In 1991, the Executive Board decided that Country Portfolio Evaluations (CPEs) should be carried out in countries where a substantial number of projects have been financed by IFAD. The first CPE was undertaken in Yemen towards the end of 1991, followed by Sudan (1992), Bangladesh (1993) and Pakistan (1994). Except for the later, the CPEs have been reviewed by the Evaluation Committee of the Executive Board. These four CPEs, which cover a total of 44 projects and were mostly initiated by the Fund, are proving to be a useful instrument for enhancing dialogue between IFAD and concerned governments.

The CPEs clearly show that, for the target group, access to credit is often essential. However, innovative credit management methods are very demanding, in terms of institutional capacities, and require time to be adopted. Special credit programmes are more effective when they:

- focus on activities in which target groups are specifically involved, thus reducing leakages to non-target group members;

- introduce a savings component to help build capital for the poor and also foster a better commitment to the lender; and

- promote the formation of homogeneous functional groups involving, when possible, non-government and quasi-government organizations in administering credit to the rural poor. Through this mechanism, individual borrowers without collateral can have access to institutional credit which is cheaper than informal credit. They, also, have access to project-financed training services, without unduly increasing transaction costs for the credit institution, therefore enhancing the viability of the credit operations.