RUTA TOWARDS THE FUTURE

 


Strengthening rural organizations for policy dialogue in relation to DR-CAFTA
                                            
This activity implies providing technical assistance and training to Central American rural organizations to help them develop effective mechanisms for policy dialogue with governments in the context of DR-CAFTA and other trade agreements. This effort has been promoted through RUTA’s interaction with the private sector in the region. RUTA and the IFAD team at RUTA are leading this process, in which there is also great interest among all RUTA’s partners.

Harmonizing cooperation

Another strategic task for RUTA next year will be the application of Sector-wide Approaches (SWAPs), in response to specific requests for support from the Ministers of Agriculture of Nicaragua and Honduras. SWAPs aim to harmonize the use of cooperation resources and the internal public resources of these countries in various sectors selected as strategic for rural development. The consolidation of SWAPs also envisages a major participation by the private sector. RUTA, IDB, IFAD, FAO and the World Bank are participating in this effort, with the support of bilateral agencies such as GTZ and the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (GDPRD). RUTA is also involved in other efforts to harmonize cooperation in Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Knowledge management and communication

This is another strategic task for the next twelve months and includes a series of crosscutting activities to support all RUTA efforts. Knowledge and communication will help strengthen capacities and facilitate policy dialogue, in order to prepare joint agendas and promote a decision-making process based on reliable information. Dialogues and participation of key actors that have been promoted so far, have shown the importance of RUTA’s work and its capacity to enlist support for the thematic areas with which it is concerned. The idea is that this effort to analyze and disseminate knowledge and information should continue during the coming year.

During the last twelve months, RUTA’s work in the areas of knowledge management and communication has been intense. It has organized numerous videoconferences, workshops and seminars, disseminating information to around 940 representatives of 100 institutions from 20 countries, including the public and private sectors and civil society. RUTA has also produced several publications and its new Web site received more than 53,000 “hits” or visits between January and July of this year. It has also forged alliances for communication and knowledge management with institutions such as CORECA-CAC, ILO, OIRSA, PAHO, UNED, FLACSO, CATIE, the Central American Academy, ECLAC, ICHR, NGOs and community organizations, among others.

Other strategic activities

RUTA’s Work Plan also contemplates other inter-agency actions considered strategic over the next twelve months.

 

Supervision Mission:
RUTA makes satisfactory progress

 

The Third Supervision Mission of RUTA Phase 5 expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved in the last year of work. In addition to fulfilling the tasks and objectives set out in its Work Plan, RUTA’s performance, the products it has generated and the Project’s overall profile have created a perception of value added in the eyes of RUTA’s partners and of different actors in the region (governments, civil society, private sector and others).

The Mission, which took place from May 22- 26, 2006, also considered that positive progress had been achieved in the areas of administration and financial reporting. The external audit corresponding to the period July 2004-December 2005 confirmed RUTA’s sound management of the financial resources in full compliance with the Project’s accounting and administrative regulations.

With regard to the advances made in the execution of the 2006-2007 Work Plan, the Mission highlighted the substantive progress made in areas such as DR-CAFTA and international trade, and in knowledge management and communication. RUTA’s mechanisms to improve the impact of its interventions were also acknowledged.

 

These include the study on the Complementary Agenda and Capacity Building linked to the region’s trade liberalization process;the Engines of Growth Studies in some territories of Nicaragua and future studies in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador; the implementation of the competitiveness agenda for the rural entrepreneurial sector; RUTA’s support in the execution of a project financed with BNPP resources with producers’ organizations in Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua; and capacity building with service providers (Research Centers and Higher Education) for the design of private investment projects (Rural Invest), among other activities.