Strengthening the Rural Actors of the Popular and Solidarity Economy Project (FAREPS)
Project to Strengthen Rural Actors in the Popular and Solidary Economy
The Government of Ecuador's Popular and Solidarity Economy (PSE) initiative encourages balanced work relations based on cooperation, solidarity and reciprocity, resulting in greater opportunities for employment and increased incomes for poor and vulnerable sectors of the population. Since its inception in 2011, PSE has been demonstrated to have great potential to reduce poverty and foster economic growth. The sales from enterprises benefiting from PSE represent approximately 25.7 per cent of Ecuador's GDP, contributing 10 per cent of the total net income and generating close to 60 per cent of total jobs in the country.
The Government of Ecuador, through the Instituto de Economía Popular y Solidaria (IEPS), is promoting the PSE throughout the country as a viable and efficient instrument to alleviate poverty, enhance social mobility and ensure redistribution.
Within this context, the IFAD-funded Strengthening the Rural Actors of the Popular and Solidarity Economy Project (FAREPS) seeks to improve the conditions for the development of a solidarity economy in the provinces of Guayas and Los Rios in the coastal region; Azuay in the central highlands; and Morona Santiago and Zamora Chinchipe in the Amazon. The project is expected to reach at least 20,000 poor and vulnerable rural families engaged in farming and non-farming activities.
To achieve this overarching target, the project will work hand-in-hand with PSE organizations, associations, cooperatives, communes and communities, to strengthen their membership and their institutional and managerial abilities. It aims to build the capacities of these organizations to develop a culturally and environmentally sustainable, market-oriented production model.
FAREPS will help transform smallholder farmers' visions into viable modern businesses based on trust and cooperation operating in a competitive environment.
