No. 6 - July 1996
No. 6 - Julliet 1996
No. 6 - Julio de 1996

In this issue:

• From the Director

• Strategic Approaches to Alleviating Rural Poverty

• Tanzania: Kagera Region Agriculture and Environmental Management Project

• Bangladesh: Silk Development and Poverty Alleviation

• America Latina: Descentralización y Participación en la Lucha Contra la Pobreza

• Maroc: Aménagement de bassins versants

• Summary of activities / Résumé des activités / Resumen de actividades

• Investment Centre-assisted projects approved by financing institutions
  

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From the Director .............

Poverty alleviation is the theme of this issue of UPDATE. It is not a new concern for the Investment Centre, but one which is rightly receiving renewed importance in the financing programmes of our cooperating institutions. This revival in interest builds on the lessons learned from past experience which has shown just how difficult it is to design cost-effective investment projects which bring real and lasting benefits to the poorer members of rural society.

New approaches to lending for poverty alleviation have been pioneered by the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), with the assistance of the FAO Investment Centre Division, supported by expertise from throughout FAO. Regional Banks, UNCDF, and others are also concerned. The focus is now on decentralisation, beneficiary participation and the use of NGOs and private institutions as intermediaries in project implementation.

Project preparation involves the rural poor themselves in diagnosing the underlying causes of their predicament, identifying needs, choosing appropriate strategies to address them, and participating in and contributing to project implementation. We are confident that the poor households on which the projects featured in this issue of UPDATE are targeted will make good use of the proposed funding. The challenge in project design is not so much one of finding viable opportunities for investment but of developing effective low cost mechanisms for resource delivery. Useful lessons have been learned, and are being applied.

David Forbes Watt

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Strategic Approaches to Alleviating Rural Poverty

Poverty alleviation has long been a goal of development assistance. The need to address the special needs of the rural poor was at the heart of the rationale for founding the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in 1977. Recently all the major international and many regional financing institutions have re-committed themselves to giving priority to rural poverty alleviation.

These institutions have developed complementary but distinct strategic approaches to alleviating poverty. Much of the Investment Centre's work, especially in its joint programme with IFAD, has focused on reducing poverty through livelihood improvement: this involves identification of target groups of the poor, analysis of their livelihood systems, participatory diagnosis of the causes of their poverty, and targeted investments aimed at raising them permanently out of poverty. Strategies for poverty alleviation based on promoting economic growth with appropriate redistribution involve a combination of policy reforms, reduction of Government intervention, heightened reliance on the private sector, and reallocation of public expenditure towards basic infrastructure and services benefitting the poor.

A third approach is to stimulate local initiative by unleashing the energy of small-scale entrepreneurs and civil society organizations through removal of state monopolies and creation of decentralized funding mechanisms. These latter approaches are being followed particularly by WB/IDA, and the Investment Centre is working with the Bank in applying them. A further special case involves rehabilitation for the restoration of smallholder production and livelihood in war-affected zones: the Investment Centre has worked in a number of countries on programmes of this type.

The Investment Centre has been pioneering new approaches to designing projects for poverty alleviation. Through the use of participatory socio-economic and production systems studies (SEPSS) carried out by local teams, target groups and their aspirations are identified. Dialogue amongst the intended beneficiaries, the local implementing agencies and the design team takes place through project formulation workshops. An increased role is sought in implementation from civil society organizations such as NGOs, private contractors, local government councils, and user groups that are able to identify closely with the ultimate beneficiaries. An essential element of poverty alleviation is to promote household food security, especially by reducing vulnerability to seasonal and inter-annual production fluctuations.

One of the most important issues has been how to create effective mechanisms for targeting the poor. Early efforts focused on categorising rural society by income level or farm size to select the target population, but these criteria are subject to misinterpretation, expensive to implement and sometimes socially divisive. Thus there has been growing interest in self-targeting mechanisms that attract the poor and discourage the non-poor, such as focusing on crops, animals and income-earning activities that are most relevant to the poor, geographic targeting, and setting ceilings on maximum expenditures per beneficiary. These are administratively workable ways of increasing beneficiary numbers and reducing the likelihood that the less poor will appropriate project resources.

Contact: Alice Carloni (alice.carloni@fao.org)

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Tanzania: Kagera Region Agriculture and Environmental Management Project

A project in the Kagera region of northwest Tanzania is an example of a livelihood-based approach to poverty alleviation.

