IFAD in Burundi

IFAD has funded seven programmes and projects in Burundi for a total investment of US$88.0 million, including US$14.0 million in grants. IFAD’s experience in the country confirms that even under adverse circumstances programmes and projects conceived and designed on the basis of adequate consultations with and incentives to rural communities can help improve household food security.

During more than a decade of open conflict, IFAD continued to implement programme and project activities. In keeping with its mandate for rural and agricultural development, the organization supported participation in social development and the cohesion of rural communities that were directly or indirectly affected by massacres and combat. By continuing activities in the face of insecurity and within the constraints of an international embargo on Burundi, IFAD helped communities maintain a sense of normalcy.

The experience acquired during that period strengthened the organization’s understanding of conflict situations. IFAD emerged in a stronger position to facilitate participation by communities and supplement the government’s reduced ability to provide services to rural poor people.

IFAD has worked with post-confict governments, which have regularly repaid their loans, and with local communities, which have been involved in preparing and implementing programmes and projects. In Burundi the organization also works with other UN agencies and NGOs.

IFAD is now in a strong position to contribute to an effective strategy of assistance and policy dialogue for Burundi’s reconstruction. The organization’s strategy in Burundi promotes rural communities’ ‘ownership’ of social capital reconstruction and productive processes and employment.

The implementation of IFAD’s post-conflict strategy contributes to:

building up the resilience of Burundi’s rural areas to violent conflict and regenerating sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable households
establishing effective mechanisms to support community-driven planning and implementation of sustainable community projects
improving the capacity and accountability of local government for planning and monitoring how services are provided for rural people
enforcing an effective policy of encouraging NGOs and private organizations to deliver such services
acquiring sufficient practical experience to design both an overall policy and specific programmes and projects with the aim of developing rural microfinance institutions in the context of post-conflict reconstruction
promoting effective participation of women in the peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction processes so they can have a significant share of the benefits of projects and programmes
improving financial control, reporting, monitoring and evaluation of ongoing and future IFAD projects

IFAD’s strategic opportunities

IFAD approved its new Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) for Burundi in 2008. The strategic approach is to adapt interventions to the evolution of stability in the areas where operations are under way or about to be initiated.
The current country programme includes two operations that were designed in the context of the crisis: the Rural Recovery and Development Programme (PRDMR) and the Transitional Programme of Post-Conflict Reconstruction (PTRPC). Their approach is based on community development with the aim of rebuilding the conflict-torn society.

IFAD-funded programmes and projects emphasize community development committees, an innovative feature and a key contribution to the decentralization process. The multisector nature of programmes and projects enables them to offer a diversified response that is adapted to the need for reconstruction and recapitalization in rural areas.

The country programme is evolving towards an approach centred on implementing profitable economic activities, developing subsectors and including vulnerable groups in economic initiatives.

As IFAD provided technical assistance to Burundi throughout the duration of the conflict, the organization acquired an in-depth knowledge of poverty in the country, of vulnerable groups and of their adaptation strategies. It has developed a range of interventions to restore the social fabric and rebuild the working capital of households affected by the post-conflict crisis. They are based on community accountability and their aim is to enable the most vulnerable people, particularly women, to access project benefits.

IFAD invests in creating jobs and generating income through production and services initiated and managed by small-scale producers. These include seed production, nurseries and rice-growing. The involvement of participants in formulating and monitoring rural development policies is an important feature of interventions.

In Burundi, IFAD will continue to orient its activities towards generating economic opportunities and improving food and income security for rural households, particularly for the poorest households. At the same time, it will contribute to the government’s objectives to restore social cohesion and reestablish democratic governance.

The country programme’s strategic objectives are to:

facilitate poor rural people’s access to new economic opportunities
strengthen poor people’s organizations to enable them to access services and resources and participate in rural development policies
facilitate participation by women and vulnerable groups in the economic initiatives supported by the programme

The targeting strategy for IFAD-funded projects will be inclusive of all small-scale producers in the priority subsectors in the project areas. It will facilitate inclusion of women and other poor people in production and other parts of the value chain, as well as in producers’ organizations and in national decision-making bodies.

IFAD will continue to work in partnership with the government and to forge partnerships with donors, civil society organizations and the private sector.

Country Opportunity Strategic Programme (2008)

Source: IFAD

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