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Zacapa-Chiquimula
Smallholders' Rural Development Project
The project area was located in the north-eastern part of Guatemala,
a region that is extremely poor and remote. There are few roads,
and most are unusable during the rainy seasons. The area is mountainous
and extremely rugged. Soil quality is poor and large areas are unsuitable
for agriculture. Only about 24 per cent of the land is cultivated.
The rest is given over to forest and grasslands. The main crops grown
are maize, beans, sorghum and coffee. Over-cultivation causes erosion
and environmental damage to the limited resource base.
The project’s objective was to improve conditions and incomes for
farming communities in ways that could be sustained by those communities,
while helping to regenerate the environment. The project targeted
farmers with less than 7 ha, working to increase grain yields and
develop permanent crops such as coffee and fruit in some areas previously
given over to grain. Project activities included:
- providing credit services
- strengthening institutions supporting agricultural production
- providing training and assistance in managing credit and finances
- developing income-generating opportunities for women
- strengthening marketing services in the area
- improving animal health
- providing training and assistance in animal production
- providing training in soil conservation and management
- reforesting certain areas
- building and upgrading roads
Source: IFAD
email this article
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| Contact information |
Mr Enrique Murguia
Country programme manager
IFAD
Via Paolo di Dono, 44
00142 Rome, Italy
Tel: +39 0654592341
Fax: +39 0654593341
e.murguia@ifad.org |
| Facts and figures |
Total cost: US$18.8 million
IFAD loan: US$6.7 million
Duration: 1991-1998
Geographical area: 6 municipalities in the department
of Chiquimula and 2 in the department of Zacapa
Directly benefiting: 5,200 households
Cofinancing: The Netherlands (US$6.5 million), Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries Fund for International Development (US$2.3 million),
World Food Programme (US$330,000)
Status: closed
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| Partners |
Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Nutrition
(MAGA), The Netherlands,
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Fund
for International Development, World
Food Programme, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
United Nations Office for Project
Services (UNOPS) |
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