Cariri and Seridó Sustainable Development Project to empower 18,000 poor rural households

Farmer in a cactus field in Vaza Barris community, Carira district. Cactus pulp is fed to cows during the dry season. ©IFAD/Giuseppe Bizzarri

Rome, 19 October 2012 – Representatives from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Brazilian Ministry of Finance, and the Brazilian State of Paraíba signed a new loan agreement this week that will provide US$49 million in total funding for rural empowerment initiatives in the state of Paraíba.

“By building local capacity, strengthening value-chains, working with traditionally marginalized groups like women and youth, and providing rural entrepreneurs with the tools and technologies they need to build their businesses, we hope to improve household assets, reduce child malnutrition , overcome rural poverty and contribute to a sustainable natural resources management,” Iván Cossio, IFAD’s Country Program Manager for Brazil, said.

The Cariri and Seridó Sustainable Development Project (Procase) will directly benefit 18,000 poor rural families in 55 municipalities and will also reach an important number of indirect beneficiaries.

The project is made possible with US$25 million in IFAD financing, with the State Government of Paraíba and the beneficiaries themselves contributing the remaining US$25 million.

The project will fall under the direction of the Secretariat of Agricultural Development and Fisheries (SEDAP), and will be implemented on a state level by various state-run agencies.

Procase works to develop human and social capital, improve smallholder production and market competitiveness, combat desertification and promote sustainable management of the vulnerable semi-arid caatinga biome.

The project is slated to enhance economic activities and income of 18,000 rural households in the poorest regions of the State of Paraiba, create more than 4300 jobs and provide fellowships for 4000 young people to receive training in business development.

In order to protect the delicate caatinga biome, the project will establish 250 agro-forestry systems and promote solid natural resource management practices among project participants.

Non-farm employment is a substantial source of income for people living in the Brazilian countryside, and the project looks to improve incomes for artisan producers, small-scale miners and rural service providers.

“While Brazil has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, rural poverty persists, especially in the northeast, where we find the largest pocket of rural poverty in all of Latin America,” said Cossio. “Across the country about half of the rural population live below the poverty line, and in the northeast – where lack of access to markets, productive technologies and education are acute – around two out of three rural people live in poverty.”

IFAD-funded projects in Brazil are implemented on the state level, and strengthening regional institutions is an important component of the new project.

“The project signals the commitment by the Government of Brazil on both a national and state level to ensure greater social inclusion for poor rural people,” said Cossio. “This significant investment is an important step towards contributing to revert the cycle of poverty in Brazil’s Northeast semi-arid region and creating a favorable broader framework to promote sustainable development.”

Since 1980, IFAD has approved more than US$210 million in financing for Brazil, directly benefiting approximately 220,000 poor rural households.

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Press Release No.: IFAD/63/2012

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) works with poor rural people to enable them to grow and sell more food, increase their incomes and determine the direction of their own lives. Since 1978, IFAD has invested about US$14.3 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries through projects empowering over 400 million people to break out of poverty, thereby helping to create vibrant rural communities. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome – the United Nations’ food and agriculture hub. It is a unique partnership of 168 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD).