Project area. The project covers two states in Eastern Sudan, Gadaref and Kassala, in particular two localities (El Soubagh in Gadaref and New Halfa in Kassala) served by the Butana Integrated Rural Development Project. Beneficiaries. The total number of beneficiaries is estimated at 100,000, equivalent to about 15,000 producer households. An additional 1,700 women are also expected to trade in the main markets serviced by the road. Poor households constitute 80 per cent of the rural population in the area historically known as Butana, which is now divided into different administrative units that are part of several of the eastern states, including Gadaref and Kassala. Project objectives. The project will contribute towards the goal of empowering the rural poor in such a way that they are able to increase their food security, incomes and resilience to shocks. Its main objective is to improve the socio-economic conditions of the rural population by widening access to productive services and markets, particularly for poor households. Project description. In addition to project management, the project will have two components:
Important features. The project is aligned with the strategy of the Government's Agricultural Revival Programme, which emphasizes rural infrastructure, particularly rural feeder roads, as investments of primary importance to agricultural transformation. It is also designed to improve the access of the rural poor to markets, which is one of the key objectives of the IFAD Strategic Framework 2007-2010 and the country strategic opportunities programme (2009-2012). In The Sudan in general and the project area in particular, investments in rural roads that facilitate market access by the rural poor constitute an effective strategy to reduce rural poverty, by decreasing transport and transaction costs in the movement of agricultural products and increasing job opportunities. The main innovative feature of the project is the community road fund and its governance mechanism, which involves the communities in both replenishing and managing the fund. The proposed project will complement the existing IFAD-funded projects (Butana Integrated Rural Development Project and the Gash Sustainable Livelihoods Regeneration Project) by raising labour and land productivity through improved physical access to markets and services. The project will also seek complementarities with other donor and government interventions in the project area. Potential cofinanciers. Interested cofinanciers are invited to contact IFAD. |
|
 |
 |
 |
