Rural Finance and Community Improvement Programme - Phase II

In line with the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), the programme goal is to reduce rural poverty and household food insecurity on a sustainable basis. In particular, it will focus on:

• Strengthening and expanding the rural finance system
• Programme management and coordination.

The programme will also support gender mainstreaming, women's empowerment and youth to ensure maximum participation by these vulnerable groups in Programme activities. Expected measures will include:

• provision of products tailored to the needs of women and youth by the community banks;
• adoption of a gender action learning system (GALS);
• establishment of quotas for participation of women and youth in programme activities;
• provision of literacy and numeracy training for women's saving and borrowing groups.

In order to fill the void in districts not covered by the RFCIP and consolidate the gains made so far, the proposed programme will scale up the ongoing RFCIP to the national level, covering all 13 districts of Sierra Leone, and forging linkages with other IFAD and donor-supported projects.

The programme will reach some 285,000 households (more than 35 per cent of all rural households) during its nine-year implementation period.

Source: IFAD