Productive Development and Capacity-Building Project

The objective of this project is to reduce poverty and raise the living standards of family farmers in the State of Ceará, north-eastern Brazil, by developing human and social capital and enhancing the productive base of targeted households. The project has two main components:

• Building the capacity of public and private agencies that provide technical and managerial services to poor rural people, for purposes of sustainable businesses development and entrepreneurship
• Financing demand- driven productive development initiatives to increase productivity and add value, resulting in enhanced access to markets, income generation and employment creation.

A key project activity is the participatory formulation and implementation of commercially viable business plans for agricultural and non-agricultural rural enterprises – including activities aimed at land regeneration and the adoption of good agro-ecological practices.

The project area covers about 23,530 square km of state land spanning 31 municipalities in four territories. The project targets approximately 60,000 poor rural households comprising 228,000 people. It pays particular attention to the most marginalized and vulnerable communities, including the Afro-Brazilian Quilombolas, rural women, young people and landless households.