Message from the Director
In January, the High-level Meeting on Food Security for All took place in Madrid, Spain. The meeting was held to promote action to achieve the first Millennium Development Goal – to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger – and to address the effects of rising food prices on those who are most vulnerable.
Delegations from 126 countries recognized in the Declaration of Madrid that organized civil society plays a fundamental role in combating poverty and should therefore participate fully in community, local, territorial, national and global development.
Participatory development has been one of the key thrusts of the organization’s operations in Latin America and the Caribbean since IFAD was founded 30 years ago. Participatory policy-making processes backed by IFAD have served as a model for similar experiences elsewhere in the world.
Such is the case of the Commission on Family Farming (REAF), a platform for policy dialogue within the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR). REAF was set up following an IFAD-sponsored workshop in Uruguay in 1997, and it was formalized in 2004, when the Common Market Group ratified it as a consultative body.
Since the Commission lacks a budget of its own, its main sources of funding have been IFAD and voluntary contributions from member countries. The approval of a Regional Family Farming Fund in December 2008 laid the groundwork for a financially self-sustaining Commission.
This policy platform meets every six months, bringing together representatives of governments and farmers from member and associate member countries. The Commission builds consensus around proposals for action to be submitted to MERCOSUR policymaking bodies. If approved, the proposals become part of national regulatory frameworks.
I invite you to learn more about the results of this and other participatory processes for setting public policy that IFAD promotes in the region in support of country efforts – by each and every one of the actors involved – to meet the Millennium Development Goals set by the international community in 2000.
Josefina Stubbs
Director, IFAD’s Latin America and Caribbean Division
Key topic: participatory public policy-setting on rural development
The seeds of participation planted in the region over the past decades are beginning to bear fruit. Increasingly, smallholder farmers in Central America, the Andean highlands and the Southern Cone are having a say in the design of public policy. Their increased participation is the outcome of a respectful and collaborative dialogue among public authorities, civil society and the international community.
In December 2008, MERCOSUR took a decisive step towards strengthening family farming in the region. The Common Market Council (CMC), composed of foreign affairs, trade and finance ministers from member countries, approved the creation of a Regional Family Farming Fund.
REAF member countries |
Family farming population |
Number of family plots |
Family farming / Total |
Argentina |
780 000 |
270 000 |
78% |
Brazil |
16 million |
4,1 million |
85% |
Paraguay |
1, 8 million |
300 000 |
93% |
Uruguay |
180 000 |
44 000 |
77% |
Total |
18.7 million |
4.7 million |
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Source: data presented by REAF member countries |
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Each country within the bloc is expected to make a yearly contribution to the fund, based on its historic average gross domestic product (GDP). Brazil will contribute 70 per cent, Argentina 27 per cent, Uruguay 2 per cent, and Paraguay 1 per cent. “This fund is strategic, both politically and financially,” explains Paolo Silveri, Project Manager and Coordinator of IFAD’s operations in the Southern Cone. “In political terms, the CMC’s endorsement recognizes family farming as a key sector. Family farming makes a fundamental contribution to countries’ economies and food security for their people. From a financial point of view, regional support for the fund will lay the groundwork for a self-sustaining Commission.” These were IFAD’s two main objectives in funding REAF’s creation and consolidation. “We have worked together for ten years to achieve this,” says Silveri.
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In Arequipa, a woman uses a cultural map to present proposals for improving her community. |
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In Central America, the Rural Regional Dialogue Programme is doing similar work in the context of the free trade agreement between Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In just three years of existence, the programme – which is funded by IFAD – has been recognized by the Central American Agricultural Council (CAC) as the forum for regional dialogue between governments and smallholders on Central American common agricultural policy. The CAC is the apex body that represents Central America’s agriculture ministries.
Participatory models of local development have gradually taken hold and today form part of national regulatory frameworks in many countries. In Peru, a 2003 law made a participatory process mandatory for budget planning, to guarantee transparency and efficiency in the allocation of state resources. To carry out this mandate, the IFAD-financed Sierra Sur project employs an innovative methodology: it has introduced public competitions for local development plans, managed by local resource allocation committees.
