IFAD strategy makes remarkable contribution to resilience in Burundi
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n a country with fragile situations, IFAD’s strategy has made a remarkable contribution to resilience. These and other findings were presented earlier today, as senior policy makers from Burundi, representatives of IFAD’s East and Southern Africa Division (ESA), and the Independent Office of Evaluation (IOE) met to discuss the findings of the country strategy and programme evaluation (CSPE), carried out in 2020. “Our evaluation, which covers ten projects funded during the period 2009-2020, found that the country programme showed remarkable resilience despite the fragile situations faced, mainly related to institutional, political, economic, environmental and climate change aspects”, stated Dr Indran A. Naidoo, IOE Director, in his opening remarks.
Sara Mbago-Bhunu Four main factors underpin IFAD’s strong performance in Burundi: the organization’s long-standing presence in the country, the Government’s sustained commitment, the project staff’s dedication, and the local communities’ participatory ‘can-do’ approach. Reported revenue improvements, coupled 40
findings, recommendations and issues emerging from the CSPE, and addressed the opportunities and challenges of the future IFAD-Government partnership.
Mònica Lomeña-Gelis, lead author, Burundi CSPE
with training and nutritional education measures and support for micro projects, contributed to reducing child malnutrition rates. In addition, the program also contributed to strengthening the capacities of producers, infrastructure user associations and development committees, and facilitating cooperation between beneficiaries and public institutions. Co-organized by the Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture and Livestock and the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning of Burundi, and IFAD’s IOE, in collaboration with IFAD’s ESA Division, the on-line virtual workshop brought together a wealth of participants. These included representatives of public sector institutions and national stakeholders, IFAD management and staff, and multilateral and bilateral partners. During the event, participants focused on the main
By the end of 2020,W the programme led to the protection of 100,000 hectares of hills, the development or rehabilitation of 16,714 hectares of marshlands and 850 km of rural roads. The CSPE report also recognized that the capacity building activities that targeted marsh user associations, and the integrated protection of watersheds, were not sufficient to ensure proper maintenance of the marshland and prevention against erosion and downstream flooding. Furthermore, the sustainability of the results is not yet fully assured, and infrastructure maintenance problems remain.
Excellence Monsieur Déo Guide Rurema
“The participatory approach fostered ownership at local and provincial level. However, the targeting of communes with potentially-productive marshes excluded a large proportion of the vulnerable population. It is only with the last project approved by IFAD, PIPARV-B, that interventions are going to be focused on the hills and on activities not
