NGO/ECP Activities in 2001

NGO/ECP Activities in 2000

Highlights from ECP Projects under Implemention in 2000

Partners in On-going IFAD Projects or Programmes

Apart from one grant that principally financed NGO participation in the meeting of the IFAD/NGO Consultation Steering Committee and one grant that financed the tenth IFAD/NGO Consultation, 26 ECP grants were approved for a total amount of USD 1 760 000. NGOs themselves contributed, in cash or kind, an additional amount of USD 1 450 221. The average size of ECP grants in 2000 was USD 66 200, and 72% of all ECP grants went to Southern NGOs.

Overall, ECP activities in 2000 focused on: (i) capacity-building and institutional development; (ii) diversification of the livelihoods of poor rural populations based on their natural resource base; (iii) piloting activities for rehabilitation and reconstruction in post-crisis situations; (iv) training of beneficiaries; and (v) development and/or dissemination of communications and information technologies – an emergent trend in ECP financing. Within the above broad areas, promotion of agricultural production, effective organization of financial services, development of rural enterprises and development of market linkages were common components of many ECP grants. Several ECP projects focused on providing appropriate responses to the specific requirements of indigenous people, women and youth. Most of the ECP projects were directly linked with IFAD’s ongoing or forthcoming investments.

Institutional Support and Capacity-Building

Following the trend of recent years, a considerable number of ECP grants will finance NGO activities aimed at capacity-building of beneficiaries and of their organizations/institutions.

In Guinea, for example, the Centre Africain de Formation pour le Développement (CENAFOD) will test and assess three alternative methods for capacity-building and institutional development to ascertain the organizational structure that would best facilitate the participatory processes that need to be developed for the implementation of beneficiary-initiated activities in the forthcoming Programme for Participatory Rural Development in Haute-Guinée (PPDR-HG).

Another ECP grant, in The Gambia, will strengthen the capacity of the recently formed apex organization, the National Women Farmers Association (NAWFA), which brings together the country’s 72 sesame growers associations (SGAs). NAWFA will be strengthened to develop organizational linkages between SGAs and the network of village savings and credit associations in order to facilitate women’s groups’ access to rural financial services. The work of this ECP project will contribute to the implementation of the Rural Finance and Community Initiatives Project, which aims at improving household food security and incomes by boosting on- and off-farm production through better provision of financial services and the efficient implementation of group activities by men’s and women’s groups.

In Ethiopia, the Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institutions (AEMFI) will receive ECP support to build its own capacity for: (i) the creation of an inventory of microfinance activities in Ethiopia; (ii) the organization of training and exchange visits for rural communities; (iii) the promotion of policy dialogue among microfinance institutions (MFIs) and policy-makers, donors and the public sector; and (iv) the development of an overall strategy for knowledge and institutional capacity-building of Ethiopian MFIs necessary for long-term sustainability in delivering financial services to the rural poor.

The College of Rural Development/Centre for Integrated Agricultural Development (CORD/CIAD) in China will receive ECP financing to develop an effective participatory methodology for the implementation, evaluation and impact assessment of a select number of IFAD projects presently under execution in the country.

A Swiss NGO, Schweizerische Arbeitsgemeinschaft für die Berggebiete (SAB) (Swiss Centre for Mountain Regions), will help establish a Caucasus Mountain Network to support: (i) the implementation of IFAD’s recently approved Rural Development Programme for Mountainous and Highland Areas in Azerbaijan and Georgia; and (ii) the design of an eventual regional collaboration programme between the above two programmes, presently under consideration. SAB, with a long experience in development work with mountain rural populations, will finance 75% of this ECP programme.

In Yemen, the Worldview International Foundation (WIF) received an ECP grant to assist project management units of four ongoing IFAD-supported projects in the country and build their capacity to deliver extension and communication support to their target groups. In addition to contributing to the impact of the projects currently under way, the lessons from this ECP project will provide valuable information for future IFAD operations in the country.

Diversification and Improvement of Rural Livelihoods

Given the limited productivity and ecological fragility of the natural resource base of many poor rural people living in marginal areas, IFAD is investigating the possibilities of developing alternative, diversified production systems based on an integrated approach to natural resource management and commercialization.