For further information:News briefs
IFAD takes part in High-level Meeting on Food Security for All
The conference focused on how to accelerate progress in achieving the first Millennium Development Goal and how to cope with the effects of rising food prices on the most vulnerable groups.
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Lennart Båge, President of IFAD, second from left, shared his views about progress made in achieving the First Millennium Development Goal. |
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An IFAD delegation headed by President Lennart Bågeparticipated in January 2009 at the High-level Meeting on Food Security for All, held in Madrid and sponsored by the Government of Spain and the United Nations.
The meeting was attended by representatives of multilateral organizations and governments, civil society, unions, the private sector, universities and donor agencies from more than 126 countries.
In round-table discussions organized by theme, participants reviewed progress made since the High-level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy, held in Rome in June 2008, which aimed at improved coordination and agreement on short-term, medium-term and long-term measures for achieving rapid progress.
The agreements reached during the two-day meeting are stated in the Declaration of Madrid, which can be consulted on the Conference website.
- High-level Meeting on Food Security for All website
- Declaration of Madrid
- Address by IFAD’s President at a round-table discussion on “Monitoring and analysis of progress with the implementation of short-, medium- and long-term measures”
Haiti receives US$10 million for promotion of agricultural production
The initiative is one effect of an IFAD decision to take immediate action to reallocate US$200 million from already approved loans, to help poor farmers boost their food production and to guarantee food security in the countries most severely affected by rising prices for staple foods.
Thousands of smallholder farmers have managed to salvage their 2008/09 harvest, thanks to the agreement signed in October 2008 by the Government of Haiti, IFAD and FAO.
IFAD redirected US$10 million in already approved funds for development initiatives in Haiti to mitigate the impact of high staple food prices.
The funding was made available at a time when Haiti was facing the dual challenge of recovering from the four hurricanes that battered the island in 2008 and feeding its people, many of whom were already going hungry in the wake of the natural disasters.
The agreement calls for distributing agricultural inputs to more than 240,000 smallholders over a 15-month period. Inputs include seeds (vegetables and cereals) and plants (yucca, sweet potato and banana).
In Haiti, smallholder farming employs 80 per cent of agriculture sector workers, many of whom are seriously undernourished.
For further information:
- IFAD initiative to boost food production in countries affected by rising food prices
- Enabling the rural poor to overcome poverty in Haiti English | French
Bolivia hosts indigenous journalism workshop sponsored by IFAD
Twenty reporters from indigenous communities in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru and Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela took the first step in La Paz towards creating a network for working together.
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Roberto Haudry, Country Programme Manager and Coordinator of Operations in the Andean subregion, took part in the workshop. |
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The workshop took place on 25 and 26 November in La Paz, Bolivia. The initiative, supported by IFAD and organized by Inter Press Service (IPS), aims at providing journalists with tools for producing accurate, in-depth coverage of indigenous issues.
The workshop was part of an investigative reporting programme for journalists working in rural media. The news agency distributes reports worldwide in Arabic, French, Portuguese and Spanish, and within the region in the Quechua, Aymara and Mayan languages.
IPS includes a network of journalists in more than 150 countries. News coverage focuses on events that affect the economic, social and political development of peoples and nations. Clients include 3,000 media enterprises and tens of thousands of civil society organizations, academics and other users.
First comparative analysis of growth, poverty and inequality in Chile, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Peru
The study was published in the second issue of Equitierra, a publication produced by the Latin America Centre for Rural Development (RIMISP).
The second issue of this new Latin American publication on matters of rural interest explores inequality as a major obstacle to human development, investigates how cultural identity is becoming a strategy for overcoming poverty, and discusses how the region is dealing with the food crisis challenge.
To access the journal, visit Equitierra website.
Afro-latino music: one of Colombia’s most valuable cultural assets
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The Regional Rural Development Corporation (PROCASUR) and the Regional Programme in Support of Rural Populations of African Descent in Latin America (ACUA), under IFAD sponsorship, are launching a new learning path to disseminate successful experiences with musical culture assets in rural communities of Afro-descendants.
The learning path will take place in Colombia from 29 March to 4 April, and it will visit communities that have noticeably improved their quality of life and income opportunities through their musical culture heritage.
