Livelihood and Food Security Trust Fund - LIFT

About 70% of Myanmar’s poor people live in rural areas and more than 30 percent of children under five years old are stunted, impeding the country’s long-term growth prospects

Despite the fact that Myanmar’s agricultural growth is lagging behind compared to neighbouring countries at a similar stage of development, agriculture still contributes 29 percent of GDP and absorbs 50 percent of the total labour force.

LIFT’s goal is to contribute to sustainably reduce the number of people in Myanmar living in poverty and hunger. LIFT’s purpose is to increase livelihoods' resilience and nutrition of poor people in Myanmar by focussing on interventions that increase income, food availability, utilization and stability of access to food.

The primary beneficiaries of LIFT’s programmes are rural households, including the rural landless.

It also directly builds capacities of local civil society organisaitons for their importance in inclusive policy development and of the government.

1. Increased incomes of rural households.
2. Increased resilience of poor rural households and communities to shocks, stresses and adverse trends.
3. Improved nutrition of women, men and children.
4. Improved policies and effective public expenditure for pro-poor rural development.

Expected results:  

While LIFT will continue to deliver on its core business. In the remaining 18 months, LIFT has to assure successful projects get scaled up where possible and that results achieved and institutions set-up are sustainable beyond LIFT’s support.

Results from previous phases:  

Key results since 2009:

• 2.3 million people living in households with increased assets

• 2.3 million people with strengthened resilience

• 1’635’932 households have accessed to LIFT-supported financial services, of which women represent 94 per cent

• 202’193 households have increased their crop productivity

• 33’065 households have profited from non-agricultural skills development and 78’999 people that received training have now their own enterprise or have become employed

• LIFT introduced new nutrition interventions to reduce stunting in the under-five age group and 127’844 households have received nutrition training

Insight: LIFT is an important knowledge broker and has to increase its efforts to make this knowledge broadly available.

Local and international NGOs, UN agencies, research organizations, and government departments. LIFT helps guide the national Sector Working Group on Agriculture and Rural Development (with Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation).

Coordination among LIFT Fund Board members: UK, EU, US, CH, Australia, Denmark
With other UNOPS managed funds: 3MDG, JPF
With other SDC projects mainly in vocational skills development, local governance and Nutrition (Health).

Phase 5 01.07.2017 - 31.12.2018   (Completed)