Project ID: 1456
Executive Board Document: EB 2008/95/R.29/Rev.1

Rural Finance Programme

The rural population of Belize has substantial potential for economic growth, but the lack of access to credit and other financial services hinders the development of income-generating activities. The purpose of the nationwide programme is to strengthen inclusive and sustainable rural financial services that are tailored to the needs of poor farmers and small rural enterprises. The programme complements ongoing poverty reduction programmes, and its overall objectives are to enhance rural development and reduce poverty.

The target group includes small-scale farmers, microentrepreneurs, craft workers, subsistence fishers, rural wage workers and indigenous communities, and there is a high percentage of women and young people among them. The programme emphasizes the goal of reaching disadvantaged groups, particularly Mayans.

Specific objectives are to:

• improve the governance, management and operational capacities of credit unions
• strengthen the Belize Credit Union League to expand its capacity for developing, coordinating and training
• provide rural financial services, particularly for agricultural production and non-agricultural enterprises
• foster the capitalization of credit unions and clients through affiliation of rural poor people and mobilization of savings
• establish a knowledge management system

Participating credit unions will receive a support package to help them expand and diversify their financial services, adapting them for poor rural clients.

The programme will build on the experience of the credit union movement in the country and on IFAD’s previous operation in the southern region of Belize, scaling up on the national level the support provided to expanding rural financial services.

Project ID: 1067
Executive Board Document: EB-98-63-R-20-Rev-1

Community-Initiated Agriculture and Resource Management Project

The overall goal of this seven-year IFAD-initiated project will be to develop the productive potential of balanced, sustainable land-use systems and ensure accessible support services to poor smallholder farm families. To this end, the project will assist in developing agricultural and natural resource potential through:

(i) strengthening communities and local organizations in development planning and management, and supporting the preparation of co-managed implementation and associated investment proposals;

(ii) developing financing channels that provide sustainable services promoting savings and access to credit; and

(iii) institutionalizing and reinforcing a local, demand-driven delivery system of rural development services. The target population will total some 25 000 people, or 3 900 families, in all rural communities in the southern region, including T oledo and Stann Creek Districts, which have the highest percentage of rural poor in the country.

Innovative Features:

The project addresses the extreme geographical isolation and socio-economic marginality of indigenous communities. The target population is a complicated ethnic mix of different groups, such as Mayans, Creoles, Garifunas, Mestizos and East Indians. The aim is to involve beneficiaries directly in the design and implementation of project activities and to finance small-scale productive infrastructure investments proposed by communities or producer groups. The participatory nature of the project is reflected by the fact that the target groups are represented in both the project steering committee and the local approval committee.

Loan amount:

SDR 1.8 million (approximately USD 2.3 million) on ordinary terms.

Total project costs:

Estimated at USD 6.8 million, of which USD 3.4 million will be provided by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and USD 1.1 million by the Government.

Cooperating institution:

CDB.