New projects to support rural entrepreneural organizations in Central America

Two projects to strengthen the capacities of rural enterprise organizations in Central America have been launched. One of these will be executed from the second semester of 2006 until December 2007, with specific actions in Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua. This project is financed by the BNPP (Bank-Netherlands Partnership Program), administered by the World Bank, with follow-up and supervision provided by RUTA. The purpose of this initiative is to support small business-oriented producers’ organizations by strengthening the institutional framework and the provision of support services.

The other initiative, promoted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and RUTA, will support Central American rural enterprise organizations in their efforts to improve their

analytical and planning capabilities, and to establish effective alliances that will enable them to develop common agendas for policy dialogue. At the same time, DFID is providing resources to support rural business organizations in their search for competitiveness factors.

Strengthening producers’ organizations in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras

The new BNPP-World Bank-RUTA project aims to strengthen the capacities of producers’ organizations to participate in the analysis of policies and strategies in the context of free trade. It will also work to develop their capacity to provide and access public and private services in order to improve their competitiveness and the sustainable management of their assets. A third objective will be to strengthen the capacities of producers’ organizations to connect with export markets by developing appropriate technologies and business management skills.

Implementation of the project will begin in Costa Rica, where the institutional framework and the national strategy to support business-oriented producers’ organizations will be reviewed and strengthened. Specifically, the aim is to support a National Strategy for Strengthening Rural Business Organizations, and to help improve the institutional and regulatory framework.

To implement the project in Costa Rica, the World Bank has contracted CIRAD (Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement), a French organization that has executed projects in support of producers’ organizations and has extensive experience in Costa Rica. Based on the initial experiences implemented in Costa Rica, work will then begin in Honduras and Nicaragua.

Increased presence in policy dialogue

The design of the project to be implemented with a donation from IFAD began in August, and its aim is to promote a regional policy dialogue between producers‘ associations and regional public institutions. This initiative will involve organizations from Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, countries that have signed the Free Trade Agreement with the United States (DR-CAFTA).

Indeed, the issues of opening up to international markets and the negotiation of free trade agreements between countries have injected a greater dynamism into the region’s organizations of small producers,  who are interested in influencing policies that affect their interests and the well being of their families.