Project ID: 1310
Executive Board: EB-2007-90-R-11-Rev-1

Rural Finance and Community Improvement Programme

Over the years, high population growth coupled with economic decline associated primarily with a decade-long civil war and social unrest have destroyed Sierra Leone’s social and physical infrastructure and impoverished the country. After the civil war, the country embarked on a process of democratization and stabilization that led to open and transparent elections and the installation of an elected Government in May 2002. The Rural Finance and Community Improvement Programme has been designed to contribute directly to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by improving food security and reducing rural poverty, and indirectly to the Government’s democratization and stabilization policies by mitigating the risks that have led to the civil war.

It is proposed that IFAD provide a grant to the Republic of Sierra Leone in the amount of SDR 5.95 million (equivalent to approximately US$9.88 million) to help finance the Rural Finance and Community Improvement Programme.

The programme will target 34,000 households from three categories, namely:

• smallholder farmers, including women heads of households
• microentrepreneurs and the operators of small businesses, including women
• young people, including ex-combatants, and sexually abused young women and single mothers.

To consolidate peace and promote social cohesion in rural areas, the programme’s primary target group is young people. Accordingly, employment opportunities will be generated by a programme specifically designed for this group. In addition, community subprogrammes will create short-term employment while farming and income-generating activities – funded by loans from financial services associations and community banks – will give rise to longer-term sources of employment.

The core concern of the programme is achieving sustainability through fostering selfreliance and promoting community ownership of the development process. This will be ensured through the adoption of a holistic approach involving investment in core and support activities. The core programme activity is the fostering of rural financial services in seven districts, while the support activities are dedicated to the rehabilitation of critical infrastructure. All members of the community, including women, will be involved in decision-making, and community institutions will be built up so that programme initiatives and the development momentum can be sustained by the communities themselves after programme completion. Using participatory planning processes, communities will select the activities they wish to pursue as individual households and as communities, with the guidance of programme technical staff and other service providers. Greater prominence will be given to women’s development by ensuring that they are an integral part of all community decision-making processes, and that their specific needs and interests are addressed.

Grant amount: SDR 5.95 million (equivalent to
approximately US$9.88 million)

Total programme cost: US$10.91 million

Cooperating institution: African Development Bank

Project ID: 1054
Executive Board Document:EB-2003-80-R-26-REV-1

Rehabilitation and Community-based Poverty Reduction Project

The project's development goal is to reduce post-conflict poverty and food insecurity and to improve the livelihoods and living conditions of rural communities. This will be achieved through the support to short-term recovery of rural communities and farming activities development, while laying the basis for long-term rehabilitation and participatory development. The project will follow a phased approach where short-term and long-term interventions are carried out simultaneously, with actual interventions geared to local conditions. It will include activities that: (i) support community-based institutions and participatory development, to empower local communities in restoring livelihood security and basic entitlements; (ii) empower the poor and vulnerable by expanding their access to and control over fundamental assets, such as capital, knowledge and technologies; and (iii) rehabilitate rural infrastructure to improve production conditions, access to market and living conditions.

Loan Amount:

SDR 5.90 million (approximately USD 8.5 million) on highly concessional terms

Total project cost: estimated at USD 10.8 million, of which beneficiaries will provide USD 1.2 million and national Government USD 1.1 million.

Cooperating Institution:

UNOPS