Due to increasing population pressure, the natural resource base of the Kagera Region has been degrading. Soil fertility and agricultural productivity are declining. Deforestation is accelerating, with resulting losses in the availability of forest products and declines in catchment protection, biological diversity and wildlife habitats. Domestic water sources have been depleted or polluted. Since April 1994, the influx of over a half a million Rwandan refugees has severely aggravated environmental degradation and undermined the ability of the indigenous villagers to sustain their livelihoods.

While many donors have sought to address the needs of the refugees and the indigenous population, the limited implementation capacity of government has meant that most poor rural households have, in practice, received little or no direct assistance. Growing community willingness to undertake self­help development and recent policy changes favouring increased use of the private sector and Non­Governmental Organizations for service delivery have provided an opportunity to increase the effectiveness of donor support in the region.

In 1996, the Investment Centre assisted the Tanzanian Government to prepare a long­term development project for the region for IFAD financing. The project aims to build the capacity of the rural poor to develop their own livelihood and resource management systems, with the assistance of a combination of private, NGO and government services.

Project support is to be provided on the basis of participatory assessments of individual, group and community commitment to proposed activities which would match the requirements and resources of the beneficiaries, government, and IFAD. Activities include the demarcation of village, forest and wildlife area boundaries; planting of nurseries, woodlots and trees; beekeeping; co­management with government of forest and game reserves; farmer­based seed multiplication; integrated pest and plant nutrition management; improvement of village access roads and domestic water sources; and provision of drugs to health centres. Estimated project costs are US$22 million over six years.

In­kind contributions from the beneficiaries are to be maximized. An internationally­affiliated Tanzanian NGO will mobilise local NGOs/Community-Based Organizations, strengthen community self­help capacity, and backstop government technicians. Local contractors are to be trained in labour-intensive infrastructure construction and maintenance. An extension service for cotton farming for villages not covered by existing government extensionists will be contracted from a private ginnery. Use of contractual arrangements to expand the provision of supporting services, for only as long as is required to establish sustainable activities at the farmer­ and community­levels, will reduce the need for incremental staff and the post­project liabilities for government.

Richard China, FAO IC

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Bangladesh: Silk Development and Poverty Alleviation

With over 48 million very poor people, accounting for some 40 % of the total population of 120 million, poverty alleviation is a priority for all involved in development in Bangladesh. Many attempts have been made by both the government and NGOs to develop and introduce income-generating activities to alleviate poverty, especially in the remote rural areas.

Of the many activities tried, sericulture, or the raising of silkworms and the reeling of silk from silkworm cocoons, appears to be one of the most attractive and sustainable. First, it does not displace any other agricultural activity as the leaves to feed silkworms can be harvested from mulberry trees planted on roadside verges or patches of waste land. Second, silkworm rearing provides employment for rural women that can be integrated into regular domestic routines, and reeling of cocoons provides work for young women for whom there are few other income-generating opportunities. Finally, it provides a raw material for the weaving industry which currently imports large quantities of silk yarn annually.

Aware of the excellent potential of sericulture, the Government requested World Bank support for the expansion of the sector, and the Investment Centre assisted the Ministry of Textiles with the preparation of a silk development project. Building on the experience of NGOs, the project proposes to establish 10 silk development centres equipped with silkworm egg incubators, reeling machinery (filatures) and trained extension staff. The strategically placed centres are to operate commercially, providing rearers with silkworms to raise and cocoons for reeling and offering training at cost to women wishing to learn how to raise silkworms. Each centre would be free to introduce its own improved varieties of silkworm and to promote use of better production technologies.

The policy environment for silk production is also to be radically modified, and the markets for silkworm eggs and cocoons liberalised. The role of the Bangladesh Sericulture Board would thus change from silk promotion, to quality control and research on behalf of all the centres.

At full development it is envisaged that the project will provide direct employment for nearly 11,000 rearers who would together produce an additional 350 tonnes of raw silk annually with a current value of some US$ 10.5 million. Individual rearers adopting improved production techniques are expected to earn net returns of between US$ 200 and US$ 500 per year. Whilst modest by world standards such incomes are considerable in Bangladesh where the average per capita income in 1995 was only US$ 220. Total project costs amount to US$18 million over 5 years.

