourage small-scale farmers to save part of their earnings to invest in increasing productivity and in strategies for coping with risk

IFAD supports the Ugandan joint assistance strategy (UJAS) prepared by the country’s development partners. In the context of donor harmonization, IFAD works with development partners who are active in the three sectors in which it is involved. In the agricultural sector the World Bank, Danida and the European Union are important partners. For decentralization, IFAD has cofinanced interventions with the African Development Bank, and in the rural finance sector IFAD’s role is a leading one.

To ensure consistency and national ownership the government takes the lead in development initiatives, and IFAD and other development partners provide crucial technical and financial support. In the sector of agricultural productivity, IFAD works with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries to support agriculture through the National Agricultural Advisory Services Programme and the Vegetable Oil Development Project. Under the lead of the Ministry of Local Government, IFAD supports decentralization and local government through the District Livelihoods Support Programme and the Community Agricultural Infrastructure Improvement Programme. In the area of rural financial services, IFAD works with the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to support the rural finance sector through the Rural Financial Services Programme.

To increase its own effectiveness at field level, IFAD established a Country Field Presence in 2006. Through this country presence, IFAD participates in donor workgroups and contributes to the ongoing policy dialogue process in the three key sectors. In 2007 the Country Programme Management Team was set up to design and coordinate the management of IFAD-supported programmes and projects.

Since September 2007, IFAD has assumed responsibility for direct supervision and loan administration of its two most recent initiatives in the country: the District Livelihoods Support Programme and the Community Agricultural Infrastructure Improvement Programme. This will enable IFAD to work more closely with the government in evaluating programmes and projects and their impacts.

Supporting decentralization

Since 1987 decentralization has had a prominent place in the government’s strategy to reduce rural poverty by empowering Uganda’s poor people. Decentralization is one of the key objectives of the country’s sector-wide development plan. Under the lead of the Ministry of Local Government, and in line with the policies set out in the Local Government Sector Investment Plan, IFAD has made a major contribution to the decentralization process.

Starting with its earliest operations in Uganda, the organization has provided continuous support for decentralization in collaboration with the Belgian Survival Fund and more recently with the African Development Bank. IFAD puts the empowerment of poor people and their local institutions through decentralization at the forefront of its initiatives.

Improving agricultural technologies and marketing

 

Agriculture is one of the mainstays of Uganda’s economy. Under the umbrella of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries and within the framework of the PMA, the National Agricultural Advisory Services Programme delivers agricultural advisory services to poor farmers. The aims of the government’s agricultural strategy are to:

  • move farmers from subsistence to commercial agricultural production
  • increase productivity through adoption of appropriate techniques
  • promote creation of employment
  • diversify production and reduce dependence on imports by promoting competitive systems in processing, marketing, input supply and credit

The objective is to achieve food self-sufficiency. Although traditional and non-traditional agricultural products will continue to have an important place among exports, sustainable growth will necessarily involve import substitution and export diversification.
IFAD’s ongoing Vegetable Oil Development Project has supported major growth in national production of edible oils.

 

Building rural financial services

 

Working in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, IFAD invests in Uganda’s rural sector in support of the government’s Rural Financial Services Strategy, which is a cornerstone of the Prosperity for All programme. The strategic objective is to encourage small-scale farmers to save part of their earnings, which gives them some security and an option for investing in greater productivity. Rural finance is a crucial component of the transition from subsistence farming to commercial farming. The IFAD-funded Rural Financial Services Programme works to expand rural financial services and build the capacity of local communities to mobilize savings and provide loans on a sustainable basis. In Uganda, IFAD supports microfinance through local, member-owned SACCOs.
 

IFAD also supports UWESO, a development project that helps orphans and other vulnerable people establish village savings and loan associations and encourages them to invest in alternative livelihood options.

 

Source: IFAD

IFAD in the Republic of Moldova

Since 1999 IFAD has invested a total of US$49.2 in four programmes and projects of an overall cost of US$72.5. Developing and providing rural financial services is the focus of all four initiatives, in line with the government’s priorities of reducing rural poverty through agricultural and rural development. The goal is to broaden opportunities for economic growth and for increased employment for rural poor people.

The first IFAD-funded project in Moldova was the Rural Finance and Small Enterprise Development Project, approved in 2000 and now completed. Investments were geared towards helping to build up economic and commercial activity amongst the rural poor through support to Savings and Credit Associations (SCAs) and to small enterprise lending.

Through the ongoing Agricultural Revitalization Project (ARP) IFAD provides funds for financial services to help poor farmers increase their incomes. The project develops programmes at the community level in a highly participatory manner through village development plans.

In the Rural Business Development Programme, which is also ongoing, IFAD builds on earlier operations and contributes to the establishment of a series of investment products and mechanisms, mainly through the formal financial sector and rehabilitation of rural infrastructure.

The fourth IFAD-funded project in the country is the Rural Financial Services and Marketing Programme, approved in 2008.

IFAD’s strategy in Moldova

The overall goal of IFAD’s strategy in Moldova is to reduce poverty by supporting further development of a rural market economy that is based on family-owned and family-managed businesses, both on-farm and off-farm.

