The Province of Umutara was created after the 1994 genocide, and a large part of the country’s former game reserve was allocated for resettlement of repatriates. There was a need for infrastructure and for building the capacities of public administration and community organizations for planning, implementing and maintaining sustainable development on a participatory basis. Access to drinking water was a serious problem – just 23 per cent of households had clean drinking water.

Poverty in the province was also aggravated by degraded soil, the absence of improved varieties of plant material, and poor animal health. Rural people lacked appropriate information on markets and technologies, and adequate financial services. The poor state of the roads kept farmers from markets and impeded the circulation of commercial information. The project was set up to help poor farmers in Umutara Province overcome these constraints, improve their living conditions and raise their incomes.

Working towards that goal, the project promotes decentralization and improves governance in the region, provides training for associations to enable them to participate in decision-making, and improves access by rural households to sustainable public infrastructure such as roads, valley dams and boreholes for domestic and livestock use. It also provides support for the development of cost-effective extension and financial services. In 2008 the government and IFAD conducted the second interphase review, which allowed the transition to Phase III of the project in February 2009.


Source: IFAD