Re-establishing Safe and Productive Communities

The USAID-funded Specialty Coffee Program gives support to small coffee growers and local coffee producers associations to increase their incomes and reach international markets

This program operates under the principle that economic and social services play an integral role in community cohesion and a culture of lawfulness. USAID supports the Government of Colombia (GOC) objectives by assisting communities in the creation of licit livelihoods and encouraging farmers to become entrepreneurs. The Program plays a key part in interagency programming to foster state presence in vulnerable communities.

Components:

Consolidation and Livelihoods:The primary focus of this component is to support the consolidation of government presence in target areas through the provision of economic and social services. CL works to provide licit livelihood opportunities to replace illicit cultivates such as coca. CL activities are central to an interagency program known as the Colombian Strategic Development Initiative (CSDI).

The basic premise of CSDI is that armed conflict and the illicit economy are inextricably linked to weak state presence. In areas where the state has only recently re-established security, CSDI activities will emphasize immediate, short-term interventions to meet urgent economic and social needs in order to demonstrate GOC presence and to help target areas recover more quickly from the effects of conflict and eradication.

As regions become more consolidated and the GOC re-establishes its presence, the activities will transition to support longer term interventions such as sustainable economic livelihoods. Interventions will continue to facilitate the provision of basic services, increase licit livelihoods and strengthen local institutions, with a particular emphasis on accompaniment and the provision of technical assistance.

Implementation is expected to roll-out in mid-Fiscal Year 2011.

Market Linkages and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs):This component supports market-driven interventions and seeks to engage the private sector through PPPs. Previous USAID interventions have linked production in the field with market opportunities. CL’s aim is to increase sales in both domestic markets and abroad with emphasis on increasing income for small farmers.

Income generating and small-producer assistance is done through the creation of partnerships with local, national and international organizations. USAID has worked to ensure that the beneficiary builds its organizational capacity in order to continue sustainably beyond USAID intervention. Looking forward, CL programming continues to focus on market-driven interventions with private buy-in.