The Governments of Nicaragua and Honduras are following the methodology known as the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) so as to harmonize international cooperation and public investment.

SWAp is a comprehensive process for supporting a given sector in a consistent and coordinated manner. It is designed to enhance the efficiency of poverty-reduction programs and public interventions in the rural sector.

In Honduras, three sub-sectoral SWAps are being developed for the forestry, technology and rural sectors, with the support, in particular, of the Inter-American Development Bank.

In Nicaragua, the SWAp has is being undertaken under the name of PRORURAL. It is designed to provide a coordinated targeting of cooperation and national investment towards seven key areas of rural development, namely, technological innovation; agricultural health and food safety; sustainable forestry development; support services for production; infrastructure investment; institutional modernization and strengthening; and agriculture/forestry policies and strategies. The public sector agricultural institutions participating in this effort are INTA, INAFOR and IDR; they are working under the leadership of MAGFOR.

RUTA is providing support for these processes by carrying out systematic studies on the experiences of Nicaragua and Honduras, encouraging the exchange of experiences within t he region, and examining extra-regional experiences such as those of Bolivia and Africa. This work is being carried out with support from the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Department for International Development of the British Government.

For further information, click here to see the document entitled El rol del Enfoque Sectorial Ampliado para el Desarrollo Rural Sostenible en Centroamérica