Rural Producers Organizations (POs) consist of group of individuals who come to-gether to improve the well-being of their households and their communities. They have legal status and di¤er from more traditional structures, which are in charge of the communitys social organizations and its spiritual functioning. Their rapid development over the past twenty years is an important aspect of the economic dynamism of villages throughout West-Africa. Today, POs exist in the vast majority of rural communities and represent a major interface with the "external world". As such, POs have become central partners for development agencies engaged in "Community Driven Development", "Participative Development" or more generally, "Social Capital" based approaches.
The two datasets presented on this CD-Rom are baseline surveys for the impact evaluation of two World Bank-funded programs: the PSAOP1 in Senegal, and the PNDSA II2 in Burkina Faso. The goal of both programs is to strengthen POscapacities to provide services for their members. They involve creating PO councils at the district level ("Communautés Rurales" in Senegal, "Départements" in Burkina Faso), through which the organizations can exchange information on their experiences. The councils are also responsible for allocating small sums to POs willing to receive training in particular areas.
