Bhutan

UN Support to Improve food security and income among small holder farmers in targeted rural areas

The project is aimed at implementing poverty reduction interventions for extremely remote and un-reached communities with special attention to vulnerable women that promote employment and income generation through improved agricultural productivity and improved access to services and facilities.

The project will strive to address the needs of the rural poor through a participatory, culture based, gender sensitive and environmentally sound targeted approach to community development that ultimately helps to achieve the MDGs.  The approach is in line with the Tenth Plan’s strategy for reducing poverty through the implementation of targeted rural development interventions in the un-reached vulnerable communities in the most remote places of the country. Hence, the key project strategy is to effectively address the issues and causes of poverty of remote rural communities through an inclusive and broad-based participatory approach.  Given the experiences and expertise in rural development programs, the project will actively engage the Ministry of Agriculture and the Tarayana Foundation, a NGO, as key implementing partners.

The project will adopt an integrated multi-sectoral approach targeting remote disadvantaged communities to facilitate sustainable human and community development. The targeted community development activities supported under the project, and the lessons learnt, will be useful in scaling up project activities under on-going UNDP programmes such as the Poverty Environment Initiative, a joint UNDP-UNEP programme that supports national capacity and institutional processes to integrate environmental priorities of poor and vulnerable groups into national planning processes, and the Local Governance Support Programme supporting local capacity development. Best practices will also be mainstreamed into the Royal Government supported gewog (sub-district) Tenth Five Year Plans and programs to ensure ownership and sustainability.

UNDAF Outcome	1: By 2012, opportunities for generation of income and employment increased in targeted poor areas.
CT Outcome	1.1.2 Farmers use of improved post harvest management facilities and practices increased, 1.1.3 Access of targeted farmers, both women and men, to rural credit and markets improved, 1.2.3 Capacity of small farmers enhanced through formation of self-help groups and targeted extension services, 1.4.1 Community based MSMEs and cooperatives, particularly those of women and youth, supported through improved access to micro-finance, business development services, marketing, group formation and post harvest management services
CT Output	1. Access to socio-economic services, markets and information improved for smallholder and marginal farmers in targeted rural areas 2. Food security among small holder farmers and other vulnerable groups in targeted rural areas enhanced. 4. New MSMEs and jobs created with emphasis on women and youth
Project Location	All Regions
Project Duration	September 2009 - June 2010
Budget Outlay	US$ 267,550
MDG Goal
Link to Workplan	Click on the icon to download