updated: 12.05.08
pattern
Special Country Programme – Phase II

The Special Country Programme II (SCP II) builds on the experiences of SCP I. The project area goes beyond the Oromiya region originally covered by SCP I to include the Amhara and Tigray regions and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s region. Its main objective is to improve the food security and incomes of rural poor people through several activities:

  • developing and rehabilitating small-scale irrigation schemes owned and managed by farmers
  • improving delivery of agricultural support services in irrigation water management and crop production
  • promoting improvements in natural resource use and management
  • improving family nutrition and the incomes of rural women through development of vegetable gardens
  • strengthening the institutional capacity of decentralized regional administrations

Activities focus on small-scale irrigation, upgrading traditional schemes and building new ones. More than 40 irrigation schemes have been completed over more than half of the planned area. The project addresses the availability and cost of vegetable seed and local seed multiplication. Efforts are under way to ensure that at least 50 vegetable gardens managed by women are established for each irrigation scheme, with a target of 2,400 vegetable gardens.

Source: IFAD

In this section
Contact information
Mr John Gicharu
Country programme manager
IFAD
Via Paolo di Dono, 44
00142 Rome, Italy
Tel: +39 0654592373
Fax: +39 0654593373
j.gicharu@ifad.org
Facts and figures

Total cost: US$31.7 million

IFAD loan: US$22.6 million

Duration: 1999-2006

Geographical area: The provinces of Amhara, Tigray, Oromiya and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s region

Directly benefiting: More than 21,000 chronically poor and/or vulnerable farm families, including 1,200 rural women engaged in vegetable gardening

Status: completed

Partners
Development Cooperation Ireland