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UNCLAS GENEVA 000273 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT for IO/EDA, EEB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EINV EFIN
SUBJECT:  ITC Export-led Poverty Reduction Programs 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  The International Trade Centre (ITC) is achieving 
results with its Export-led Poverty Reduction Program (EPRP), which 
focuses on encouraging sustainable development through the creation 
of exports, including tourism.  The EPRPs measure effectiveness by a 
program that incorporates three series of household surveys to 
ensure sustainable benefits to recipient households.  EPRP projects 
are deployed in 18 countries for a total cost of USD 9.5 million. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
ITC mission 
----------- 
¶2.  Fabrice Leclerq and Marie-Claude Fraunrath (representing the 
ITC) met with Ann Low (First Secretary, US Mission to the United 
Nations, Geneva) on March 18, 2009, to discuss ITC's export led 
poverty reduction program (EPRP) and its impact assessment tool, 
which measures via household surveys to what degree households 
enrolled in the program improve their standard of living over the 
4-5 year life of the EPRP.  The ITC had the Overseas Development 
Institute (ODI) conduct a study on the relationship between trade, 
growth, and development and the effectiveness of the ITC EPRP.  The 
outcome of the ODI study encouraged ITC to pursue tourism promotion 
based on the EPRP model.  The ITC aim is to address Millennium 
Development Goals (MDGs) 1, 3, 7, and 8 (end poverty and hunger, 
gender equality, environmental sustainability, and global 
partnership) in its projects.  ITC is currently undertaking 15 
projects, each with a staff of 1 to 2 international consultants 
working with 3 to 4 national consultants. 
 
Export-led Poverty Reduction Program 
------------------------------------ 
¶3.  The ITC's EPRP promotes exports in sectors that maximize jobs 
and income for small-scale producers.  The ITC develops marketing, 
management, and networking opportunities to small communities that 
wish to trade.  The ITC has implemented EPRPs in 18 countries, (3 
programs have been completed and are now self-sustaining) 
benefitting the livelihood of 38,000 people.  The ITC works in 
tandem with capacity building projects by bringing in an ITC 
consultant and pairing him with a national consultant.  This 
capacity building is often assisted with use of specialists to help 
train the local population in handiworks, hospitality, and other 
industries.  The ITC maintains involvement and project quality by 
following up with the international and national consultants 
throughout the life of the projects. 
 
Tourism as an export 
-------------------- 
¶4.  The ITC views the tourism industry through the same lens as 
exports and is working within this framework to reduce poverty via 
sustainable tourism that benefits the local community living where 
the tourism occurs.  The tourism-led poverty reduction program 
(TPRP) encourages sustainable development by including local 
partners as stakeholders.  ITC has received financial support from 
the Swiss Economic Cooperation Organization (SECO) for tourism-led 
poverty reduction programs in Senegal, Mozambique, and Columbia. 
Aussie Aid and New Zealand Aid have asked the ITC to replicate the 
tourism promotion programs in Asia.  After a successful TPRP in the 
Philippines, the Philippine Department of Tourism has asked the ITC 
to help develop an eco-tourism program.  The ITC is partnering with 
the Four Seasons to build local supply capacity so that the Four 
Seasons can use local products and services in their resorts. 
 
Brazil model used as best practice 
---------------------------------- 
¶5.  The TPRP was successfully implemented in Brazil with the 
Brazilian Inclusive Tourism (BIT) project, starting in 2003. 
According to Leclerq, Group Banco de Santander (a Spanish bank) 
wants to finance the development of 200km of coastline for up to 20 
resorts encompassing 18,000 rooms, to be completed in 2012 using the 
same TPRP model as the BIT.  The focus of the Brazilian project will 
be hotel- and agriculture-related activities.  Group Banco de 
Santander will benefit by making credit facilities available to the 
cooperatives.  The initial plan is issue credit cards with 2 percent 
of the interest going to the ITC programs.  ITC is trying to make 
this work within the UN framework as a public-private partnership. 
The total cost for the BIT was USD 300,000 matched on a 1:1 ratio 
with the local donors over a five year period.  The investment in 
training local staff in handiwork production and marketing led to a 
500 percent increase in handiwork revenues.  The BIT program also 
includes using local agricultural products such as honey, fruits, 
and vegetables in the resorts, while ensuring sustainable farming 
practices. 
 
Challenges 
---------- 
¶6.  The ITC is facing challenges in securing funds and assistance in 
implementing their programs. The contributions from SECO, Norway, 
Germany, and others have worked for individual projects, but still 
fall short of full operating capacity.  Ms. Low suggested bringing 
the program to the attention of countries that are developing 
compacts under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) program. 
Mr. Leclerq responded that the ITC has pursued funding through the 
MCC on two occasions, but have been unsuccessful.  While the MCC 
staff is impressed with ITC programs, when working through the 
resident coordinators of countries applying for MCC monies, ITC 
programs do not get included in the final compact proposals.  Ms. 
Low suggested ITC present its programs not just to the resident 
coordinator in countries applying for MCC monies, but also directly 
to the government officials in those countries responsible for 
elaborating the compact proposal.  Leclerq asked if the government 
contact points were published. 
 
¶7.  Leclerq also aired his frustration with the United Nations 
Development Programme (UNDP). According to Leclerq, ITC lost USD 
20,000 worth of pumps in Ethiopia because UNDP, which was the 
recipient, failed to go to the airport to clear the pumps through 
customs.  In Vietnam, UNDP took 14 months to release funds for 
purchase of laptops. 
 
Impact assessment 
----------------- 
¶8.  The ITC incorporates an extensive impact assessment program into 
all of its projects.  The assessment program is based on a series of 
household surveys over the life of the project, the results of which 
are compiled into a data analysis program.  The household surveys 
are conducted at the initiation of a project to create a baseline 
after 2 years, and in the last year of the project, which is the 
fourth or fifth year of the project.  The household surveys are done 
by nationally employed staff who interview the families involved in 
the project.  The surveyors typically have greater than a high 
school education and earn USD 100-200 per month.  The assessments 
are conducted in 50 out of 200-250 households and usually take 2 
months to complete.  The total cost to do all three household 
surveys for one project including IT work to analyze their results 
is USD 7200. The average total cost of implementing an Export-led 
Poverty Reduction Project is USD 400,000 over a four-year project. 
Part of the impact assessment process also includes adapting the 
program after two years to better respond to the households' needs. 
 
 
Impact assessment in India 
-------------------------- 
¶9.  At the start of an EPRP project in India with 300 farmers' 
households participating, the households earned USD 200k for selling 
organic spices in 2000 (on average USD 666/household). After four 
years the EPRP project had grown to include 1,500 farmers' 
households and they earned USD 1.5 million in 2004 (on average USD 
1,000/household, a 50 percent gain per farmer).  ITC organized the 
farmers into cooperatives to represent and market their products at 
Biofach, the organic trade fair in Germany.  The Indian EPRP project 
used World Bank funds and cost in total over the four year life of 
the project, $250k.  The farmers are self-sufficient, and their 
association pays for representative(s) to attend the annual Biofach 
trade fair. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶10.  The ITC performance of five-year reviews on all projects, which 
includes 3 different surveys of the project, has proven to be a 
valuable tool for ITC to ascertain project sustainability.   If a 
project is not working, ITC knows it should seek to implement a 
different program.  Success also depends on developing a tailored 
approach to each project to respond to community needs.  Given 
challenges such as UNDP missteps, ITC could probably benefit from 
greater contact and support from posts in the countries in which it 
operates. 
 
STORELLA