Project ID: 1093
Executive Board Document: EB-99-66-R-16-Rev-1

Rural Diversification Programme

In Mauritius, the poor live in deprived rural and peri-urban areas and have limited educational and vocational skills. Furthermore, their opportunities for generating incomes through self-employment are restricted. They are the targeted beneficiaries of this six-year IFAD-initiated programme. The programme is designed to improve the technical, organizational and managerial capacity of the poor. Specifically, the programme aims to:

- enable beneficiaries to diversify and expand household incomes derived from agriculture, fishing, microenterprises and self-help community initiatives.

Programme activities concentrate on the relatively deprived and neglected northern and eastern regions of Mauritius and on the island of Rodrigues, where rural poverty is wide-spread. Beneficiary participation will be secured by involving them actively in the design, planning and implementation of all activities, and a gender-impact assessment will be conducted to solidify the programme's gender focus. The programme will benefit approximately 15 180 households, of which about 4 580 are direct beneficiaries, consisting of 1 160 small farmers, 1 220 artisanal fishermen and 2 200 microentrepreneurs.

Innovative Features:

- The programme will seek to bring about a new orientation for rural investments in Mauritius. Wherever possible, the major initiatives will be taken by the rural groups and poor househol ds themselves, and the Government will play a supportive and catalytic role rather than acting as a top-down decision-maker.

- Programme activities will be PRA-led and beneficiary owned.

- Qualified private-sector operators and NGOs, both local and international, will help facilitate targeting, group mobilization and programme implementation.

- Community development activities and microfinance will provide a complementary platform for transfering financial resources and investments for productive purposes to the rural poor.

- Specific emphasis will be placed on promoting entrepreneurship and business activities by rural women, in collaboration with the Ministry of Women, Family Welfare and Child Development.

- WUAs will be trained and encouraged to be responsible for water use and operation and maintenance of the facilities and, possibly, input supply and marketing functions.

- The programme will support fisheries using Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) and will introduce an element of joint management wherein the fishermen themselves will contribute to FAD/O&M and will have a voice in decisions about annual fishing and FAD management plans.

Loan Amount:

SDR 8.2 million (approximately USD 11.1 million) on intermediate terms.

Total Programme Costs:

Estimated at USD 16.6 million, of which USD 4.7 million will be provided by the Government, USD 189 000 by national financial intermediaries and USD 559 000 by the beneficiaries.

Cooperating Institution:

UNOPS.