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IFAD
in the Gambia
IFAD has financed eight projects in the Gambia since 1982, investing a total of US$45.6 million. All projects have had an agricultural focus and have pursued the overall goal of reducing rural poverty by improving household food security, especially among small farmers and women. IFAD’s strategy in the Gambia IFAD projects in the Gambia have become more demand-driven, increasingly developing rural poor people’s participation in planning and implementation. For the purpose of accumulating know-how and reducing the risk of failure, IFAD-assisted projects in the Gambia provide for innovative pilot operations with potential for scaling up. Outstanding features of pilot activity include the village-based savings and credit association (VISACA) concept, access and water management in swampland and lowland rice cultivation, and community-initiated self-help groups. These activities were tested and adapted and have become successful models for implementation in newer projects such as the Lowlands Agricultural Development Programme and the Rural Finance and Community Initiatives Project. Since the mid-1980s, IFAD has strongly supported rural microfinance projects in the Gambia as a corollary to support for agricultural development. Expansion of the VISACA system has led to a more professional microfinance sector and to creation of a microfinance department within the Central Bank to oversee the policy and regulatory aspects of microfinance in the Gambia. IFAD continues activities to strengthen farmers’ and community-based organizations. Investing in programmes and projects in the Gambia, IFAD provides leadership and attracts co-financing, forming strategic partnerships with donors, the government, NGOs and civil society organizations. Through new loans, the organization helps consolidate and continue activities such as rural financial services, community-initiated self-help and lowlands rice development. Looking towards the future of agricultural development in the Gambia, new projects feature innovative approaches that can be tested in pilot operations and then scaled up to support more effective and efficient activities. In programmes and projects in the Gambia, IFAD tackles the causes of poverty. Through development of agriculture in the fertile lowlands and adjacent uplands, it addresses poverty that is related to land as a productive asset and to factors such as yields, soil fertility and access. Diversification of on- and off-farm income-generating activities can reduce poverty related to low market prices and failing markets. By strengthening institutions and communities and developing services such as credit, IFAD-funded programmes and projects can reinforce poor people’s efforts to overcome poverty. Continuing its work to strengthen institutions and support participation at grass-roots level, IFAD will rely heavily on NGOs, community groups and organizations, farmers’ associations and financial institutions with village-level experience for future project implementation. Source: IFAD |
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