Rural Socio-economic Opportunities Programme

This programme builds on the contributions of the IFAD-supported Rural Poverty Reduction Programme (PLPR), which has reduced poverty through participatory, community-driven development. The successor programme focuses on consolidating and strengthening the capacity of rural organizations so that they can sustainably promote inclusive economic opportunities.

The target population comprises poor rural people who are members of community associations in areas of Cape Verde's seven inhabited islands that were covered by PLPR.

Beneficiaries include women heads of household; young people without an education; and individuals or households selected on the basis of poverty criteria identified by communities themselves, such as lack of access to land.

Specifically, the programme aims to help raise incomes – particularly for women and young people – through the following interventions:

• Supporting the beneficiaries' selection of micro-projects related to permanent income-generating activities
• Ensuring that agricultural economic activities undertaken by the beneficiaries contribute to their food security, specifically by reducing dependence on imported food products
• Guaranteeing that the income generated by these economic activities is used to improve beneficiaries' living conditions, in terms of both nutrition and access to essential goods and services.