The strategy’s objectives are to:

  • establish market linkages by providing support for competitive commodity value chains, market research and development, business development services, producers’ associations and achievement of international quality standards in production, processing and packaging
  • promote access to a full range of financial services, with particular emphasis on products that support the most vulnerable and poorest people in rural areas

Among the innovations that the strategy introduces are:

  • the piloting and development of new products and delivery mechanisms for rural financial services
  • efforts to harness remittances and the skills of migrants
  • the pro-poor value chain approach

To strengthen the impact of its initiatives, IFAD includes policy dialogue with regard to issues of relevance to its mandate, and strategic partnerships in its development agenda. The objective is to help poor rural people participate in the benefits of agricultural development and rural economic growth.

Working with the government and other donors and partners, IFAD contributes to the consolidation of a cohesive microfinance strategy in which the country’s commercial banks have a crucial role.

Through the IFAD-supported Rural Pro-Poor Innovation Challenge (RPPIC) programme, in 2003 IFAD awarded a US$50,000 grant to the Moldova Microfinance Alliance (MMA), a local initiative working with poor people in remote areas. MMA earmarked the funds for setting up savings and credit associations in small rural villages. MMA has also installed cash machines at its 20 best-performing associations, linking them to the alliance’s partner commercial bank.

Remittances from Moldova’s workers abroad have an enormous potential as development capital. As a member of an international partnership to increase the benefits of remittances and improve economic opportunities for poor rural people, IFAD supports grants for innovative projects through the Financing Facility for Remittances, part of a new programme that promotes innovative remittances systems. The aim is to increase access to remittances in rural areas by enabling local financial institutions to offer this service, either directly or as agents of commercial banks and remittance operators.

Source: IFAD

IFAD in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has been a member of IFAD since the country became independent in 1980. It has worked closely with IFAD in developing programmes that focus on improving the living conditions of poor rural people. In January 2006 however, IFAD’s financial support to all operations in Zimbabwe ceased as a result of non-payment of arrears. Three ongoing projects were closed at that time. The government is now in the process of clearing overdue repayments. IFAD is committed to resuming its development programme to assist the government in reducing poverty as soon as the outstanding issue of arrears and deliverables from the previous operations has been addressed. In the meantime IFAD has provided small grants to the country to fund a range of projects.

IFAD’s strategy in Zimbabwe

IFAD’s previous portfolio in Zimbabwe was extremely successful in terms of impact and results, and any future initiatives will maintain the same geographical focus and strategic framework. In particular, the Dry Areas Development Programme and the Smallholder Irrigation programme provide important guidelines for future operations in support of smallholder farmers in dry areas.

A future strategy must give priority to enhancing economic stability and boosting productivity and incomes. Because of a crucial level of food insecurity, the immediate focus will be on providing smallholder farmers with training in improved agricultural technology, and with inputs such as fertilizers and seeds, to help boost production and productivity.

 

Source: IFAD

IFAD in Zambia

IFAD has provided loans totalling US$155.3 million to help finance 11 programmes and projects in Zambia.

The first projects were designed to cushion rural poor people from the effects of central planning. Early projects were followed by operations that worked to improve household food security by ensuring support services, increased access to productive assets and dissemination of technical knowledge.

IFAD’s strategy in Zambia

The primary objective of IFAD’s operations in Zambia is to support the commercialization of smallholder agriculture, in particular by creating links between small-scale farmers and suppliers and market intermediaries, and by improving the availability of rural financial services to small-scale farmers. This objective has been introduced in order to meet the new challenges and opportunities for smallholder development that have been made possible through liberalization. IFAD also helps poor smallholders in remote areas to make best use of natural resources to improve food production and food security.

IFAD will promote policy dialogue on issues related to rural financial services, and to the development of policy, regulatory and institutional arrangements for the control of livestock diseases.

Programmes and projects are designed to reach out to the poorest and most isolated rural people, including households that are headed by women and/or affected by HIV/AIDS. Because women are largely responsible for food production and income generation within their households, women have a key role in IFAD’s programmes and projects, which are oriented towards reducing poverty by generating income.

Country Strategic Opportunities Paper (2004)

 

Source: IFAD

 

IFAD in Yemen

IFAD has been financing development initiatives in Yemen since 1979. Yemen was one of the first countries to receive loans from the organization. To date IFAD has financed 19 development programmes and projects in Yemen, with a total of US$201.9 in loans. The total cost of the programmes and projects co-funded by IFAD is US$598.9 million.  Early IFAD-funded initiatives supported the country’s development strategy, promoting crop intensification in the most suitable areas and building institutional capacity. The primary goal was to improve food security. Later programmes and projects addressed the isolation and marginalization of poor rural people and their exclusion from the benefits of economic activities.

The organization invests in programmes and projects in the poorest, marginalized parts of the country, particularly in remote coastal areas and rugged, mountainous zones. The objective is to empower poor people to improve their incomes and standards of living. IFAD supports activities to reduce poverty and conserve natural resources, particularly diminishing renewable water supplies.

There are four IFAD-funded projects currently ongoing in Yemen. Recent operations include an area-based development project in Dhamar and further support for environmental protection in the Tihama Plain.

IFAD’s 2000-2007 country programme in Yemen helped participating communities establish 450 community development committees and formulate village development plans that are gradually being incorporated into local government planning and budgeting processes. Completed investments in the plans have provided safe drinking water to some 120,000 households, improved the access of isolated communities to markets and services, and provided animal drinking water and irrigation. They have also provided agricultural services in extension and crop protection that have helped increase crop yields.

Proposed initiatives have the aim of improving the livelihoods  of poor people in fishing villages on the south-west coast, and of poor farmers and herders in the Al Baidha, Taiz and Lahej governorates.

