General objective

To support, with gender equality, the effective integration of rural families to social and economic life of the country, developing such capabilities that allow them to increase their income and improve their living conditions, with participation in territory development processes, sustainable use of natural resources and attention to indigenous communities and young people.

Specific objectives

• To support and strengthen associations of the target population, contributing to building their skills and knowledge, for their active and full participation in community development processes and decision-making bodies and administration in matters that concern them
• To promote the comprehensive development of the territory through: social and gender equity; the incorporation of young people to productive activities; environmental preservation; support production of Aboriginal communities, respecting their culture.
• To facilitate sustainable access for the target population to adequate technical and financial services through partnerships.
• To facilitate access of organized beneficiaries to productive resources and factors favoring incorporation and consolidation in the value chain of their products.
• Insert the Program's actions on the lines of rural development policy of the Argentine Government.
• To strengthen the transformation of unprofitable traditional productive activities into sustainable and profitable businesses;
• To encourage the incorporation of rural youth and women to productive activities;
• To improve food security of indigenous communities;
• To facilitate access of beneficiaries and their organizations to business support services;
• To contribute to better inter-agency coordination on policies to reduce poverty and for greater dialogue between the various stakeholders (government agencies, NGOs and private sector).

19,450 direct beneficiaries.

The execution of three components (each with specific instruments) is contemplated:

• Strengthening human and social capital

The objective of this component is to strengthen the capacities of groups and organizations for economic purposes, with a focus on youth, women and aboriginal people, for their active participation in initiatives, plans and local or regional development and prepare them to carry out business projects. The main lines of action for this component are:

Training and technical support for the consolidation of economic organizations: Through these services, it is planned to transform emerging, informal and / or weak organizations into active, democratic, participatory that possess management capacity for the development of business ventures. Financing for Training and Technical Support by the Program is non-reimbursable and access to these services can be obtained through a specific demand that is reflected in an Organizational Consolidation Plan.

To train young developers and entrepreneurs: It aims to stimulate the incorporation of young men and women as social developers of the program, and on the other hand, incorporate them as beneficiaries of services and program activities. For the aforementioned, there are two specific training programs: a) Training Developers for Rural Development; b) Training for Young Entrepreneurs.

Non-reimbursable grants funding for community projects: a) Support Fund for Indigenous Communities (FACA) which aims to fund projects identified and formulated in a participatory manner by the aboriginal organizations and/or communities, with an outlook that favors sustainable insertion within the market. Financing exists for self-consumption projects, self-consumption within the market and community infrastructure. b) Fund for Community Initiatives (FIC) which aims to encourage the participating organizations or members by creating management capacity to become more actively involved in their community and regional development, identifying and formulating, through a participatory approach, proposals to introduce to Programs and / or public and private institutions for co-financing or execution.

• Rural business development

The objective of this component is to promote and advance, within the framework of a rural organization, a proactive vision of the target population towards markets, linking and / or strengthening the involvement of organized producers and youth organizations for economic purposes, in value chains, financial services and dynamic markets. It is not only about small producers improving their income, but also about acquiring the ability to develop and manage sustainable businesses.
This component facilitates organization’s access to different services and instruments required by the business process management regarding commercial, organizational, productive and legal areas. For this purpose, the following lines of action are contemplated:

Services for Commercial Technical Assistance, Management and Productivity: It sets out to ensure access to broad Technical Services, to make the beneficiaries’ entrepreneurships viable through two levels of service: Permanent Technical Assistance (ATP) during the formulation and implementation of the business plan; and Specialized Technical Assistance (ATE) to support innovation and help solve complex specific issues. Funding for Technical Assistance Services by the Program, are non-reimbursable and can be accessed through the organization’s concrete demand, which should be reflected in a Technical Assistance Plan within the framework of a Business Plan.

Market Access and Support to Commercial Business Management: It sets out to establish the necessary mechanisms to facilitate the access of organizations to markets and support business management, through the creation of a Trade Information System and through the promotion of beneficiaries’ products and participation in fairs and exhibitions.

Financial funds for the development of Rural Businesses: It sets out to finance business plans elaborated by the Organizations with the appropriate technical support, through two funds

It sets out to finance business plans prepared by the Organizations with the appropriate technical support, through two funds: a) The Fund to Support Entrepreneurship (FAE) has socio-productive projects; Private investment in the development of business plans; Trade Initiatives to access new markets. FAE resources are non-reimbursable. b) The Development Fund has two lines: The Capitalization Fund for Organizations (FOCUS) aims to fund with non-reimbursable contributions for the creation of credit funds managed by Family Farmer’s Organizations. The Investment Fund (FI) aims to provide investment loans to finance collective or indivisible use within the framework of the implementation of a Business Plan.

• Institutional development

 This component aims to promote dialogue on policies and rural development strategies, and ensure proper coordination of program activities and coordination with relevant organizations, through the creation of spaces for dialogue on public policies related to rural development and Family Farming, and support for the participation of producer organizations in discussion on strategies and plans for local, provincial and national development. It also contemplates actions aimed at strengthening institutional capacity in public sector agencies belonging to the provinces involved, carried out through training programs related to the theme of Rural Development and Family Agriculture and capacity building of Personnel Management.

The target population consists of rural inhabitants 14 years or older, and the population of indigenous communities residing in  selected areas and provinces (Chaco, Corrientes, Misiones, Córdoba, Entre Rios, Santiago del Estero, Mendoza and San Juan).

Nacional

Although the program is national in scope, a priority area of operation is established for said Program to rural areas of the provinces located in the Northeast or NEA regions (Chaco, Corrientes and Misiones), Central Argentina (Cordoba and Entre Rios), Northwest or NOA regions (Santiago del Estero) and Cuyo (Mendoza and San Juan).

The number of direct beneficiaries is 19,450:

• 11,540 family farmers and rural non-aboriginal working adults
• 3,900 members of aboriginal communities
• 4,010 young men and women

Total: USD$44,2 million.

Unidad para el Cambio Rural

Coordination and implementation of the program nationwide.

The funding sources are the International Fund for Agricultural Development - IFAD (43.2%), the Government (56.2%) and beneficiaries (0.6%).