Scaling Up the Fight Against Rural Poverty - FIDAfrique

of a overarching institutional umbrella for all related rural development efforts (AGRO
RURAL).
• Fiscal space: No major fiscal constraints were encountered in replication and scaling up,
mostly because unit costs were kept low by design – and turned out even lower in
implementation – and because of the financing provided by Peru’s international partners, esp.
IFAD, which helped fund the start-up costs.
• Cultural space: One of the key ingredients of success of the Peru program was the great
cultural compatibility of the rural development model chosen with the cultural norms of the
highland population. The community based approach was particularly well suited to the
cultural traditions of the Andean population in the south, less so in the north, where there are
fewer Andean communities. As a result the SIERRA NORTE project adapted the operational
model to rely more on municipal and private sector agents (including the mining sector), rather
than insisting on the model of community driven development that was so appropriate in the
south.
• Learning space: The implementation and supervision arrangements set up by IFAD and the
PIU created a learning space by enhancing a “learning by doing” culture, flexibility and
openness to change. The learning space was built up by (i) strengthening capacity for mutual
learning, (ii) providing earmarked resources and opportunities for local actors to experiment,
implement and validate technical solutions, (iii) cooperating with a “learning network” of
engaged experts, and (iv) preparing and disseminating documentation (mostly in Spanish) of
experience gained learning processes and products.
e) Scaling up – IFAD’s role and processes:
IFAD’s role in supporting the scaling up of rural poverty programs in Peru has been significant. It
supported the design of projects that incorporate a flexible approach, introducing effective mechanisms
to ensure the users’ participation in decision-making on objectives, activities and managing resource
administration. The main elements of this flexibility were (i) a demand-driven approach; (ii)
recognition of the central role of communities and families; and (iii) a strategy of developing local
goods and service markets. Three elements further contributed to IFAD’s effectiveness in supporting
the scaling up process: its willingness to stick with a broadly consistent approach over many years,
building on past experience, and a readiness to adapt in light of lessons learned, changing needs and
specific conditions on the ground.
A key driver of IFAD’s engagement in the scaling up pathway was the fact that the long-term CPM
championed this approach and that he was based in Peru for fifteen years. While initially apparently
without much support from IFAD headquarters, the CPM received positive feedback at least since
2004, when a study of scaling up in Peru for the 2004 Shanghai Conference gave a credit to the
approach followed in Peru (Massler, 2004). This was reinforced by the report of an independent
external evaluation of IFAD in 2005, which also noted the positive scaling up experience in Peru
(IFAD Office of Evaluation, 2005). More generally, the CPM reports that he valued the informal
discussions with supportive colleagues in IFAD.
2. Moldova Case Study 11
Moldova is a small country with 3.3 million people, just beyond the borders of the EU with no early
accession prospects. The poorest country of Europe, it is still heavily dependent on agriculture and
more than 65 percent of the population resides in rural areas. Moldova, as a former republic of the
Soviet Union, was hard hit by the breakup of the Soviet economic space. Even after some recovery in
11 Arntraud Hartmann carried out the Moldova case study.
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