IFAD has forged strong partnerships in Yemen, working with the government, the International Development Association, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Islamic Development Bank, and the governments of Italy and the Netherlands.

IFAD’s strategy in Yemen

IFAD’s new country strategic opportunities programme (COSOP) for Yemen covers the period from 2008 to 2013. Its aim is to integrate IFAD’s programme into the country’s poverty reduction strategies and plans for development. The strategic objectives are aligned with the Millennium Development Goals and with Yemen’s national poverty reduction strategy and rural development strategy, as well as with IFAD’s own Strategic Framework 2007-2010.

The target of IFAD’s country programme in Yemen includes poor rural people – men, women and young people – and especially those who depend on rainfed agriculture and livestock production systems. The goal of the country programme is to achieve improved, diversified and sustained livelihoods  for these people.

The new COSOP states the strategic objectives of IFAD’s initiatives in Yemen:

  • empower rural communities
  • promote sustainable rural financial services and pro-poor rural small and medium-sized enterprises
  • enhance the food security of poor households

All of the organization’s initiatives work towards achieving direct participation of the people involved, as well as gender balance and environmental sustainability. Gender activities will contribute to the gender mainstreaming strategy that the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation has developed with the support of other donors. Its key objectives are the access of women to extension services, land, microfinance and time-saving technologies.

A key ingredient of IFAD’s strategy in Yemen is developing partnerships to achieve synergies and complimentarity. To empower rural communities, IFAD will work with the government to improve linkages between community institutions, civil society organizations and local government structures. To promote sustainable rural financial services, IFAD will support the development of savings and credit associations for poor people in remote rural areas and a broader reach of microcredit organizations.

To enhance food security, IFAD will support efforts to restore and increase productivity, working with communities, farmers’ and trade organizations, and the private sector. It will team up with the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and other potential partners to encourage measures for adapting to climate change.  Innovations will include sustainable measures promoting better management of water resources and development of rural financial products, such as crop insurance, to lessen risk.

 

Source: IFAD

IFAD in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
 

IFAD has approved six loans to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for an approximate total of US$80.0 million. The organization also approved two technical assistance grants in 1991 and 1998 for the Regional Training Programme in Rural Development, implemented by the Foundation for Training and Applied Research in Agrarian Reform (CIARA), which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land.

IFAD’s mandate to reduce poverty by improving the living conditions and incomes of poor rural people faces vigorous challenges and opportunities. IFAD works in partnership with the government and other donors, financing programmes and projects that target the poorest of the poor, particularly small farmers, landless people, indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, and rural women in general. CIARA, one of IFAD’s principal partners in recent rural development projects, plays an important role as administrator of decentralized development programmes for the country's Ministry of Popular Power for Agriculture and Land.

The main aims of IFAD’s strategy are to:

  • enable small farmers to increase their household income by providing them with access to technical assistance and financial and market services that support agricultural production and other income-generating activities
  • build and strengthen grass-roots organizations among farmers, women and communities to support community-driven development and ensure that poor rural people have a voice in local and national economies
  • promote sustainable use of natural resources in semi-arid zones through rehabilitation, conservation and improved management
  • maintain an active and systematic policy dialogue on rural poverty reduction and development to stimulate the design and implementation of programmes based on IFAD’s experiences

     

Source: IFAD

IFAD in the Republic of Macedonia


IFAD has invested US$16.2 million in two projects (both completed) in the country with a total value of US$28.4 million. In line with the government’s policy, both initiatives focused on providing rural people with improved access to credit and other financial and technical services offered by private institutions. IFAD established credit lines for investment in private agriculture, providing the liquidity needed in the country’s under-monetarized rural economy.

The first initiative funded by IFAD was the Southern and Eastern Regions Rural Rehabilitation Project. It established a revolving credit fund, which was the first credit facility in the country to be specifically directed at rural development. The project showed that there was a strong demand for agricultural credit, that lack of financial services is a major constraint to private agriculture, and that group lending is an effective way to give poor rural people access to financial services.

The second IFAD-funded initiative was the Agricultural Financial Services Project (AFSP). The overall goal of the AFSP was to raise the standards of living of the rural population in Macedonia through increased and sustainable economic activity that is responsive to the emerging market context. The main part of the IFAD loan was allocated to finance capitalization of the Agricultural Credit Discount Fund (ACDF), a refinancing facility that was the core operational component of the project. The ACDF provided capital to Macedonian financial institutions to finance loans for investment and working capital. Loans to smallholders financed improvements in agricultural and livestock production, and loans to associated small enterprises supported their rural processing, packaging, marketing and trading activities. The ACDF was a highly successful feature of the project, which enabled poor people to reap the full benefits of investments in agriculture.

IFAD’s strategy

IFAD’s overall objective is to reduce rural poverty by helping poor rural people increase their incomes and living conditions in a sustainable manner. As a way to achieve that objective, the IFAD Rural Finance Policy Paper emphasizes the importance of responding effectively to poor rural people’s need for credit, taking into account:

  • the long-term nature of rural finance market development
  • the need to operate through properly regulated and supervised financial institutions and according to commercial principles
  • the need to invest in severely under-monetarized and under-capitalized rural economies 

The organization’s strategy focuses on increasing agricultural productivity, improving product quality and creating employment. Strategic actions include:

  • providing commercially viable credit for smallholders and small and medium-sized enterprises through private financial institutions
  • supporting development of modern agro-processing and marketing activities
  • offering farmers and entrepreneurs credit packages that include skills training

IFAD strengthens the capacity of rural financial and microfinance institutions to mobilize savings, cover costs, receive repayment of loans and make a profit, with the aim of increasing their outreach to savers and borrowers and achieving dynamic growth.

