Project ID: 1293
Executive Board document: EB-2005-84-R-26-REV-1

Pilot Community-Based Rural Infrastructure Project in Highland Areas

Who are the beneficiaries? The target group will be poor communities in areas of economic potential in the highlands of Yemen where lack of basic infrastructure and isolation are limiting factors on development and major contributors to poverty. The project will focus on upgrading the lowest category of village access roads, known as quaternary roads, which reach the most disadvantaged villages in the highlands. The 215 kilometres of village access roads improved under the project will benefit over 300 000 people. A further 100 000 people are expected to benefit from better access to drinking water and improved water quality.

Why are they poor? Despite the significant economic and political strides made since unification, Yemen remains to a large extent a conservative traditional tribal society. The population growth rate of approximately 3.5%, coupled with scarce economic resources, have major implications for economic growth and social development. About 75% of the population are rural, living in over 100 000 small and isolated villages and settlements. Most of these are located in remote mountain areas with little or non-existent infrastructure such as drinking water supply, access roads, public health services or basic education. The difficult conditions in rural areas are reflected in the rapid increase in migration from rural to urban areas. These poverty-inducing factors are compounded by a limited natural resource base and skewed ownership of resources or unequal opportunity of access to resources. Other contributing factors include the overexploitation of key natural resources, specifically land and water, by a few better-off sectors of society; limited human resource development; reductions in food subsidies; contraction of employment opportunities particularly in the public sector; and inadequacy of infrastructure, facilities and services.

What will the project do for them? The overall goal of the project is to improve the living standards of the rural poor in remote highland communities. The specific objectives are to: (i) empower communities to be proactive in resolving their infrastructure constraints; (ii) reduce the isolation of communities and improve overall mobility and access to markets and services in highland areas; (iii) institutionalize community-led village access road improvement within the national framework for rural road network development; and (iv) improve the access of poor households to sustainable drinking water supplies. To maximize the benefits, all village access roads improved under the project will be linked to rural intermediary roads or tertiary roads that have been upgraded either by the Rural Access Programme (RAP) or by other means. In addition, priority will be given to implementing village road improvements in other IFAD project areas in order to develop synergies with investments in wider development support This will enable poor households to benefit more in terms of livelihood opportunities from the improved accessibility provided under the project.

Loan and grant amount:
Loan: SDR 5.9 million (equivalent to approximately USD 9.0 million) Grant: SDR 270 000 (equivalent to approximately USD 400 000)

Total project cost: USD 10.4 million

Project ID: 1269
Executive Board Document: EB-2004-82-R-18-Rev-1

Al-Dhala Community Resources Management Project

The core concern of the project is achieving sustainability by fostering self-reliance and promoting community ownership of the development process. This will be achieved through: building the capacity of communities to plan, manage, implement and monitor their own development activities; ensuring that all members of the community, including women, are involved in decision-making; and building community institutions capable of sustaining the project's development initiatives and maintaining the development momentum, through their own initiative, beyond the life of the project. Greater prominence will be given to women's development by ensuring that women are an integral part of all decision-making processes within the community, while addressing their specific needs and interests.

The target group will primarily comprise households below the poverty line. Overall, these are estimated to represent about 30% of the rural population in the Governorate of Al-Dhala, numbering about 30 000 households living in about 100 village units in nine districts (a village unit is approximately 300 households). These are located principally in the poorer, more remote communities.

The overall goal is to provide sustainable and equitable growth in rural living standards and greater livelihood security to economically vulnerable households in Al-Dhala through better management of the resource base, leading to enhanced income-generating opportunities. The specific objectives are to: (i) provide access to water and protect and restore the natural resource base; (ii) equip and support farming households in enhancing output of agricultural and livestock products and in pursuing other income-raising opportunities; and (iii) empower communities, including women and the poor, to participate in and benefit from community-based planning and implementation and to develop institutional capacity to support them in their endeavours.

Loan Amount

SDR 9.8 million (equivalent to approximately USD 14.35 million) on highly concessional terms

Total programme cost: USD 22.79 million

Cooperating Institution:

World Bank

Project ID: 1195
Executive Board Document: EB-2002-76-R-20

Dhamar Rural Development Project

The overall goal of the project is to enhance the food security of subsistence farmers, raise family incomes and improve the living conditions and development participation of small farm households and village communities in Dhamar. To that end, the project will: empower communities, including women and the poor, to mobilize and organize themselves to participate in, and gain direct benefit from, development planning and project execution; remove critical physical, infrastructural and social constraints to productivity and advancement; and equip and support farming households with a view to increasing their output, thereby enabling them to secure basic food supplies, produce marketable surpluses and pursue income-generating activities.

The target group mainly comprises households living below the poverty line in the seven western mountain districts of Jabal Al-Sharq, Maghrib Ans, Utmah, Wusab Al-Ali, Wusab Al-Safil, Manar and the more remote areas of Dawran, and 15% of all rural households in the montane plains districts (Hada, Meifaa Ans, Ans, Jahran and the lowland area of Dawran). The total number of households involved is estimated at 55 632 in 3 127 villages.

The implementation strategy for the project recognizes the need for greater civic cohesion and improved community-level organization in the interests of realistic participatory planning for clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders and for judicious allocation of project resources. During implementation, therefore, the project will support and operationalize the principles of improved management and accountability in the delivery of services by the public or private sectors. Thus, project activities will be executed by agencies/institutions from the public/private sectors on the basis of yearly contracts that are renewable subject to good performance. Payments, together with a system of rewards and penalties, will be linked to delivery performance.

