Brunca Region – craftworker of the Flor de Boruca Group. This group provides entrepreneurial skills training to indigenous woman-headed households, helping them link to the growing Central Pacific tourism market.

Programme area. The programme will target 21 municipalities in three of Costa Rica’s poorest regions (Brunca, Central Pacific and Chorotega). The municipalities are characterized by poverty and low human development, particularly among indigenous groups.

Target group. The target group comprises rural men and women, including members of indigenous groups and unemployed young people. Many work as small-scale producers, microentrepreneurs, craftworkers, subsistence fishers or rural labourers. With the exception of households previously targeted by the IFAD-funded Agricultural Development Project for the Peninsula of Nicoya, most target group members have never had access to technical and financial support services. They therefore require specific complementary support to consolidate their organizations and businesses. Some 25,000 people (or 6,500 households) are expected to benefit directly from the programme and about 16,000 people (or 4,000 households) indirectly.

Programme objectives. The programme’s general objective is to improve the living conditions and increase the income-generating activities of small-scale producers, rural women (including heads of households), young people, indigenous peoples and other poor and vulnerable populations by broadening their access to competitive markets. This will be achieved through entrepreneurial business development that promotes gender equity, the participation of young people and environmental protection. The programme’s specific objectives are to: (i) strengthen the organizational, managerial and entrepreneurial capacities of the rural poor and their organizations by developing local (economic and social) microenterprises; (ii) enhance the productive and entrepreneurial capacities of producers’ organizations by developing sustainable and competitive agribusinesses; (iii) establish and strengthen local markets for technical and financial services to support business plan implementation; and (iv) transform the Agrarian Development Institute into a national rural development institute.

Programme description. The programme will have four components:

• Local capacity strengthening. This component will support human and social capital development, with an emphasis on producer organization consolidation and the formulation and implementation of business plans.

• Sustainable agribusiness creation. Under this component, the programme will provide technical support, infrastructure and equipment for the implementation of selected business plans.

• Expansion of local services markets. This will include supply-demand analyses of technical and financial services as required by business plans.

• Institutional strengthening and programme management. Activities under this component will facilitate programme administration, the incorporation of a gender perspective and gender-related activities in the programme, the establishment of  dedicated monitoring and evaluation as part of a broader learning system, and improvement of public institutions and governance related to rural development.

Costa Rica, IFAD-funded Agricultural Development Project for the Peninsula of Nicoya After school, children in this coffee-growing family help their parents prepare bags of coffee seedlings.

Important features. The proposed programme is consistent with IFAD's country strategic opportunities programme and is framed within the country's National Development Plan (2006-2010). Among its innovative features, the following are worth noting: (i) the promotion of a cooperation linkage between public and private sectors, including value chain agents and private service providers; (ii) the strengthening of local service markets, using financial resources available through microfinance services and the public development fund; and (iii) the establishment of the programme management unit within the Ministry of Agriculture to facilitate institutional learning.

Potential cofinanciers and domestic contribution. The Central American Bank for Economic Integration is expected to provide US$4.29 million in cofinancing. The Government's contribution is estimated at US$3.09 million and the beneficiaries’ contribution US$0.75 million.

Facts and figures Region: Latin America and the Caribbean Programme name: National Rural and Entrepreneurial Development Programme Country: Costa Rica Programme ID number: 1417 Nature of programme: Rural development Programme cost (provisional): US$17.32 million Estimated IFAD loan: US$9.19 million Cofinancing gap: See section below on potential cofinanciers Domestic contribution (provisional): US$3.84 million Proposed terms: Ordinary Stage of programme cycle: Design completed Next step in programme development: Loan negotiations Tentative date for consideration by the Executive Board: September 2008 Programme duration: Six years Tentative programme start-up date: To be determined Implementing agency: Ministry of Agriculture Borrower: Republic of Costa Rica Hot links IFAD operations in Costa Rica Planned project activities disclaimer Contact information Ms J. Stubbs Director, Latin America and the Caribbean Division Mr E. Murguía-Oropeza Country Programme Manager e.murguia@ifad.org International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Via Paolo di Dono, 44, 00142 Rome, Italy Tel: + 39 0654591 e-mail: ifad@ifad.org