Rationale for IFAD intervention

Since 1982, IFAD has financed 17 operations for a total amount of USD 829.7 million, including USD 364.8 million from IFAD, for the benefit of almost 700,000 rural households, which represents an equivalent of approximately 7,000,000 people. The COSOP indicates that IFAD’s comparative advantage lies in its recognized experience in promoting family farming with particular attention to women, youth entrepreneurship, and rural finance. After the SD3C regional program, FIER 2 is the second investment project to be financed under the 2020-2024 COSOP, and it will contribute to its two strategic objectives, namely, increasing farm productivity and production agricultural and rural microenterprises, and their sustainable increase in income through access to markets.

Overall, IFAD has a long and successful track record in Mali, both in identifying and training young entrepreneurs, facilitating access to financial services and connecting them to markets. FIER 2 will contribute to the achievement of the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): eradication of poverty (1); fight against hunger (2); access to quality education (4); gender equality (5); access to decent jobs (8); reduction of inequalities (10); fight against climate change (13).

According to IFAD policy which aims to help transform the Sahel24 sub-region, the creation of jobs for rural youth is a priority. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of the Government and its development partners, the country remains marked by underinvestment in job creation. In Mali, around 300,000 additional young people enter the labor market each year, mainly in rural areas, penalized by limited access to training, capital and production factors. Furthermore, the terrorist groups present in the territory constitute bait for these idle young people. IFAD, through FIER, has shown that it can contribute to meeting this challenge. Around 13,263 rural youth benefited from technical training, of which 12,505 were financed for income-generating activities and 758 for rural micro-enterprises. The project covered approximately 1,504 villages, supported 9 decentralized financing structures (SFD) whose capacities of credit agents (73 in total) in terms of services to rural youth were strengthened.

FIER 2 is therefore designed to consolidate and amplify the results of FIER, by supporting the economic inclusion of young rural people in various high-potential value chains, through support for their ASPH economic activities along the sectors (agricultural or non-agricultural ), while improving the effectiveness and efficiency of processes. The entrepreneurial potential, of young women in particular, largely untapped in the agricultural and craft sectors, will be taken advantage of, as will the strong commitment of the CTs to improve the situation of young people in their territories.

Building on lessons learned from FIER, FIER 2 will promote an approach to vocational training and job creation focused on market opportunities, through improving the institutional capacities of actors at various levels of the agricultural value chains and non-agricultural. This approach will also promote professional and technical training for the benefit of farmers, processors, traders and other stakeholders, upstream and downstream of production. The development of micro-enterprises and cooperative joint ventures will be strengthened by the careful selection of high-potential value chains (particularly those in which women play an important role and earn substantial income), taking into account opportunities for market geographically located around production basins and clusters of rural micro-enterprises. This will make it possible to technically and financially support a larger number of young people as part of the project.