Programme area. The programme will be implemented in all rural areas nationwide.

Target group. The programme will directly benefit about 6,000 poor rural households (or 30,000 people), including indigenous (Mayan) households, women-headed households and young people.

Programme objectives. The programme’s overall goal is to help reduce poverty and extreme poverty levels in rural areas. Its specific objective is to expand the access of small farmers and other underserved rural people to financial services. More specifically, the project will seek to: (i) strengthen the governance, managerial and operational capabilities of credit unions (and other eligible financial institutions) and help develop and test new financial products aimed at poor rural people; (ii) enlarge credit unions’ lending capacity for the rural sector (particularly for microcredit operations, building on IFAD's previous experiences in Toledo); and (iii) establish strong management and monitoring and evaluation systems that will ensure a timely flow of information among different line ministries and with the Central Bank of Belize.

Programme description. In addition to programme management, the programme will have two components:

• Institution- and capacity-building. The programme will provide a tailored capacity-building package (technical assistance, training, hardware, software and information systems) to eligible credit unions and other selected financial institutions in order to help them expand their operations to rural clients and diversify their financial services, adapting them to the needs of the target population.
• Rural credit line. The programme will establish a rural credit line to be channelled to credit unions (and other selected financial institutions) in order to leverage their lending capacity and reach the unserved rural poor.

Important features. The economic potential of Belize's rural population is substantially unexploited, in part because of their lack of access to credit and other financial services. The strengthening of rural microfinancial services tailored to the needs of poor small farmers and rural microenterprises will be a critical means to enhance rural development in the country. The proposed programme is consistent with the Government's policies and in line with IFAD's strategy to ensure that poor rural people have better access to, and the skills and organization they need to take advantage of, a broad range of financial services (an objective of the IFAD Strategic Framework 2007-2010). The programme will build on the experience gained during implementation of previous programmes in the country. It will also form alliances with a number of complementary programmes (e.g. the European Union-funded Belize Rural Development Programme) and with the extension and marketing component of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Potential cofinanciers. Discussions are ongoing with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration.

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Photo caption 1: IFAD photo by Franco Mattioli - Belize - Toledo Small Farmers Development Project - Woman shuffles cacao beans drying in the sun on a drying tray.

Photo caption 2: IFAD photo by Franco Mattioli - Belize - Toledo Small Farmers Development Project - Mayan Indian farmer Justiniano Salam uses a machete to cut weeds on his farm near the village of San Antonio where he grows mainly maize and beans. The project assists him through extension and technical training.

Facts and figures Region: Latin America and the Caribbean Programme ID number: 1456 Nature of programme: Microfinance Programme cost (provisional): US$5.0 million Estimated IFAD loan: To be determined Cofinancing gap: See section on potential cofinanciers Domestic contribution: To be determined Proposed terms: Ordinary Stage of programme cycle: Inception completed Next step in programme development: Project design scheduled for March-April 2008 following general elections in Belize Tentative date for consideration by the Executive Board: December 2008 Programme duration: Six years Tentative project start-up date: 2009 Implementing agency: Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (to be confirmed) Borrower: Government of Belize Hot links IFAD operations in Belize Planned project activities disclaimer Contact information Ms J. Stubbs Director, Latin America and the Caribbean Division Mr. M. Camagni Country Programme Manager e-mail: m.camagni@ifad.org International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Via Paolo di Dono, 44, 00142 Rome, Italy Tel: + 39 0654591 e-mail: ifad@ifad.org