IFAD Rural Enterprise Policy
Definition, lessons learned and recommendations
The reduction of poverty in the rural areas is increasingly linked to the ability of poor rural people - especially rural women and unemployed/underemployed youth - to diversify and complement their sources of income through off-farm micro and small enterprises (MSEs) (processing, trading, manufacturing and services, etc.). Nonetheless, any effort to develop sustainable MSEs in rural areas calls for a proactive strategy to reduce constraints on the entrepreneurial poor and provide them with, among other things, suitable business-related services.
This policy is outlined in the present paper which addresses the following issues:
Rationale: MSEs and poverty reduction
Developing MSEs for the poor in rural areas: definition, lessons learned and issues
Recommendations and policy implications for IFAD
Full document can be downloaded on IFAD web site at this address: www.ifad.org/operations/policy/policydocs.htm