For further information: PROCASUR.
Proposals to improve women-led rural microenterprises in Central America
A workshop held in Costa Rica in November 2008 brought together over 50 women entrepreneurs and service providers to improve supply and demand for services within value chains.
The workshop on Financing, Business Management and Organizational Support Services for Rural Women’s Enterprises in the Context of Value Chains was organized by the Regional Unit for Technical Assistance (RUTA), as a joint interagency and governmental initiative of the six Central American countries (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) and seven international development agencies, including IFAD.
Meetings such as this one promote the mainstreaming of rural women entrepreneurs into global markets. Participants learn to differentiate their products from those of big industry and forge strategic alliances with other sector enterprises. But there are other results, as indicated by RUTA: “The meeting produced recommendations on how to influence public policy on mainstreaming rural women into the business world, how to improve the performance of both service providers and women microentrepreneurs, and how to generate accurate information to document best practices and case studies.”
The workshop minutes, together with studies on participation in value chains by women entrepreneurs, are available on the RUTA website.
- Workshop minutes
- See the video “Women of valour”, documenting the meeting
Results of the workshop on the use of images to complement project monitoring and evaluation
The workshop is part of the innovative PREVAL programme in management and evaluation of rural development projects
The Programme for Strengthening the Regional Capacity for Evaluation of Rural Poverty-Alleviation Projects (PREVAL) website shows the results of a workshop held in 2008 in Lima and Arequipa on the use of images to complement planning, monitoring and evaluation.
This initiative is part of an innovative plan to promote the dissemination of knowledge on impact and best practices in the area of rural development, through virtual knowledge communities and audiovisual techniques.
To view the workshop results, click on: http://imageval.blogspot.com/.
Communities in Peru’s Sierra Sur: on the cutting edge of social networking on web 2.0
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The photo gallery shows activities relating to financial services, natural resource management and business plans. |
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YouTube and Flickr – two highly sophisticated web-based systems for exchanging videos and pictures – have some of their most assiduous users in the Peruvian highlands
The web page of the Agriculture Ministry’s Sierra Sur development project, cofinanced by IFAD, offers a broad range of audiovisual materials illustrating experiences, innovations and participatory evaluations, as described by their protagonists. Click on the links below to view them:
- Competitions on true stories and experiences held by the project
- Photo gallery with vignettes
- Audio vignettes
- Videos produced by the project
In rural Africa and America, young people lead the training programme
There are 35 million young people living in rural areas in the region, and they represent 30 per cent of the rural population. PROCASUR is launching a programme, called Global Learning: Innovation and Young Talent in the Rural World, to promote development actions by and for young people.
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Young people today have better schooling and better access to knowledge and to new production and information technologies. |
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The purpose of the programme is to generate knowledge about rural youth and innovative work experiences involving youth organizations in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa.
The programme also seeks to create an international network around issues of interest to young people in rural areas. The aim is to initiate and foster an exchange of experiences and the dissemination of knowledge from initiatives by and for young people.
Building upon this knowledge, the programme will highlight the need for anti-poverty initiatives to include an age-based perspective and to address challenges such as the gradual ageing of the rural population, the migration of young men and women, and the lack of options and opportunities.
For further information:
- PROCASUR
- Learn about the activities of the Rural Youth working group in the context of the Commission on Family Farming (REAF)
- Read the article Young People want to give Farming a Chance, (IPS)
New IFAD programmes, projects and grants in Latin America and the Caribbean
Project and grant to be presented to IFAD’s Executive Board for approval in April 2009:
- Dominican Republic: a project in provinces bordering on Haiti to improve the access of smallholder associations to national and export markets
- MERCOSUR member and associate member countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay): a grant for building the capacities of the MERCOSUR Confederation of Family Producers (COPROFAM) in representation, negotiation and preparation of policy proposals favouring family farming
Provisional list of projects to be presented to the Executive Board in September 2009:
- Bolivia: a loan of US$6 million to finance the application of the national strategy for poverty reduction in the poorest areas in the Potosí and Oruro departments, in the western highlands
- Brazil: a project to boost incomes and job opportunities for poor rural households in the semi-arid region of Piauí State
- Ecuador: a project to enhance human, social, economic and cultural assets of Afro-Ecuadoran, indigenous and mestizo people in the Ibarra-San Lorenzo corridor
- Haiti: a grant for US$5.6 million for a small-scale irrigation development project that is already under way, to help smallholders boost production
- Mexico: a community-based forest development project to improve living conditions for poor families in Oaxaca, Chiapas and Campeche
- Paraguay: a grant for US$3 million for the Paraguay Rural project, to combat rural poverty and build capacity among smallholder organizations
Programmes and projects approved in December 2008:
- Belize: a national programme in support of rural credit unions, to improve the availability of financing for poor rural people
- Guatemala: a programme in the northern region of the country to help convert subsistence activities into profitable and competitive enterprises, build infrastructure such as rural highways, and improve natural resource management
- Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela: a project designed to improve living conditions for Warao indigenous people in the Orinoco Delta. The project will work with indigenous communal councils to build their capacities and lay the groundwork for an autonomous territorial development process
Stories from the field
The first indigenous women’s anti-poverty competition in Panama
Participants included 50 associations of Ngäbe, Bugle, Embera and Wounaan women. Each of the 10 finalists received a prize of between US$150 and US$500. More importantly, all received recognition and an opportunity to share knowledge with the audience and with groups of indigenous microentrepreneurs from other regions.
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At the competition, Ngäbe and Embera women exchange ideas |
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“The idea for a women’s competition to reward small rural enterprises set up and led by women came up in Bolivia in 2005,” explains Jaana Keitaanranta, IFAD’s Country Programme Manager in Panama.
Two years later, La Paz again hosted a women’s competition, this time on a regional scale. Finalists from competitions held in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela participated. Cirina González, Gender Officer for the IFAD-financed Ngäbe-Buglé project, sat on the jury for the Andean region-wide competition. “That’s where we got the idea of replicating the Panama competition,” says Keitaanranta. “There are seven indigenous peoples, and the women are not always fully recognized for the socio-economic contribution they make.”
The competition was a long process that began with presenting the idea to several organizations that “quickly became enthusiastic”, recalls Keitaanranta. They include the Ngäbe-Buglé project that led the whole process, United Nations organizations, international donors and government institutions, including the Office of the First Lady. It followed a broad-based call for proposals among communities, pre-selection, and then the long-awaited final ceremony, which took place in Parque Omar on 16 January 2009. There the 10 finalist associations made public presentations of their projects, challenges encountered, results achieved and their vision for the future. They included agricultural associations such as the chicken breeders group, and groups of craftswomen who make products such as nagua, the traditional dresses worn by Ngäbe women.
“In Panama, ethnic groups don’t have many opportunities to mix. This competition gave the finalists a chance to meet other microentrepreneurs and exchange ideas on craftmaking or on their organizations. For many of these women, this was the first time they visited the capital city, much less the Canal,” says Keitaanranta.
“I’ve always been impressed with the strength shown by rural women in making the best of any opportunity that arises,” says IFAD’s Country Programme Manager. “They save, plan, learn, take manageable risks and support one another. And their accomplishments are reflected in the well-being of their families and communities.”
For further information on women’s competitions in the Andean region, read the whole story: Andean women’s competitions: everyone wins.
Latin America and the Caribbean at IFAD:
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Kanayo Nwanze, President-elect, second from right, talked with speakers on Latin American indigenous knowledge. |
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“Innovation speaks Spanish” – Extraordinary Latin American representation at the international knowledge fair held in Rome
From 20 to 22 January Rome was the site of Sharefair, an international knowledge exchange fair. The event was organized by several United Nations agencies, including FAO, IFAD and WFP, the international organization Biodiversity and the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The main objective was to enable participants to learn about and share successful knowledge management experiences in programmes and projects supported by the host organizations. The event also sought to empower linkages among participants to create a global network for knowledge exchange and the use of new participatory knowledge technologies. IFAD’s participation was striking in its thematic and geographic diversity and the innovative nature of its proposals, many of them from the Latin American region.