An ECP grant to a Zimbabwean NGO, Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources (SAFIRE), aimed precisely at investigating the prospects and opportunities for the development of a regional programme in countries of Southern Africa (Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe) for the production of natural resource-derived products and their commercialization, globally and within the region.

Diversification and commercialization of production is also the aim of an ECP grant to Fondación San Cristobal in Chile through the promotion of fruit and vegetable production and marketing in rural communities in Villarrica where there is a very high concentration of indigenous peoples (Mapuche).

Development of community-based ecotourism is another promising alternative to diversify and improve rural livelihoods, and testing and piloting of activities in this sector lend themselves to ECP financing. Two grants in 2000 were extended to this end. More specifically, a grant to the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) will finance the implementation of a multi-country programme promoting natural resource management and ecotourism in the islands of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Similarly, the development of tourism as a means to increase local employment opportunities in San Martin de Porras, in Peru, is the objective of an ECP grant to Poqen Kanchay, a local NGO specializing in the development of innovative income-generation projects for the indigenous populations of the country. Through the rehabilitation of a local archaeological site and potential tourist attraction, Guillarumiyoc, the project will also pave the way for the development of several rural microenterprises linked to tourism: from tourist accommodations to local craft production and sale, to the promotion of local ethnic foods and cuisine. The project is an innovative experiment that will provide knowledge on methods through which poor communities can valorize their environment and their cultural patrimony. The fact that Poqen Kanchay is providing 65% of the project costs and has mobilized an additional 5% from the community itself are indications of local ownership, commitment and interest.

Support to Indigenous and Ethnic Minorities

In addition to the two projects above promoting ecotourism to diversify the livelihoods of indigenous populations, two additional ECP projects will be testing innovative interventions in order to provide insights for the design and implementation of loan-funded projects promoting the development of indigenous and ethnic communities.

The Federación de Tribus Indígenas Xicaques de Yoro (FETRIXY) (Federation of Xicaque Tribes of Yoro), in Honduras, will support the productive activities of 500 indigenous families by establishing six rural credit and savings banks and by providing them with the necessary training to begin income-generating activities making better use of their ecosystem. By targeting the poorer and more isolated indigenous tribes of the Francisco Morazan department of Honduras, this ECP project is expected to test and assess a participatory rural finance methodology for the IFAD-funded National Fund for Sustainable Rural Development Project (FONADERS) whose second phase is presently under formulation.

In Chiapas, Mexico, the Organización de Médicos Indígenas del Estado de Chiapas (OMIECH) (Organization of Indigenous Doctors of the State of Chiapas) has been provided with a small ECP grant to establish a garden of Mayan medicinal herbs that can satisfy important health needs of the ethnic groups indigenous to Chiapas. Most importantly, the knowledge gained from this project will serve as an input into ongoing IFAD projects such as the Agricultural Development Programme for the Western Region (PLANDERO) in Honduras and the Development Project for Marginal Rural Communities in the Ixtlera Region (IXTLERA) in Mexico, both of which involve the growth of medicinal herbs to satisfy the health needs of the beneficiaries and as additional sources of income for them.

Post-Crisis Rehabilitation and Development

Three ECP grants focus on post-crisis rehabilitation and development. The first, extended to Deutsche Welthungerhilfe (DWWH) (German Agro-Action), will finance activities in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo – formerly a major food-producing region in the country and now afflicted by great rural poverty and famine. DWWH, with its long specialization in emergency and rehabilitation projects, will implement a number of activities aimed at increasing the production of basic food crops, mainly cassava. In addition, through the introduction of adapted food-processing technologies, it will help diversify rural incomes and reduce women’s workload. The grant will also support the rehabilitation of key rural roads.

A second grant, to World Vision International, will assist the reconstruction of the livelihood systems of 800 low-income rural households in the Bobanaro district of East Timor. With the development of micro-watersheds as its focus, the project will mobilize village groups and local communities and establish women’s self-help groups for community development and the marketing of local produce, which will assist in the diversification and better utilization of resources within the watershed.

