Tackling rural poverty, together

Extract

The main findings of this study highlight the many aid effectiveness challenges facing CSOs working in ARD. […] In fact, it was commonly found that rural CSOs are particularly disadvantaged, characterised by limited capacity, small size, remoteness, poor rural administration and governance, and exclusion from national processes. Indeed, the nature of the ARD sector exacerbates the challenges facing CSOs.

[…]

Finally, the consultation participants provided many practical recommendations, summarised in the relationship-set below. They draw attention to ways in which development actors active in ARD can help include CSOs in the implementation of the aid effectiveness agenda and include:

• that local and national CSOs, and particularly rural CSOs, be consulted as development players, [...];
• that Northern CSOs redouble their efforts to ensure mutual respect, true partnerships and equality, and design and implement interventions accordingly, [...];
• that governments provide an enabling environment, including decentralisation, for CSOs to play their role as development actors, [...]; and
• that donors contribute to improving aid effectiveness in ARD by involving CSOs, and in particular rural CSOs, in the design and monitoring of development policies and strategies, [...].