Project ID: 1152
Executive Board Document: EB-2004-81-R-18-REV-1.pdf

Participatory Integrated-Watershed Management Project

The goal of PIWAMP is to empower poor rural communities to undertake and maintain integrated watershed-management activities that enhance their livelihoods and protect their natural resources.

The specific objectives of PIWAMP are: (a) to strengthen the capacity of rural communities and service providers to plan, implement, manage and maintain watershed management in a sustainable manner and (b) to provide resources to local communities so that they can implement their watershed development activities.

The following principles will guide PIWAMP implementation: (a) the use of a demand-driven approach building on the successful LADEP participatory approach; (b) the response to the requests of communities for intervention by starting in the lowlands and progressively including the uplands so as to address the whole watershed; (c) the promotion of labour intensive methods, not heavy construction equipment (road graders or the like); (d) the building up of the capacity of the communities to set up village development committees and watershed farmers committees and develop watershed development plans, including an operations and maintenance (O&M) plan; (e) the mainstreaming of gender and youth issues in all project activities; (f) the development of partnerships and close collaboration with other donors, NGOs, community-based organizations and civil society; and (g) collaboration with IFAD's RFCIP so as to promote the successful use of short and medium term rural credit and also the IFAD technical assistance grant to the Center so as to promote the participatory learning and action research (PLAR) approach for the adaptation and dissemination of technologies.

Loan Amount

SDR 4.85 million (equivalent to approximately USD 7.1 million)

Total project cost:USD 17.5 million

Cooperating Institution:

African Development Bank (AfDB)

Project ID: 1100
Executive Board Document: EB-98-65-R-11-Rev-1

Rural Finance and Community Initiatives Project (RFCIP)

The overall goal of this six-year IFAD-initiated project, is to improve the household food security and incomes of rural farm families in the deprived areas of the country. More specifically, the project aims to:

(i) consolidate and expand rural financial services;

(ii) increase access to a diversity of nutritional food and promote the means of boosting rural incomes; and

(iii) promote self-help activities that can enhance household food security and provide a focal point for strengthening the capacity of village groups and their members to more effectively establish their development priorities.

It is estimated that a total of 275 000 persons will benefit, representing the families of 100 000 members of the mutualistic village savings and credit associations (VISACAs) to be supported by the project. In addition, and to some extent overlapping with the latter, about 30 000 farmers will benefit by adopting/improving m inor crop production and 3 759 households (40 000 persons) by adopting improved practices in the raising of small ruminants. The population of up to 150 villages (with an estimated population of 85 000) will benefit from enhanced household food security as a result of about 450 miniprojects to be financed on a matching-grant basis. The capacity for development of both the leadership and members of up to 300 traditional women's and men's groups (kafos) will be strengthened. The VISACA network will be expanded from the current 37 to an estimated 80 branches nationwide. Innovative Features: The fully participatory approach built into the design will ensure that participants have a direct influence on project activities and government technicians will be trained in participatory, demand-driven approaches. Use will be made of the traditional village-based system of groups (kafos), most villages having at least two kafos: one for women and one for men. This highly important element of social and economic life has proved to be a more efficient tool for a participatory approach than project-instigated groups. Prominence will also be given to information/education/ communication activities that seek both to improve the knowledge base at the village level and to involve beneficiaries in recording and evaluating the impact of initiatives supported by the project.

Loan amount:

SDR 6.6 million (approximately USD 9.2 million) on highly concessional terms.

Total project costs:

Estimated at USD 10.6 million, of which USD 1.0 million will be provided by the Government and USD 0.4 million by the beneficiaries.

Cooperating institution:

The project will be supervised directly by IFAD.