The principal objectives of the Agricultural Financial Services Project were:

  • to establish the institutional and financial basis for sustainable agricultural financial services
  • to upgrade technical and managerial skills among the target population to help them maintain the viability of their agricultural enterprises in the context of emerging domestic and export market needs, which are increasingly influenced by the imperatives of convergence with European Union (EU) regulations governing agricultural practices and food product standards.

 

To achieve the first objective, the Agricultural Credit Discount Fund (ACDF) was established to expand commercially viable and affordable sources of rural credit and to shift credit risk to commercial banks.

To help meet the second objective, further measures provided support throughout the cycle of agricultural production, processing and marketing, primarily to borrowers from the financial institutions that were eligible to benefit from the ACDF. The Agricultural Investment Centre (AIC) facilitated access to financial and technical services among primary producers and small-scale processors/traders who were potential or actual borrowers from financial institutions participating in the project and whose loans were eligible for refinancing under ACDF rules. The service provided a basis for minimizing production and marketing risks and contributed to enhanced profitability and incomes. The AIC has evolved and has now established private consultancy services that put IFAD’s investment in a sustainable framework.

Source: IFAD

IFAD in Syria


Since 1982, IFAD has supported seven projects in Syria with loans totalling US$126.2 million for projects with a total value of US$474.0 million. The organization has also provided a number of grants, including technical assistance grants to support women’s empowerment.

IFAD works in partnership with the government, other donors, NGOs, local institutions and civil society organizations. It finances initiatives which enable poor rural people in Syria’s agricultural settlement areas to improve their incomes and living conditions.  

IFAD is working towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and its interventions endeavour to reduce poverty and promote gender equality and environmental sustainability.

The main aims of IFAD’s strategy are to:

  • Enable the rural poor to improve and ensure sustainable management of land and water resources
  • Promote sustainable rural financial services and pro-poor rural small and microenterprises
  • Strengthen the capacity of the rural poor and their organizations through participatory and community-driven development approaches

Through these goals IFAD continues to orient its activities in Syria towards building up inclusive, sustainable institutional systems for natural resources management, the creation of jobs and income generation. Future interventions will be based on the development of irrigated and rainfed agriculture, the improved management of natural resources, enhanced agricultural research and the extension and promotion of microfinance for income-generating activities. Such activities will be complemented by encouraging pro-poor investments and developing pro-poor policies and relevant innovations.

Source: IFAD

IFAD in the Kingdom of Swaziland

IFAD began operations in Swaziland in 1985 and has provided a total of US$34.3 million in loans. Two projects are currently being implemented. Both closed projects have made positive contributions to improving crop yields and boosting farm incomes through enhanced farmer participation in small-scale irrigated agriculture.

IFAD’s strategy in Swaziland

The Government of Swaziland, key stakeholders and IFAD jointly formulated the second country strategy in 2006.

The country strategy is designed to reduce the high levels of poverty in rural areas and improve food security and livelihoods, especially for the most vulnerable and marginalized members of rural communities – households headed by women, households affected by HIV/AIDS, and young men and orphans. The strategic objectives are to:

  • help rural poor people gain access to land and water
  • support rural poor people in developing small businesses
  • encourage rural communities, and particularly women and young people, to participate fully in rural development

IFAD’s intention is to help poor rural households by creating sustainable jobs, reducing poverty and guaranteeing food security. To meet this goal IFAD places emphasis on intensifying agricultural output and supporting smallholders within irrigation schemes, as well as helping develop small rural businesses. In particular, IFAD works to improve linkages to financial services and markets, to support providers of financial and marketing services and to strengthen the capacity of poor rural communities and their institutions.

The Government of Swaziland, key stakeholders and IFAD are jointly designing a new investment focusing on rural finance and enterprise development.

Source: IFAD

IFAD in Sierra Leone
 

Since the organization initiated its first project in the country in 1980, IFAD has provided a total of US$ 78.7 in financing for six loans and three grants for programmes and projects with a total cost of US$137.2.

Operations were suspended during the civil war, and started up again after the war ended in 2002. At that time IFAD and the African Development Bank (AfDB) established a joint programme coordination unit (JPPCU) to facilitate management and increase cost effectiveness of operations in agriculture and the rural sector.

The IFAD portfolio in Sierra Leone currently comprises two projects:

  • the ongoing Rehabilitation and Community-based Poverty Reduction Project (RCPRP) which is twinned with an AfDB project (the Agricultural Sector Rehabilitation Project (ASREP)
  • the Rural Finance and Community Improvement Project (RFCIP), which was approved in 2007. Through IFAD’s debt sustainability framework the organization has provided US$10.0 million in grant assistance to Sierra Leone to support the RFCIP. IFAD intends to introduce the financial services associations (FSA) model in Sierra Leone through the RFCIP. An ongoing FSA pilot project, launched in 2007, is laying groundwork for the establishment of the 30 FSAs to be created under the RFCIP.
     

IFAD’s strategy in Sierra Leone

After providing emergency assistance to poor rural people and contributing to the postwar recovery of the agricultural sector, IFAD continues to support the country in its transition to sustainable peace and development. IFAD’s strategy focuses on three main areas:

  • market-oriented agriculture
  • decentralization and rural infrastructure
  • rural finance

IFAD supports development in these three areas through financing provided to the RCPRP and RFCIP.

