 Agriculture is the mainstay of Benin's economy, employing 70 percent of its population and accounting for nearly 40 percent of its GDP. To help the rural poor especially women utilize their environment in more efficient and sustainable ways, the World Bank in 1998 launched the Borgou Pilot Rural Support project. Its primary goal was to encourage local institutions, village committees in particular to embrace collective decision-making. As such, it helped communities carry out their own development plans and made it easier for villagers to get access to basic health and education services.
Cutting the red tape by connecting local project staff with villagers has greatly contributed to the project's success. So far, it has funded more than 528 small projects in 262 villages, all of which were identified, designed, and co financed by the communities themselves.
The results: 79 village schools, 16 village health centers, 16 large wells for community water supply and 44 crop storages have been built. The project has supported 150 basic literacy courses delivered in local languages to 2,200 women and 2,500 men. It has also offered 262 technical training courses on subjects as varied as financial management, bee keeping, fishing, and refining crops.
Related Links:
 Â Benin
 Borgou Pilot Rural Support
Updated: July 2002
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