Contact: Charles Bevan (charles.bevan@fao.org)

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America Latina: descentralización y participación en la lucha contra la pobreza

Viene gestándose en AL una nueva generación de proyectos de lucha contra la pobreza rural, consecuencia de la revisión de las experiencias de desarrollo rural de los 70s y 80s y del surgimiento reciente de nuevos actores como las ONGs. El Centro de Inversiones (CI) de la FAO se ocupa desde hace tiempo de contribuir a preparar este tipo de proyectos.

Común denominador es ser proyectos descentralizados y participativos e incluir a ONGs y asociaciones comunales, indígenas y campesinas, junto a oficinas gubernamentales. Se enfatizan la flexibilidad, la sostenibilidad, el fortalecimiento de la organización de los beneficiarios y la constitución de asociaciones civiles para ofrecer servicios técnicos, comerciales y financieros a los pobres rurales. El mecanismo central es un fondo de desarrollo que financia inversiones en subproyectos surgidos de la iniciativa local de las comunidades. Estas deben hacer cierta contribución a los costos de los subproyectos y deben responsabilizarse de su mantenimiento y operación.

Con el nuevo diseño cambia también el método de preparación, que es ahora más procesual, se apoya en equipos técnicos locales, da importancia especial a los sistemas de operación, y parte del conocimiento de las características socioproductivas y las prioridades de los beneficiarios y su participación en la formulación del proyecto.

Un ejemplo es la formulación de nuevos proyectos de combate a la pobreza en el nordeste del Brasil, en que colabora el CI dentro del Programa Cooperativo FAO/Banco Mundial. Se han iniciado ya tres proyectos, en Bahía, Ceará y Sergipe, que importan EE.UU.$ 352 millones, y hay dos en preparación en Pernambuco y Río Grande del Norte. Los proyectos, financiados por el Banco Mundial, incorporan las lecciones de los antiguos "Proyectos de Desarrollo Rural del Nordeste", reformulados a partir de 1993, y apoyan pequeñas inversiones generadoras de ingresos y empleo o infraestructura básica. Principal novedad es que las propias comunidades son responsables de la identificación, preparación y manejo de los subproyectos. Su aprobación es hecha en la mayoría de casos por consejos municipales donde participan representantes comunales.

Otro ejemplo es el proyecto de lucha contra la pobreza en el departamento del Quiché de Guatemala, como parte de las inversiones de apoyo al proceso de paz, que el CI colabora a preparar, para financiación del FIDA, con apoyo del Programa de Cooperación Técnica de la FAO. El costo estimado es EE.UU.$ 19 millones, los mecanismos de operación son descentralizados y participativos, y hay estrategias diferenciadas para los campesinos puramente de subsistencia y los que tienen algún potencial de desarrollo comercial mediante pequeños regadíos.

En Venezuela, el CI colabora con el Gobierno, IICA, FIDA y el Programa FINCA de Costa Rica en la preparación de un proyecto de desarrollo de comunidades rurales pobres, para financiación del FIDA, cuyo costo asciende a EE.UU.$ 36 millones. Además de un fondo para financiar pequeños subproyectos productivos, sociales y de infraestructura, propuestos por las comunidades, el proyecto construirá un sistema financiero rural, inspirado en el Programa FINCA de Costa Rica, mediante la creación de pequeñas cajas rurales apoyadas por ONGs especializadas en servicios financieros.

José Maria Caballero, FAO IC

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Maroc: Aménagement de bassins versants

Près de 20% de la population rurale vit encore dans les montagnes marocaines, y cultivant quelque 700 000 ha et utilisant environ un million d'hectares de parcours et de forêts. Ce capital naturel est en train de se dégrader rapidement du fait de sa surexploitation. Il s'agit pour le Gouvernement marocain de préserver ces terres, cultivées par plus de 300 000 familles parmi lesquelles on trouve une proportion élevée de personnes vivant sous le seuil de pauvreté, et de limiter ainsi un exode rural qui ne ferait qu'exacerber le problème du chômage dans les régions d'accueil.

Le Gouvernement a préparé, avec l'assistance du Programme de coopération FAO/Banque mondiale, un projet d'aménagement de bassins versants d'un coût total de 30 millions de $E.U. L'expérience marocaine a démontré que tout projet d'aménagement en zones de montagne devrait se baser sur une approche participative. En effet, les communautés villageoises ne géreront correctement que les aménagements qu'elles auront librement choisis. Un programme de 20 ans incluant initialement trois bassins versants et basé sur l'approche participative a donc une chance raisonnable d'aboutir à une meilleure gestion des ressources naturelles.

