Successful experiences of productive rural enterprises that have improved their competitiveness and gained market access thanks to their harmonious and coherent links between financial and non-financial rural services, are being studied in three Central American countries.

The investigation, which includes El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, is being carried out by the Support Program for Rural Financial Services (SERFIRURAL) and RUTA. The six-month study began in June and will conclude at the end of 2006.

The idea is to assess the impact that a combination of financial and non-financial rural services has in business success. The results of this study will lead to recommendations to improve the links between technical-business services and financial services in rural areas, design better policies and develop new service initiatives in this field.


Participants in the study

Different organizations have contributed their experience and are participating in this process. In El Salvador, the Multilateral Investment Bank (BMI), the Foundation for Agricultural Innovation (FIAGRO) and the Cooperative of Cotton Producers (COPAL) are participating. In Honduras, the National Agrarian Institute (INA), the Access to Land Program (Programa Acceso a la Tierra - PACTA), FAO and the World Bank are involved in the study.

In Nicaragua, NITLAPAN, FDL and the PASA-DANIDA program are participating with ACTED as the consulting firm for the study. The consultant Linda Baez Lacayo will be responsible for the Regional Coordination, and the Regional Follow-up Committee will include the Coordinator of SERFIRURAL and the Director of RUTA.

The study will be accompanied by a process of discussion and analysis through workshops with the national institutions conducting the study and with regional and international experts in these issues. The process began with a first regional workshop held on June 15 and 16 in Managua, Nicaragua, with the participation of the three national teams that will conduct the studies in each country: FIAGRO, PACTA, NITLAPAN, FDL and ACTED, among others. 

The main outputs of the study will be a regional document with lessons learnt, guidelines and recommendations for policies on rural development services; three national studies on successful experiences in linkages between rural financial services; and three regional discussion seminars.

During the first workshop it was recommended that RUTA create a virtual platform for exchanges among participating institutions, make specific visits to the countries as follow-up to the studies and maintain a space for discussion and analysis throughout the research process, both at national and regional levels.