The project development goal is poverty reduction and sustainable improvement of the living conditions and livelihood of the inhabitants of Borgou by means of local development spearheaded by the commune authorities . This goal is reflected, firstly, in the definition of a planning strategy and formulation of multi-year action programmes with a participatory approach and, secondly, in the creation of a financing facility for the communes (Local Development Fund) to finance some of their development priorities, including income enhancement for the poor.

The immediate goal of the project is to institutionalize a system of decentralized participatory planning and procedures for promoting local development with a view to solving the problems of poverty in Borgou, based on citizens' initiatives and their capacity for interaction with the local authorities. In particular, efforts to combat poverty will be enhanced by improved prospects for the delivery of basic services and improved economic prospects for large numbers of inhabitants of Borgou.

The UNCDF approach is to empower all local development players for the definition and execution of the development priorities of each of the communes covered by the project. The immediate outcomes expected for the various activities are as follows :

• A planning system for local development activities of a participatory type allowing people to inform local organs of their development priorities in order to make their living conditions less precarious.
• A decentralized financing facility in the form of a Local Development Fund incorporated in the commune financing system, accompanied by internal refinancing mechanisms for commune budgets, in order to support the grassroots initiatives of certain revenue-generating activities targeting the most marginalized population groups.
• Enhancement of the technical and institutional capacities of local actors (communes, decentralized services, enterprises, grassroots groups, etc.) for the delivery and maintenance of communal infrastructures.
• Departmental capacities for collaboration, dialogue and cooperation between communes in order to promote territorial and sectoral projects of benefit to all inhabitants.
• Institutional arrangements for pooling the experience of the seven communes , especially as regards public participation in priority setting and mechanisms for the communes to refinance community and local initiatives.

• This project was formulated just prior to an important event in Benin : the establishment of new commune authorities following the local elections held in December 2002 in connection with the decentralization reform. This also coincided with the adoption of a new Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for the period 2002-2004. These two processes emphasize empowerment of the people and of their elected officials in local project ownership and management of their development.
• Benin's national poverty reduction strategy intended to make decentralization an effective instrument for combating poverty. Under this approach, the role of the grassroots players at the commune level was central to poverty reduction, with public participation in priority setting and project ownership. For the new communes, the task was twofold. Firstly, there was a need to understand the underlying issues affecting the way in which the local economy of each commune operated (particularly the issues of poverty and food security) so as to achieve better sectoral and geographical targeting. Secondly, the proposed action programmes had to reflect the diversity of the local players (communes and grassroots groups).
• The ADECOI Project was to coincide with the initial measures of decentralization in the department of Borgou and to assist in managing this process, as a pilot experiment from which lessons would be learned at the national level. Work on the project commenced immediately following the installation of the communal councils in May 2003.
• The department of Borgou was chosen because all the studies and analyses made since 2000 reveal that this department is one of the regions in which poverty is most acute, with almost half of the population living under the poverty line. Poverty is manifested in several ways in this department: in particular, households have difficulty meeting their food expenses for four months of the year (“lean” period), aggravating children's malnutrition problems, the very low rates of school enrolment and the extra burden of work assumed by women in order to contribute to the family income.

• The Ministry of the Interior, Security and Decentralization is the Government executing agency.

• The department of Borgou was selected as the focus for the UNCDF project, because of the extent and severity of the poverty in all the eight communes of the department.
• The project covers seven communes, with a total population of 571,836 inhabitants in 2002. The seven communes concerned are Bembéreké, N'Dali, Nikki, Kalalé, Peréré, Sinendé and Tchaourou.

• Mid-term review in December 2005
• Final evaluation in 2007

ADECOI, which is highly appreciated by the Beninese Government authorities responsible for the decentralization/deconcentration process, has become a model project, in particular because of the funding provided to communes to combat poverty at the local level. The main achievements of the ADECOI project are the following :

• Ownership of the participatory planning/programming approach by local players in the project zone, through support for the formulation of commune development plans and monitoring of their implementation.
• Improvement of the delivery of public services through the creation of several grassroots socio-collective infrastructures (modular classrooms, health centers, large-diameter wells, etc.) and commercial facilities (market sheds, shops, butcher's shops, bus stations, etc.), reflecting priorities set in the development plans and annual investment programmes.
• Capacity-building for commune management (training and consultancy for project ownership, development of budget management software, etc.).
• Development of activities to reduce the vulnerability of the poor , including :
• Improved access to credit for women and support to help women's groups to organize revenue-generating activities;
• promotion of multi-purpose platforms to facilitate processing of agricultural products and improve production;
• commercial shallow-water fishing to improve the nutritional health of the inhabitants.
• Funding of processes and tools by the Government and other donors
  • The innovative use by ADECOI of the Treasury financing circuit for the creation of the Local Development Fund will be the model for the creation of the future Support Fund for Commune Development (FADEC), a national instrument for financing commune investments which will be open to all donors;
  • The budget management software for the regular communes, introduced under the project, is also becoming a model for several communes.

• The two main challenges facing the project are the need for, firstly, sustainable ownership of commune management by the communes and, secondly, enhanced assistance for the promotion of the local economy and improvement of food security.

• Final evaluation to be conducted.