Striving for Sustainability and Equity- Guinea: Smallholder Development Project in the Forest Region

This report by IFAD on a development project in the forest region of Guinea outlines the project's results in terms of:

• Agricultural development;
• Environmental conservation;
• Long-term benefits for targeted groups.

The report finds that between approximately 1985 and 1992, when IFAD provided technical and organizational support for rural development in the region:

• Agricultural production increased;
• However, the effects on environmental conservation and targeted groups were not as substantial as was expected.

An evaluation of the outcomes found that:

• Environmental conservation and agricultural production should be linked to increased income for the targeted poverty groups;
• Microfinance institutions need to provide a greater number of services in rural areas to meet the needs poor groups in those regions;
• Natural resource management is necessary in rural development areas so as to involve more primary stakeholders in the development activities of the region.

The report further suggests that:

• A better land rights system must be established so that the poorest of the poor receive the services they need from financial services associations such as microfinance organizations;
• Although they are already self-sustainable (no financial support from IFAD), microfinance organizations in the region could be even more effective with funding from commercial banks;
• Primary stakeholders were more frequently elicited through the natural resource management strategy so as to obtain input on development from all community members. While the decentralized system still did not allow certain poverty groups, it helped promote social cohesion, a sense of community ownership, and greater inclusion of women in decision-making and work in the region.