Representatives from seven regional programmes and Peru’s Sierra Sur rural development project travelled to Rome to present their experiences. Below is an excerpt from the evaluation meeting organized by the Latin America and Caribbean Division at the close of the international fair. “We are delighted that the Latin American and Caribbean participation at the fair was the best possible illustration of what IFAD is doing, the issues we are working on and, above all, who the protagonists of development are,” says Josefina Stubbs, Director of IFAD’s Latin America and Caribbean Division.
Experiences from Latin America and the Caribbean presented at ShareFair |
Organization |
Countries |
Knowledge festivals on campesino savings and life insurance |
Sierra Sur development project |
Peru |
Family farmers’ knowledge enriches policy dialogue |
MERCOSUR Commission on Family Farming |
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela |
Learning Routes Regional Programme: learning from local talent |
PROCASUR |
Regional – countries in Latin America and the Caribbean |
Ethno-education to recognize the value and importance of cultural identity |
Regional Support Programme for Rural Populations of African Descent in Latin America |
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Venezuela |
Building local capacity to formulate, administer and implement food security projects |
Foundation for Agricultural and Forestry Technology Development in Nicaragua (FUNICA) |
Nicaragua |
Strategic alliances for technological innovation in the coffee value chain |
FUNICA |
Nicaragua |
Best practices for promoting knowledge and dialogue among governments and rural organizations in Central America |
Regional Unit for Technical Assistance (RUTA) and Rural Regional Dialogue Programme |
Subregional – countries in Central America |
Cultural events as instruments of integration and local development |
Ciara Foundation/PRODECOP project |
Venezuela |
Regional knowledge management network on rural development |
FIDAMERICA |
Regional – countries in Latin America and the Caribbean |
José Sialer, Executive Director of the Sierra Sur project, added that direct participation by users of development actions was “extremely important”. “The participation of people like Dorina Hernandez [beneficiary of the Regional Programme in Support of Rural Populations of African Descent in Latin America] has given the sessions a different tone. Not only has it enriched the discussions, it has even changed the nature of the discussion and the original format. So my recommendation is that more of an effort be made in future initiatives to fund the participation of development protagonists,” said Sialer. “Our participation as project directors and managers is important, but their participation is essential,” he remarked.
For her part, Dorina Hernandez confirmed that it had been “very meaningful to be able to tell, in our own words, what is happening in our communities, and describe features of our culture and successful experiences such as the savings groups.” She added that the use of English as the primary language for communication limited opportunities for interaction.
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At the fair, IFAD made presentations on nine innovative knowledge management and exchange experiences in Latin America and the Caribbean. |
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As for the methodology used, all participants recognized that it was relevant, innovative and favourable to an exchange and dialogue on experiences, although they recommended that for future events more time should be devoted to each working group, “so we can talk about issues in greater depth”, and that more space should be provided for display stands.
Juan Moreno, from PROCASUR, welcomed the initiative as an opportunity to meet and talk. “The fair recognizes what was a tradition in the Latin America and Caribbean Division – to meet from time to time – and this is very positive. His colleague Ariel Halpern added that “The fair was also important in terms of learning about experiences from other regions that will enable us to continue innovating.”
The fair provided an incentive to continue working, pointed out Danilo Saavedra, of Nicaragua’s Foundation for Agricultural and Forestry Technology Development (FUNICA). “This event has been very educational for us. It has helped us realize that we are on the right track, but also that we need to move ahead and make more progress.”
Participants at the meeting agreed that the fair had helped make other organizations aware of the value and quality of IFAD-supported experiences in the region. According to Paolo Silveri, IFAD’s Country Programme Manager and Coordinator of Operations in the Southern Cone subregion, “IFAD came out of the meeting stronger than before. The event gave us insight into the wealth of knowledge we have in the operations we support, and our many experiences, points of view and issues were recognized by the other participants.”
Germán Escobar, of the Latin American Centre for Rural Development (RIMISP), which manages the regional network FIDAMERICA, recalled that this knowledge has been built up over a number of years, and that holding similar regional meetings in the past had contributed to knowledge-sharing among IFAD’s partners.
In closing the meeting, Division Director Josefina Stubbs returned to the idea of holding regional meetings in the near future “that would promote greater participation, including that of the private sector and national government institutions.”
For further information, seeIFAD’s regional programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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