Source: IFAD

Le FIDA au Sénégal
 

Depuis 1979, le FIDA a financé 14 projets de développement rural au Sénégal, pour un montant total de 148,5 millions de dollars. Après une décennie marquée par un partenariat limité en raison des fréquents aménagements de la politique agricole, la coopération s'est intensifiée dans les années 90. Une première série de projets, essentiellement axés sur le développement villageois, la sécurité alimentaire et la protection des ressources naturelles a été lancée.

Dix ans plus tard, une deuxième génération de projets introduit un nouvel objectif d'appui aux activités non agricoles et étend la couverture géographique de l'action du FIDA à huit régions sur onze, soit à plus de la moitié du pays. En dépit d'une bonne performance économique au cours des dernières années, la pauvreté frappe entre 72% et 88% de la population rurale. L'agriculture demeure la principale source de revenus pour la majorité de la population: alors qu'elle ne contribue au PIB qu'à raison de 20%, elle emploie encore plus des trois quarts de la population active. Il est ainsi indispensable de continuer d'investir dans la croissance du secteur agricole, en prêtant une attention particulière aux petits producteurs. Ceux-ci sont en effet responsables de 95% de l'activité agricole du pays. Il faut également promouvoir la diversification des sources de revenus en milieu rural.

Appui aux organisations paysannes

L'une des forces principales du secteur agricole sénégalais aujourd'hui est l'émergence des organisations paysannes et leur influence croissante dans la prise de décision au niveau local et national. De par leur dynamisme, elles sont en effet devenues des partenaires incontournables pour le gouvernement et les bailleurs de fonds.

À travers ses projets et à l'aide de dons, le FIDA soutient les organisations paysannes du Sénégal en appuyant la formation de leurs membres, en contribuant au renforcement de leurs capacités organisationnelles et à leur professionnalisation. Le FIDA promeut également leur participation active dans les instances de décision locales et à la formulation des plans locaux de développement.

Le FIDA appuie par ailleurs la participation des structures faîtières des organisations paysannes dans les instances et forums régionaux où sont définies les politiques de développement, pour qu'elles puissent présenter le point de vue du monde rural et avoir ainsi une influence sur les décisions qui les touchent directement.

Le programme du FIDA au Sénégal

Résultat d'un processus participatif qui a associé les différents partenaires sénégalais à toutes les étapes de sa préparation, le programme FIDA Sénégal, approuvé en 2004, vise avant tout à appuyer le gouvernement et les partenaires locaux dans la mise en oeuvre de la politique de développement agricole et rural du Sénégal, en accord avec les priorités du FIDA en matière de lutte contre la pauvreté rurale. Le programme vise également à mettre en cohérence et à harmoniser les projets, en place et à venir, avec ceux de ses partenaires en développement, pour une plus grande synergie des interventions et donc un impact majeur sur la réduction de la pauvreté rurale au Sénégal. Les gouvernements, bénéficiaires, donateurs multilatéraux et bilatéraux et autres partenaires du FIDA cofinancent ces activités.

L'objectif primordial du FIDA au Sénégal est de contribuer à la réalisation des Objectifs du Millénaire pour le développement (OMD) et plus particulièrement du premier objectif, à savoir réduire de moitié la pauvreté à l'horizon 2015. Pour ce faire, le FIDA suscite et accompagne les initiatives locales qui visent à augmenter les revenus des ruraux pauvres et à améliorer leurs conditions de vie.

En particulier, le FIDA s'est fixé les objectifs spécifiques suivants:

  • renforcer les capacités des ruraux pauvres et de leurs organisations pour leur permettre d'exercer de nouvelles responsabilités, de prendre une part plus active à la concertation en matière de développement local et de développer des partenariats avec les autres acteurs du monde rural, tout en favorisant la participation des femmes dans la prise de décision accroître la productivité des activités économiques en milieu rural, en mettant l'accent sur l'élargissement de la gamme productive, l'accès aux technologies adaptées, la gestion durable des ressources naturelles et le renforcement des infrastructures
  • améliorer l'accès des ruraux pauvres aux marchés et aux services financiers, en facilitant l'accès aux savoirs et à l'information sur les possibilités de débouchés ainsi qu'aux services financiers de proximité nécessaires

Stratégie nationale de réduction de la pauvreté

Le document de stratégie pour la réduction de la pauvreté (DSRP), approuvé en 2002, définit les orientations politiques du gouvernement en matière de réduction de la pauvreté.

Il prévoit:

  • de doubler le revenu par habitant d'ici 2015, dans le cadre d'une croissance forte, équilibrée et mieux répartie
  • de généraliser l'accès aux services sociaux et d'accélérer la mise en place des infrastructures nécessaires
  • d'éliminer toute forme d'exclusion et d'instaurer l'égalité entre les sexes

Pour ce faire, le gouvernement compte agir selon quatre axes stratégiques:

  • la création de richesses, en particulier l'appui au développement de l'agriculture et la promotion de l'emploi rural non agricole
  • la formation et la promotion des services de base
  • l'amélioration des conditions de vie de la population, en particulier des groupes vulnérables, notamment les enfants, les femmes, les personnes âgées et les jeunes
  • l'approche participative pour la mise en oeuvre et le suivi de la stratégie


Source: FIDA

IFAD in Sao Tome and Principe


Since 1985 IFAD has supported agricultural development and rural poverty reduction in the country through loans financing five programmes and projects. IFAD’s investments amount to US$17.6 million, out of a total cost of US$37.4 million.