Le projet proposé ne constituerait donc que la première phase de cinq ans d'un programme à long terme, dont l'objectif serait d'améliorer de manière durable la gestion des ressources naturelles dans les bassins versants afin d'une part d'améliorer les conditions de vie des populations qui y vivent et d'autre part de réduire l'envasement des barrages situés à l'aval.

Dans des zones prioritaires les douars motivés par l'action du projet seront sélectionnés. Dans la mise en oeuvre de l'approche participative, le rôle central et moteur sera joué par des animateurs et animatrices. Il leur reviendra d'amener progressivement les communautés villageoises avec lesquelles ils collaborent, à prendre leur destinée en main et à décider librement de modifier leurs façons de faire afin d'inverser le processus de dégradation des ressources naturelles qui est en cours. Il est prévu, au terme de la cinquième année, de toucher un total de 120 douars regroupant 7 000 foyers et une population totale de près de 50 000 habitants.

Christian Lauwers, FAO IC

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Summary of activities
Résumé des activités
Resumen de actividades

(March-June 1996 / Mars-Juin 1996 / Marzo-Junio de 1996)

AFRICA

Assistance continued under FAO's Special Programme in support of Food Security in Mauritania, Mozambique, Tanzania, Mali, Niger and Guinea . A reconnaissance mission for red meat export in Sudan (AAAID), a review of agricultural investment possibilities in Madagascar (AfDB), and an FAO-funded identification mission for savannah development in Côte d'Ivoire were carried out. Project formulation started for forestry in Niger (AfDB), irrigation in Malawi (IFAD), agricultural development in Swaziland (IFAD) and South Africa (WB), and natural resources and environmental management in Guinea (WFP), Zambia (WB), and Zimbabwe (IFAD).

Project preparation continued for agricultural development in Kenya and Senegal (WB); the groundnut sub-sector in Madagascar (UNDP); regional development in Chad (IFAD); forestry in Mozambique; and irrigation in Mali, Mauritania, and Togo (AfDB). The Kagera Region Agricultural Development Project in Tanzania was pre-appraised (IFAD).

The Centre participated in training project staff in Mauritania (UNCDF); in project supervision in Malawi, Zimbabwe (WB), and Mauritania (IFAD and UNCDF); . The Centre helped Uganda prepare an FAO Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) proposal for an Agricultural Master Plan study. Review of agricultural recovery continued in Angola (multi-donor), and studies were initiated for projects for eventual IFAD financing in Namibia (TCP). Assistance was provided to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on Land Policy Reform in Malawi WFP-assisted projects in Benin and Liberia were evaluated.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Project formulation was completed for forestry/watershed management in Vietnam (AsDB) and for diversified agricultural support and irrigation in India (WB). Preparation continued on estate crops pest management in Indonesia (AsDB) and agrarian reform community development in the Philippines (WB). The Centre participated in fact-finding missions for agricultural reconstruction/rehabilitation in Mongolia (AsDB), water resources development in Viet Nam (WB), irrigation in India (WB), and agricultural development in Indonesia (WB).

A mid-term review of a rubber project in India (WB) was carried out. The Centre participated in missions for evaluation of WFP rural development projects in India and China and supervision of WB irrigation projects in India and Viet  Nam, and of FAO's Special Programme in support of Food Security in China.

LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN

Project formulation work was completed on poverty alleviation in Brazil (WB), Guatemala, and Venezuela (IFAD). Formulation continued on poverty alleviation and biodiversity in Argentina (WB), water management in Brazil and Chile, agricultural services in Jamaica, and sustainable development in Mexico (WB). The Centre participated in supervision of WB projects in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

FAO-funded identification missions were carried out for rural development in Chile and agricultural development in Colombia. A land tenure reform programme was initiated in Haiti (TCP), leading to IDB funding. The Centre participated in appraisals of natural and water resources management projects in Peru (WB), poverty alleviation in Brazil (WB), and forestry in Mexico (WB), as well in technical assistance missions for soil conservation in Uruguay (Government) and crop production in Haiti (IFAD).

Reform of land and water rights legislation was discussed with the Government in Guyana (IDB). Support was provided to the GTZ project on soil conservation in Paraguay. A case study was prepared on relief/development link in Guatemala (WFP).

NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

The Centre completed formulation of a watershed management project in Morocco (WB) and the research and seeds component of an agricultural services project in the Kyrgyz Republic (WB). In Morocco and Tunisia (WB), the Centre participated in supervision of rural finance and forestry projects and continued with preparation of a natural resources project in Tunisia (WB).

It also carried out studies for locust control and irrigation for Algeria (WB). The Centre evaluated WFP rural development projects in Egypt and Tunisia and reviewed a forestry project in Syria.

EUROPE

Project preparation was completed for wholesale markets in Croatia (EBRD) and irrigation restructuring in Macedonia (WB). Preparation continued for agricultural services, agro-processing, and forestry and pasture development in Bosnia & Herzegovina; wholesale market development in Poland; an environment project in Latvia and agricultural development in Armenia (WB).

The Centre also supervised irrigation projects in Slovenia and Armenia and a private farmer support project in Romania (WB). It also participated in post-appraisal for agricultural development in Georgia (WB).

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Investment Centre-assisted projects approved by financing institutions

ALBANIA: Forestry US$21.60 m, of which IDA US$8 m, Italian Government loan US$8.5 m and grant US$2.5 m, Swiss Government grant US$0.5 m and Albania Government US$2.1 m; BANGLADESH: Agricultural Research Management US$59.1 m, of which IDA US$50 m, Government US$9.1 m; BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: Farm Reconstruction US$50.4 m, of which WB Trust Fund Credit US$20 m, IFAD US$7.3 m, European Commission US$6.3 m, Germany US$2.9 m, the Netherlands US$0.9 m, Government US$13 m; BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: Emergency Reconstruction Loan Agricultural component US$20 m, of which WB Trust Fund for Bosnia US$5 m; CHINA: Shanxi Poverty alleviation US$182.8 m, of which IDA US$100 m, Shanxi Province US$ 45.7 m, Prefectures/Counties US$7.3 m, farmers US$29.8 m; CHINA: Seed Commercialization US$185.5 m, of which WB US$80 m, IDA US$20 m, Government US$4 m, commercial banks US$28.7 m and seeds companies US$52.8 m; CROATIA: Private Farmers Support Services US$ 30 m, of which IDA US$17 m, Government US$13 m; ERITREA: Strengthening Agricultural Research Services US$4.5 m from the Italian Government; ESTONIA: Agriculture US$30.9 m, of which WB US$15.3 m, Government US$11.4 m, other donors US$0.5 m and farmers US$3.7 m; FYR of MACEDONIA: Private Sector Development US$16.66 m, of which WB US$12 m, private enterprises and farmers US$2 m, financial intermediaries US$2.66 m; FYR of MACEDONIA: Private Farmers Support US$10.2 m, of which IDA US$7.9 m, Government US$2.3 m; GEORGIA: Structural Adjustment Credit of which IDA US$60 m; GUINEA: Agricultural Services II US$90.5 m, of which IDA US$35.0 m, European Union US$10.9 m, French Ministry of Cooperation US$11.1 m, Caisse française de développement US$5.8 m, Government US$26.7 m, beneficiaries US$1 m; KENYA: Lake Victoria Fisheries US$1.0 m, of which East African Development Bank US$0.88 m, Government US$0.12 m; MADAGASCAR: Projet d'intensification et de diversification agricole dans le Nord-Est 16,9 m de $E.U., dont FIDA 11,7 m de $E.U., Société de développement international Desjardins 0,4 m de $E.U., gouvernement 3,5 m de $E.U. et bénéficiaires 1,3 m de $E.U.; MALI: Zone Lacustre II 20,1 m de $E.U., dont FIDA 12,7 m de $E.U., Fonds de survie belge 2,7 m de $E.U., Banque ouest africaine de développement 1,5 m de $E.U., gouvernement 2 m de $E.U. et bénéficiaires 1,2 m de $E.U.; MEXICO: Modernización del manejo de agua 171 m de $EE.UU, de los cuales US$93.25 m del BM; MOLDOVA: Agriculture US$18,5 m, of which WB US$10 m, Government/beneficiaries US$8.5 m; TUNISIA: Développement rural Mahadia 34,15 m de $E.U., dont BAD 13,80 m de $E.U., gouvernement 20,35 m de $E.U.; UGANDA: Lake Victoria Fisheries US$7.3 m, of which private sector through EADB US$1.93 m, Government US$5.37 m.