Project ID: 1311
Executive Board document: EB-2005-86-R-16-Rev-1

Agricultural Rehabilitation Programme in Orientale Province

Who are the beneficiaries? The programme will be located in Orientale Province, in the north-eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and will cover five production zones in the Tshopo district and three axes around the district’s capital, Kisangani. It will focus on two areas within the district – Isangi and Basako – both identified as priority areas in IFAD’s country strategy and the Government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. It will directly benefit about 55 000 poor farmer and fisher households living in the area, paying particular attention to vulnerable groups, such as single mothers, widows and orphans, youths and old people.

Why are they poor? The long period of crisis and institutional instability that the country has undergone has negatively affected agricultural and fisheries activities in the programme area. Rural development is seriously constrained by landlocked areas of production and lack of access to markets, working tools and technologies. Transportation, communication and social infrastructure has either been destroyed or has deteriorated due to a prolonged lack of maintenance. As a result, agricultural and fisheries productivity and production are low, and the population has difficulties accessing basic social services (primary health care, primary education, nutrition, drinking water and sanitation).

What will the programme do for them? The programme will contribute to sustainably improving the target group’s incomes, food security, nutritional status and living standards, and to strengthening their natural resource management capabilities. More specifically, it will: (a) improve, on a sustainable basis, physical and intangible access to markets and production zones; (b) strengthen the self-promotional and management skills of rural populations and their grass-roots organizations, and the capacity of public services to support rural development; (c) intensify, diversify and add value to agricultural and fisheries production; and (d) improve access to basic social services. The implementation of the second subcomponent will initially be supported by the activities planned in the framework of a grant to be finalized at the appraisal stage.

Loan and grant amount:
Loan: SDR 10.95 million (equivalent to approximately USD 15.53 million) Grant: SDR 210 000 (equivalent to approximately USD 300 000)

Total programme cost: USD 26 million

Project ID: 1244
Executive Board document: EB-2004-81-R-17-REV-1.pdf

Agricultural Revival Programme in Equateur Province

The overall goal of the programme is to contribute to enhancing food security and improving the livelihoods of the rural poor. The programme's development objective is to restore and improve sustainable livelihoods for rural communities.

Specifically, the programme aims to: (i) restore and improve agricultural productive assets, promote equitable and sustainable access by farmers to markets and raise agricultural income; (ii) restore and improve the productive assets of the fisheries sector, promote equitable and sustainable access of fishermen (and women) to markets, and raise their income; and (iii) restore and improve the access of rural communities to basic social services. A special focus will be placed on addressing the development constraints faced by the poorest rural categories, in particular widows, pygmies and other vulnerable groups.

Loan Amount

SDR 10.0 million (equivalent to approximately USD 14.8 million)

Total programme cost:USD 22.6 million

Cooperating Institution:

United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)