Investing in rural households through community promoters

This case study report was written as a part of the Agriculture Human Capital Investment Study, funded by FAO Investment Centre and with the support of the International Food Policy Research Institute and the CGIAR Research Programme on Policies, Institutions and Markets (PIM) and the FAO Research and Extension Unit. Haku Wiäay/Noa Jayatai ("Let's grow together" in the indigenous languages Quechua and Shipibo-Conibo, respectively) is one of the few government programs that work with poor rural households in a subsistence economy. Through the implementation of community projects composed mostly by training and technical assistance packages directed to improve production techniques as well as the household organization and financial inclusion, the programme seeks to contribute to the economic inclusion of poor households in rural areas improving their access to markets. Training packages are implemented by local promoters called Yachachiqs ("The one who knows and teaches"), selected and hired by the community for three years to implement community-based projects funded by the government office FONCODES. This study seeks to provide further knowledge about the programme major achievements and complement the literature that has been already developed about the impacts of the programme. For that purposes, structured interviews were performed with key informants, especially Yachachiqs, of the two poorest regions in Peru, Cajamarca and Huancavelic