Achievements for 2006

Introduction:

In 2006, EPRP continued to build national supply capacity and promote endogeneous development, leading to new sources of income and increased employment opportunities. Typical EPRP interventions identify exportable goods and services produced by poor communities, deliver training and advice to build up production and marketing skills, strengthen support institutions and create linkages with international markets.

Achievements:

Altogether, EPRP projects have promoted export sales of up to US$ 3.6 million in traditional and innovative sectors with an impact on poverty reduction such as , organic honey, paprika, chillies, essential oils, aloe ferox, ginger, coffee, silk products and felted fashion accessories, as well as communities benefiting from tourism (CBT).

Ongoing EPRP projects benefit about 34,000 people directly through the creation of additional jobs and higher income. Women are well represented in our projects making up for 66 percent of the beneficiaries.

In line with its new strategy focus, EPRP has been successful in increasing its focus on LDCs in 2006, especially in Africa. The Programme is currently active in fifteen countries, namely: Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, Cambodia, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mongolia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Vietnam and Zambia.

In 2006, EPRP was successful in developing strategic alliances with strong partners. The Programme entered into a joint project to develop exports for about 6,000 smallholder coffee growers in Ethiopia and Zambia with Utz Kapeh, a leading NGO in socially and environmentally responsible coffee certification. Partnerships were also initiated with the World Bank on communities benefiting from tourism (CBT) in India and Cambodia and with IFAD on agricultural extension services in Africa.

In close collaboration with ITC's National Export Strategy team, the Executive Forum Global Debate was successfully organised in September 2006 focussing on trade and poverty reduction. The event confirmed the demand for tailor-made solutions on how to integrate poor communities into trade and exports and created a platform for fruitful discussions and networking on how to further develop ITC's approach towards EPRP.

Programme coherence of EPRP interventions  was further pursued through developing new projects in collaboration with the Integrated Framework (IF) and working together with the Joint Integrated Technical Assistance Programme (JITAP) and ITC's SHAPE, a supply chain tool, on sector strategies benefiting poor communities in Zambia
 

Outlook for 2007:

The experiences of the first project cycle and the recent evaluation of the Programme have confirmed the relevance and possibility of integrating poor communities into trade and exports for poverty reduction. The challenges in 2007 will mainly be to mainstream EPRP into ITC's operations, improving the cost-effeciency through strategic partnerships, as well as further standardisation and documentation for good practices. These issues will be addressed within the new programme cycle to be started in 2007.

 

Partnering with Utz Kapeh to develop certified responsible premium coffee from Africa In September 2006, EPRP and Utz Kapeh, a non-governmental organization, signed a partnership agreement to jointly develop the supply of certified, socially and environmentally responsible coffee in Ethiopia and Zambia. Two pilot projects will help poor smallholder coffee farmers - about 5,000 beneficiaries in Ethiopia and about 1,000 in Zambia - to produce coffee that meets standards demanded by ethically conscious consumers.