The ongoing Participatory Smallholder Agriculture and Artisanal Fisheries Development Programme addresses the needs of poor rural people in the sectors of agriculture and fisheries with the objective of improving their access to internal and external markets. The first project financed by IFAD was the Artisanal Fisheries Development Project, which had the aim of strengthening the physical and institutional capacity of fishers to improve their outputs and incomes. The Pilot Food Crop Development Project worked to broaden the scope of an applied research programme in food crops and to create a decentralized extension system. IFAD financed the National Smallholders Support Programme (PNAPAF), contributing to the comprehensive national agricultural development effort.

IFAD’s strategy

IFAD’s strategy has the aim of improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and fishers by ensuring that the necessary accompanying measures are provided in a flexible framework, which evolves gradually and which should in due course become self-sustaining. To achieve this goal IFAD focuses on promoting public-private partnerships with socially and environmentally aware companies that are willing to commit themselves to invest and remain in the country for as long as necessary to build pro-poor value chains, including organic and fair trade value chains.

IFAD invests in programmes and projects that work to:

  • improve the country’s infrastructure and processing technologies
  • support agricultural services and markets
  • improve people’s access to markets and services

The objective is to empower poor rural people to take charge of their own development, particularly through their own associations, working with service providers, NGOs and the government.


Source: IFAD

IFAD in Romania
 

IFAD has financed a single project in Romania, the Apuseni Development Project, which was effective from 1999 to 2006. IFAD provided US$16.5 million in loans to finance the project, which had a total cost of US$34.1 million.

IFAD’s strategy

IFAD’s strategy in Romania focused on supporting rural credit services so that farmers could invest in inputs and equipment, and develop on-farm and off-farm opportunities for generating income. The objective was to improve rural people’s incomes and standards of living, reducing rural poverty.

Source: IFAD

IFAD in Peru

Since 1980, IFAD has made eight loans to Peru for a total of US$124.0 million.

With the exception of one project in the Selva Alta, all projects have addressed the needs of small-scale farmers in the highlands, Peru’s poorest region.

Peru has also benefited from IFAD regional grants for rural development training.

IFAD strategy in Peru

IFAD’s strategy for Peru includes four main areas:

  • to enhance farmers’ property and resources, IFAD promotes better natural resource management, supports land-titling projects and provides funds to solve conflicts on land tenure issues. It has introduced awards for innovation and for conservation of traditional knowledge
  • IFAD projects work to improve access to services, such as technical assistance and financial services, by helping develop markets and the capacity to contract services locally, and by strengthening institutional and private-sector service providers
  • to promote rural-urban linkages, IFAD helps small-scale entrepreneurs expand their non-agricultural activities and supports local farmers who establish agriculture-related enterprises in nearby small and medium-size towns
  • IFAD fosters local development by making local institutions and communities responsible for decisions regarding project funds and implementation. IFAD transforms participation into empowerment by designing projects that transfer not only decision-making but also, more importantly, financial resources to community groups

Source: IFAD

IFAD in Panama
 

Since 1982 IFAD has approved eight loans to Panama for a total of US$80.7 million, for projects with a total cost of US$193.7 million. The organization has also financed three grants for a total of US$325,000.

All IFAD operations have supported the development of productive activities in the poorest areas and among the poorest, most vulnerable people. IFAD-financed projects in the country have a geographic focus. Activities strengthen links between communities and regional and provincial entities, contributing to the inclusion of isolated and marginalized areas. Virtually all of Panama’s indigenous peoples who reside within indigenous areas are poor. Continuous support to these groups is the primary target for joint IFAD-government operations.

The latest IFAD-financed project is the Participative Development and Rural Modernization Project, which IFAD supervises directly. The project will work to improve poor rural people’s access to financial services and markets. 

The ongoing Sustainable Rural Development Project for the Ngöbe-Buglé Territory and Adjoining Districts was designed to counter the high rates of poverty and extreme poverty among indigenous peoples. The recently completed Sustainable Rural Development Project in the Provinces of Cocle, Colon and Panama West
worked to help small-scale farmers increase their productivity and their production, and supported the creation of rural microenterprises. 

Earlier projects, now closed, have benefited indigenous communities by supporting economic development, income-generating activities, environmental conservation and natural resource management. The projects were the Sustainable Agricultural and Environmental Protection Project for the Darien, the Rural Development Project for Ngöbe Communities and the Rural Development Project for the Guaymi Communities.

IFAD’s strategy

The organization’s strategic goal is to promote pro-poor local development, using inclusive approaches to ensure that the more vulnerable groups among indigenous and non-indigenous rural poor people can benefit from rural economic growth and improve their livelihoods. IFAD supports the government’s plans for local development by helping transform the traditional and isolated rural sector into a modern and competitive productive, market-integrated sector. Empowerment of rural poor people and the improvement of their livelihoods is at the centre of IFAD’s strategy.

