The Objective is  to contribute to increased household income and improved food security through more sustainable management of natural resources; The Programme Purpose is to improve the livelihoods of forest dependent communities through improved sustainable collaborative management of forest reserves and customary land, thus reducing their  vulnerability and improving the livelihoods of beneficiaries; 

The programme operates in 17 impact areas in 12 districts across the three regions of Malawi. 15 of the impact areas are gazette forest reserves; one is a proposed forest reserve and the remaining one is forest on customary land;

 Phase 1 of this programme is in the closure phase. The programme estimate for Phase II was endorsed on 1st April, 2011

The Project Objective of Phase 1 of the project was to contribute towards sustainable improvement of the livelihoods of rural Malawian communities through interventions aimed at diversifying farmer’s incomes;

FIDP Phase II’s emphasis is to contribute to reduction of poverty in Malawi by improving the livelihoods of rural households through the conservation of natural resources, diversification of agricultural production and increased agribusiness;