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 Programme area. The programme will cover all of mainland Mauritius and the island of Rodrigues, although on the mainland it will be progressively more closely defined for small-scale planters affected by the sugar industry reforms.
Target groups. The target groups are (i) all of the rural poor who will benefit from programme support for the pro-poor reform agenda; (ii) small-scale fishers on the mainland and Rodrigues, including women on Rodrigues who earn a living by fishing for octopus (about 3,800 households); (iii) an estimated 25 per cent of small-scale planters no longer able to grow sugar cane following sector reforms (about 6,500 households); and (iv) rural textile workers made redundant by reforms in the textile industry and other unemployed young people and women, including prisoners (up to 8,000 individuals).
- Programme objectives. The programme’s goal is to support the Government’s pro-poor agenda within the framework of the country’s reform programme, the medium-term expenditure framework and the programme-based budgeting approach. This will be achieved by: (i) facilitating the development of pro-poor policies and programmes within the Ministry of Agro-industries and Fisheries (MAIF) and the Rodrigues Regional Assembly (RRA); (ii) achieving sustainable improvements in coastal communities’ livelihoods, which are threatened by overexploitation of the marine environment; and (iii) helping smallholder sugar cane planters affected by reform to diversify their income-generating enterprises and improve their prospects of employment.
- Programme description. The programme will have three components:
- Support for pro-poor reform and institutional change. The programme will support the Government’s reform programme and facilitate the development of both an improved fisheries policy framework and pro-poor policies within MAIF and the RRA. A facilitation team will be established to: (a) help mainstream the medium-term expenditure framework in MAIF so that all programme areas have pro-poor objectives and indicators; (b) support the integration of programme activities in RRA budgets; and (c) carry out a comprehensive overhaul of marine resource management in order to counter the alarming decline in fish catch and promote ecologically sustainable practices.
- Marine resource management. The programme will assist coastal communities in establishing profitable and sustainable fishing and aquaculture enterprises. The main focus will be the small-scale fishers of Rodrigues and the poorer fishing communities on the mainland. The programme will provide direct support to households so that they can pursue alternative income-generating activities, including off-lagoon fishing, small-scale lagoon aquaculture, and employment in marine park management and ecotourism. It will also provide community development grants to coastal communities through an empowerment programme, and vocational training to fisher households.
- Diversification of rural incomes and employment. The programme will assist rural households in establishing more profitable farming and non-farming enterprises, and/or in improving their employment prospects. It will support options already identified including land consolidation, clustering and networking, sourcing finance for production alternatives, agroprocessing and marketing, training and demonstrations, and preparing business plans. Sustainable land management initiatives will address the need to retire some of the most marginal sugar land. Community development grants and vocational training are also foreseen under this component.
Important features. The Government’s reform programme is itself innovative and will require significant shifts in the way the Government conducts its business, including a specific focus on pro-poor policy reform. This will be difficult to achieve in the short term, but by supporting a reform process in MAIF, IFAD will help the Government realize its wider ambitions of making service delivery more efficient and effective, while emphasizing the need for a more pro-poor focus and protection of the most vulnerable. The introduction of fisheries management plans is an example of the innovative changes in approach being introduced. The programme will also lead to a number of technical options being available to the identified target groups. Many of these options are new to the country, especially the range of aquaculture enterprises promoted and the support for marine conservation areas. There is significant potential for scaling up these activities throughout the lagoons of both the mainland and Rodrigues.
Cofinancier and domestic contribution. Cofinancing of around US$1.0 million is expected from the state government of Western Australia and the United Nations Development Programme/Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme. The domestic contribution is expected to amount to US$0.5 million from beneficiaries and US$6.6 million from the Government. However, part of the Government’s contribution will be drawn from the IFAD loan supporting the ongoing Rural Diversification Programme.
Photo caption 1: IFAD photo by Abla Benhammouche - Mauritius. Man fishing near a fish aggregating device.
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| Facts and figures |
- Region: Eastern and Southern Africa
- Programme ID number: 1357
- Nature of programme: Rural economic development
- Programme cost (provisional): US$14.2 million
- Estimated IFAD loan (provisional): US$5.6 million (plus a grant of US$0.4 million)
- Cofinancing gap: See section on potential cofinanciers
- Domestic contribution (provisional): US$7.1 million
- Proposed terms: Ordinary
- Stage of programme cycle: Under appraisal
- Next step in programme development: Negotiations
- Tentative date for consideration by the
- Executive Board: April 2008
- Programme duration: Six years
- Tentative project start-up date: June 2008
- Implementing agency: Ministry of Agro-industries and Fisheries
- Borrower: Republic of Mauritius
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| Contact information |
Mr I. De Willebois
Director, Eastern and Southern Africa Division
Ms A. Benhammouche
Country Programme Manager
e-mail: a.benhammouche@ifad.org
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Via Paolo di Dono, 44, 00142 Rome, Italy
Tel: +39 0654591
e-mail: ifad@ifad.org |
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