Rural Development Project

closed

The development objective of the first phase of the Rural Development Project is to lay the groundwork for increasing income levels and improving living standards of the rural population by promoting diversification and growth of economic activities in the rural areas. This would be done through: (a) strengthening policy formulation capacity for rural development strategies at national, regional, and local levels of government; (b) introducing participatory approaches to rural development to increase stakeholders' ownership and commitment; (c) providing credit and technical assistance to generate employment and income earning opportunities in rural areas; (d) further strengthening rural banking practices and rural business development service network consistent with principles applied in the EU; and (e) expanding support for the development of the emerging land market and legal registration system of private land and real estate. The rural development policy component includes development of rural development strategy and policies and implementation of rural development at local levels and animation of rural population to develop small scale business opportunities. The rural finance component includes commercial credit and special support for small scale rural entrepreneurs. The third component is institutional development.