Loan amount:

SDR 10 900 000 (equivalent to approximately USD 14.01 million) on highly concessional terms

Total project costs approximately USD 22.66 million

Cooperating Institution:

Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD)

Project ID: 1095
Executive Board Document: EB-99-68-R-29-Rev-1

Al-Mahara Rural Development Project

Despite the remarkable growth in national income since 1970, Yemen is still afflicted by endemic poverty, which is especially severe in rural areas. Rural households in Al-Mahara Governorate, one of Yemen's most impoverished areas, are particularly dis-advantaged due to its remoteness and inaccessibility. The overall goal of this proposed seven-year IFAD-initiated project is to improve the well-being of participating smallholder households and rural communities through more productive and sustainable use of the natural resources at their disposal. The project objectives are to:

- support the development of more self-reliant communities and strengthen partnerships among all stakeholders in the economic development of Al-Mahara;

- strengthen the capacity of men and women farmers and fishermen and their communities, particularly disadvantaged groups, to determine, access and use appropriate resources, technology and financial services for agriculture, fisheries and livestock development; and

- build knowledge and capacity in public and private institutions and enterprises to deliver equitable, sustainable and profitable financial and technical services to the rural community.

It is estimated that 82-95% of the 15 000 households live below the poverty line. Dependent on fisheries and livestock; only a few are engaged in cropping activities. About 6 750 households will benefit from the project and, of these, over 1 400 households will receive multiple fishery and agricultural production services. In addition, a number of households in some 40 communities will have access to social services. Women will benefit directly through improved livestock husbandry, community development centres, a better water supply and credit for income-generating activities.

Innovative Features:

- The project will nurture participation in development by five groups: local communities, women, NGOs, cooperative societies and the private sector. It will also continue to develop approaches to community development through "social agreements" negotiated with local communities.

- Project investments will be conditional on communities' support of the process of poverty alleviation and gender equity. At the same time, the project will initiate a community empowerment process, providing the community with skills for the market economy and using the positive aspects of cooperation whenever possible. The role of women will also be further reinforced by ensuring that they are recruited as community para-veterinarians and community extension agents, thus strengthening their role in society.

- Local NGOs are in their infancy, but some are serious and show promise in providing services to the community. The project will strengthen NGOs by improving the ir managerial capabilities. It will also explore the possibility of using some NGOs to deliver village-based financial services, with the help of more experienced local and international NGOs. This measure will help strengthen the development of civil society in the area. The project will also seek to rehabilitate the reputation of cooperative societies (long tarnished by the policies of the previous regime) as providers of economic services to their members.

- There is a growing and vibrant private sector in Yemen, which has, until now, not been active in Al-Mahara in view of its isolation and low level of development. The project will encourage private investors bold enough to invest in fish marketing, since fishing is the most important economic activity in the area.

Loan Amount:

SDR 8.9 million (approximately USD 12.2 million) on highly concessional terms.

Total Project Costs:

Estimated at USD 17.8 million, of which USD 665 000 will be provided by UNDP, USD 2.2 million by the Government, USD 820 000 by the Cooperative and Agricultural Credit Bank and USD 1.9 million by the beneficiaries.

Cooperating Institution:

UNOPS.

Project ID: 1075
Executive Board Document:

Raymah Area Development Project

This seven-year project will assist the Government in its efforts to develop rainfed agriculture in the higher rainfall areas of Yemen, alleviate rural poverty and improve rural services in order to reduce rural-urban migration. Project components are:

- rural infrastructure;

- community development;

- agricultural development; and

- project management.

The target group will comprise approximately 48 000 families, almost 30% of which are headed by women and are among the most vulnerable and severely hit by poverty and marginalization. Project interventions in agricultural development, community development and rural finance will be targeted at smallholders and women members of households. All inhabitants of the area will benefit from interventions in rural roads and water supply.

Loan amount:

SDR 8.8 million (app roximately USD 12.1 million) on highly concessional terms.

Total project costs are estimated at USD 17.0 million, of which USD 1.0 million will be provided by a bilateral donor in the form of a grant, USD 2.8 million by the borrower and USD 1.1 million by the beneficiaries.

Cooperating institution:

United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

Project ID: 1061
Executive Board Document:

Southern Governorates Rural Development Project

This six-year IDA-initiated project aims at improving the standard of living and incomes of poor households, particularly those impoverished as a result of the return of expropriated land to former owners. IFAD participation will ensure that the project focuses on reinforcing community cohesion, raising the level of welfare in some 40 communities with high concentrations of poor people, and testing innovative approaches to involve beneficiaries in the planning and implementation of community initiatives.

Project components are:

- land development and alloca tion;

- off-farm income development;

- community development; and

- project management.

About 5 400 rural poor individuals and their families (about 40 000 people in all) will benefit directly from project support in land development and distribution; initiation of off-farm income-generation activities in fisheries, livestock, and small and microenterprise development; strengthening of community management skills and institutions; and financing of community-level social and productive investments.

Loan amount:

SDR 8.2 million (approximately USD 11.3 million) on highly concessional terms.

Total project costs are estimated at USD 38.4 million, of which USD 19.7 million will be provided by the International Development Association (IDA), USD 3.3 million by the borrower and USD 4.1 million by the beneficiaries.

Cooperating institution:

IDA.