Village Development Programme (ex National Programme for Community Empowerment in Rural Areas Project)

With this loan and grant IFAD supports the Government of Indonesia's National Programme for Community Empowerment as a part of the Progam Nasional Pemberdayaan Masyarakat (PNPM).

The PNPM aims to promote greater participation of rural people in development processes, introduce more effective poverty reduction interventions and support improved local governance.

The IFAD-supported project assists agricultural development in targeted areas of rural Papua and West Papua, two provinces with largely indigenous and ethnic populations. In particular, it provides funds for productive proposals developed by communities through a participatory planning process. Local communities and community-based organizations, including tribal groups, also participate in implementing the project and monitoring progress at village level.

Activities carried out under the programme include improvements in rural and market infrastructure, water supply and irrigation systems and in access to basic services in rural areas. The programme enables local communities to use grants to invest in public goods that improve rural livelihoods through crop and livestock development, market linkages and value chain development, and also by stimulating local economies and generating employment opportunities.