The main objective of the third ECP grant aimed at post-crisis rehabilitation and development is to build the capacity of district NGOs in view of their major involvement in the implementation of the Post-Crisis Programme for Participatory Integrated Development in Rainfed Areas (PIDRA) in Indonesia, approved by IFAD’s Executive Board in May 2000.

Training Activities

In Chad, Secours Catholique du Développement (SECADEV) (Catholic Relief Development Association) will provide functional literacy, management and technical training to village leaders and members of farmers’ groups and organizations to strengthen their capacity for the implementation of the IFAD Food Security Project in the Northern Guéra Region – Phase II (PSANG II). Most of the groups and organizations involved in the ECP project, having reached a certified level of competence, will then assume, by the third project year (PY), the full responsibility of PSANG II management.

An ECP grant to the Associazione per la Solidarietà Internazionale in Asia (ASIA) (Association for International Solidarity in Asia), an Italian NGO, will contribute to the economic and social development of local Tibetan communities in the Hainan Prefecture through the organization of intensive training courses in English, computers and teaching methodologies for Tibetan teachers.

Economic Empowerment of Women and Youth

The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) will provide about 500 poor rural women in remote villages in Northern Lebanon with skills training in cottage industries and will establish a small-scale credit scheme on a revolving basis to serve their needs. Credit will be extended to trained women organized in groups as cooperatives. The activities of this ECP project will complement the ongoing IFAD-financed Irrigation Rehabilitation and Modernization Project in the country.

In Côte d’Ivoire, the Association Française des Volontaires du Progrès (AFVP) (French Association of Volunteers for Progress) will improve the living conditions of rural women and youth in the Department of Katolia using participatory planning methods to foster grass-roots initiatives in horticulture and micro-irrigation. Such methods will then be applied to the recently approved Small Horticulture Producer Support Project (PPMS).

Similarly, in Morocco, the economic empowerment of rural women and unemployed youths is the overall objective of another ECP grant extended to the Fondation pour le Développement Local et le Parténariat (FONDEP). FONDEP, contributing 40% of total project costs, will create a credit fund to provide financial services that will enable beneficiaries to undertake income-generating activities or develop rural microenterprises. This ECP project will be directly linked to the implementation of IFAD’s Rural Development Project in the Mountain Zones of Al-Haouz Province.

The development of methodologies to mainstream gender issues in future food security projects in Kenya is the overall objective of an ECP grant to World Vision International (Kenya). This ECP project will be implemented in close collaboration with IFAD’s Eastern Province Horticulture and Traditional Food Crops Project in the country.

Provision of Communications/Information Technology

The development and implementation of information and communication technology (ICT) and networks to adequately address the specific needs of poor rural communities, especially those living in marginal environments, represents one of the major challenges facing many developing countries.

Partners in Rural Development will receive ECP support to establish a regional information network, the Southern Africa Drought Technology Network (SAD-NET), which will link sources of small-scale food production, environment management, vulnerability reduction and rural marketing information with development practitioners and rural communities in drought-prone regions in Southern Africa. This regional activity will provide a better understanding of how ICT can be applied for the practical benefit of smallholder farmers and rural communities in the region.

In Nigeria, the Food Basket Foundation International (FBFI) will organize an information-gathering and dissemination system to provide regular and continuous documentation on the state of food security and nutrition in numerous targeted communities. Project managers and policy-makers will use the data for the early identification of rural populations at greatest risk of famine and malnutrition. It is hoped that the information will trigger timely and appropriate responses to nutrition crises when and if they arise. One of the project’s key elements is the promotion of partnerships between NGOs and community-based organizations (CBOs) as well as government agencies in order to pool resources and maximize impact. This ECP project is expected to support and improve the effectiveness and long-term sustainability of selected IFAD activities in Nigeria.

Support to the Implementation of the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD)

Continuing the practice of past years to provide ECP financing to CCD-related endeavours, one ECP grant to EarthAction-US will finance a number of activities and the organization of diverse events in the United States in order to increase awareness on global food security, land degradation and water scarcity issues and to increase the political will in that country to support the implementation of the Convention.

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