This project built on the experiences of the Dabakala/Katiola Rural Development Project and extended this second phase of activities to the entire Centre-North region, one of the country’s poorest areas. The focus was mainly on the poorest people living in villages at a distance of more than 5 km from main roads. The overall objective was to improve the living standards of poor smallholder households, mainly by sustainably increasing their cash income from agriculture.

Specific objectives were to:

• create and strengthen informal groups, at least half of them women’s groups
• improve marketing methods for members of the groups
• experiment a stabilized cultivation system
• encourage participation in local development planning and in formulating and implementing micro-projects
• strengthen rural financial services
• improve infrastructure, particularly village access roads and water supply
   

Source: IFAD