Through its operations in Panama, IFAD works to achieve two main strategic objectives:

  • to increase income opportunities for poor rural people and reduce ethnic and gender-based inequalities by improving access to productive support services, infrastructure and markets
  • to improve local government and social empowerment, with special attention to indigenous and ethnic groups

IFAD investments supports innovations that ensure sustainable benefits for poor rural people, such as:

  • the transformation of subsistence farmers and non-farm workers into market-oriented rural microentrepreneurs engaged in activities that generate increased and sustainable income
  • the development and consolidation of poor people’s participation in long-term rural development planning at the local and provincial levels


Source: IFAD

IFAD in Pakistan


Since 1978 IFAD has supported 23 programmes and projects in Pakistan with investments totalling US$440.9 million. The total cost of the organization’s programme in Pakistan is US$2.10 billion. Five programmes and projects are ongoing. Through its country programme IFAD provides loans and technical assistance grants, and it supports policy dialogue, knowledge management and partnerships.

IFAD-funded programmes and projects work to improve the livelihoods and productivity of poor rural people. Operations reach the most disadvantaged communities, particularly communities in remote and marginalized areas across the country, where infrastructure and services are limited, access to inputs and markets is uncertain and institutional capabilities are often inadequate.

IFAD works as a partner with the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) to implement microfinance projects and to support communities that were struck by a devastating earthquake in 2005.

Other key IFAD partners in the country include civil society organizations, particularly NGOs, other non-profit organizations and community-based organizations. Many new initiatives, particularly in the dissemination of agricultural technologies and the supply of inputs, involve the private sector.

IFAD’s strategy in Pakistan has the aim of combating rural poverty through an emphasis on rural development. The strategy focuses on:

  • alleviating poverty in vulnerable and remote areas
  • achieving community participation
  • identifying opportunities for innovation
  • structuring institutional arrangements that capitalize on partnerships between public and private sectors

A key part of the strategy is a focus on skill enhancement, vocational training and access to financial services, in order to provide rural people with wider opportunities and promote  their linkages and integration with markets and the private sector.

As outlined in the country strategic opportunities programme (COSOP) for Pakistan, approved in April 2009, future IFAD operations will include a focus on:

  • improving the balance between agricultural and non-farm investment
  • supporting capacity development in decentralized entities and other bodies working at the local level
  • continuing support to the government’s engagement in disadvantaged, remote and conflict-affected areas, with a more differentiated approach
  • strengthening IFAD’s capacity to promote innovation
  • adjusting the organization’s operating model according to the size and specific characteristics of the Pakistan programme

The recent COSOP calls for a new emphasis on areas such as high-value crops, livestock development, market access and the effects of climate change. The main objectives of the country programme are to:

  • enhance the access of poor rural women and men to productive assets, skills, services and improved technologies, with particular emphasis on enhancing productivity – through pilot schemes for land distribution, new microfinance products and market access initiatives
  • strengthen the capacity of poor rural people to engage in and benefit from local development processes – supporting government line agencies to improve the participatory approach, working with potential partners and promoting institutional innovation at the grass-roots level


IFAD operations in Pakistan target areas with a high incidence of poverty or with specific development problems resulting from their geographic location, including mountainous regions, the coastal belt and low-rainfall areas. Within those areas, the target groups for programmes and projects include:

  • small farmers with limited land and livestock
  • landless farmers, including small-scale livestock herders and fishers who depend on a combination of on-farm and off-farm wage employment
  • households headed by women who have little access to resources, services and assets of their own


Source: IFAD

IFAD in Bosnia and Herzegovina

IFAD began operations in Bosnia in 1996 shortly after the conclusion of the Dayton peace accord. Since then IFAD has supported four projects in the country and provided a total of US$57.1 million in loans. A fifth project, the Rural Livelihoods Development Project, was approved in December 2008.
 
IFAD recognizes the uniqueness of the situation in Bosnia and the complexity of rural poor people’s needs. Its assistance to Bosnia-Herzegovina has focused on supporting smallholder livestock production, which is the mainstay of the rural economy. The first two interventions were a response to the need for emergency assistance in a country devastated by years of war. Both projects focused on the rapid distribution of livestock to poor, war-affected households in emergency packages of one cow or five sheep. They provided poor people with access to food and basic livelihoods. The third project develops a model of small-scale commercial livestock production with good income-earning potential that can be replicated throughout the country.

IFAD’s strategy in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Now that the need for emergency assistance has diminished, IFAD’s strategy in Bosnia is to provide long-term support for rural enterprises and help boost agricultural productivity. At government level, IFAD helps promote a suitable policy and institutional framework to support small agricultural and non-agricultural rural enterprises. At farm level, IFAD offers farmers access to rural finance, with loan packages that enable smallholder and subsistence farmers to purchase livestock. Because agricultural productivity is limited, IFAD also supports the wider rural economy, helping stimulate growth among agriculture-related and other rural businesses and providing alternatives to farming as sources of income. These might include bee-keeping, fish farming, processing farm products or agro-tourism.

IFAD’s projects contribute to forging close links among farmers and processors and markets. There is growing evidence that improved market linkages can result in better prices for primary products and higher incomes for small farmers. Interventions also help strengthen the supply chain, ensuring that farmers have better access to related services such as animal breeders, veterinary services and financial services.

Source: IFAD

IFAD in the Dominican Republic

 


IFAD has approved loans for a total of US$61.9 million for six programmes and projects in the country amounting to a total cost of US$187.3 million. Five IFAD operations have been completed. The most recent was the Social and Economic Development Programme for Vulnerable Populations in the Border Provinces, which addressed the high incidence of poverty in the border areas and broadened the target group to include Dominican-Haitian households. The Development Project for Rural Poor Economic Organizations of the Border Region, approved in 2009, would target the same areas, which are the country’s poorest.

