Ceara Second Rural Development Project

Ceara is one of nine states in the North-East region of Brazil. The per capita income of Ceara's rural areas is one of the lowest in the region. About 65 per cent of the labour force is employed in agriculture, although conditions are not favourable to agricultural production. Soils are poor and the region is largely semi-arid and prone to periodic severe droughts. The agricultural sector has been neglected and is in decline. For people who live in rural areas, access to education and health services is very limited.

The project’s goal was to raise the productivity and incomes of small-scale farmers and rural poor people engaged in non-agricultural enterprises. It set out to identify and eliminate the most serious obstacles to rural development and strengthen local institutions engaged in agriculture and rural development in support of small-scale farmers. Other project components included:

• strengthening of agricultural services
• applying new research and technologies
• improving infrastructure such as roads and rural sanitation systems
• improving access to health services
• improving access to markets
• providing education and vocational training

The project was designed as a model to be replicated as part of state-wide rural development projects and elsewhere in the North-East region. It successfully introduced local rural people to the experience of participating in the organization and implementation of project activities.