IFAD’s operations in the Dominican Republic have the objective of improving the incomes and living conditions of poor small-scale producers by:

  • strengthening farmer’s organizations and social capital
  • expanding farmers access to credit, extension and marketing services
  • financing investments in productive assets such as processing and packaging plants and irrigation and drainage infrastructure
  • financing investments in social infrastructure such as schools and health centers)

For IFAD, the government’s declaration of the priority of addressing poverty among the poorest and socially excluded people presented an opportunity for the organization to broaden its target groups in the country. IFAD responded by assisting the government in designing policies and programmes to benefit the poorest of the poor, particularly in the border provinces.

IFAD's strategy

IFAD’s strategy, as outlined in the 2002 Country Strategic Opportunities Programme, works to improve the well-being of the country’s poor and extremely poor rural people by improving their income-earning capacity. The aim is to empower rural people’s organizations in the border areas in order to improve poor people’s living conditions and strengthen their socio-political role. The strategy is programme-oriented and it has two main objectives:
 

  • to support the development of social capital and community development, with the goal of empowering rural poor people and their grass-roots organizations, and strengthening their participation in the government’s decentralization programme and in local rural development committees
  • to promote income generation, particularly through agricultural and non-agricultural production and off-farm labour opportunities, to improve poor people’s incomes, living conditions and access to social services such as health and education, and to encourage poor producers’ participation in local, national and regional markets
     

The strategy aims at further consolidating efforts to promote gender equity and at helping poor rural people manage the environment in a sustainable way and adapt to climate change.

IFAD works in partnership in the country with the government and with multilateral and bilateral donors and civil society organizations. The selection and design of future projects will be based on consultations with the government, participants and the communities. Grass-roots groups, NGOs and municipal and local governments will contribute to the planning and implementation of project activities. Through its regional division IFAD provides training and technical support for activities.

FIDAMERICA, the Internet network that links IFAD’s projects in the region, provides a forum for exchange of experiences through its on-line seminars. PROGENDER, the region’s gender strengthening network, supports projects through workshops and training events.
 

Read more:

FIDAMERICA


Source: IFAD

El FIDA en Argentina

El Gobierno argentino está elaborando una Estrategia Nacional de Desarrollo Rural para capitalizar los procesos de crecimiento y reconversión sectorial, e impulsar el crecimiento de las economías provinciales.

El apoyo de la agricultura familiar es uno de los pilares de esta nueva estrategia nacional. El Gobierno argentino, con el apoyo del FIDA, ha constituido el Foro Nacional de Agricultura Familiar, que reúne a productores rurales pequeños y medianos de todo el país, para discutir políticas de fomento de este sector.

Un proceso similar se está llevando a cabo en el ámbito del Mercado Común del Sur (MERCOSUR) del que Argentina es miembro fundador. Desde el año 2000, el FIDA apoya un programa destinado a crear espacios para el diálogo sobre desarrollo rural y reducción de la pobreza. Este programa se ha llevado a cabo en dos fases: la primera sirvió para promover la convergencia de políticas sobre agricultura familiar entre los países miembros; la segunda, en curso de ejecución, para favorecer la efectiva participación de las asociaciones de pequeños agricultores en los procesos de toma de decisiones sobre las políticas de desarrollo rural en el ámbito del MERCOSUR. Un resultado concreto de este proceso de diálogo político es la reciente creación en Argentina de una Subsecretaría de Desarrollo Rural y Agricultura Familiar.

El acceso a la tierra, y la permanencia, es un tema de gran preocupación para los pequeños productores de la subregión. En Argentina, el FIDA apoya a la Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Pesca y Alimentación (SAGPyA) en la recopilación de información sobre experiencias exitosas de resolución de conflictos ligados a la tierra.

El FIDA trabaja en estrecha colaboración con donantes internacionales, como el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) y el Gobierno de Italia, para apoyar al gobierno argentino a implementar su política de desarrollo rural. En abril de 2007 se celebró en Buenos Aires un seminario internacional que permitió el intercambio de información y la creación de nuevas alianzas entre los organismos nacionales e internacionales. En breve estará disponible una publicación con los resultados de este trabajo conjunto.

La experiencia acumulada en la ejecución de proyectos en Argentina ha demostrado la necesidad de operar en un marco de políticas de desarrollo rural claro y definido. Para dar respuesta a esta necesidad, el Gobierno de Argentina ha decidido ampliar su colaboración con el FIDA pasando del tradicional enfoque de proyecto a una colaboración de ámbito nacional. Un préstamo de 19,3 millones de dólares aprobado por el FIDA en 2007, contribuirá a financiar un programa nacional de desarrollo rural en 10 provincias del país, cuyo costo total asciende a 44,8 millones de millones de dólares.

Fuente: FIDA



Statistics
Planned project activities

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Rural Advancement Programme

Rural Development Project in the North-west

2006 Nobel Peace Prize

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has welcomed the news of the awarding of a Nobel Peace Prize to Professor Mohammed Yunus and the Grameen Bank.
Professor Yunus has been a pioneer of micro-credit lending schemes for the poor in Bangladesh. After 30 years, his bank has 6.6 million borrowers, of which 97% are women.
IFAD president Lennart Båge, reacting to the announcement, said “Professor Yunus’ leadership has brought opportunities to millions of poor rural families worldwide.”
“Professor Yunus challenged IFAD and other international financial and humanitarian institutions to question their approaches and to find better ways to serve poor people” said Båge.
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