The following project/programme proposals were approved by the Seventy-Fifth Session of the Executive Board:

Africa I (Western and Central Africa)

Cameroon: Community Development Support Project
EB 2002/75/R.17 + Sup.1 (now EB 2002/75/R.17/Rev.1)

The Executive Board unanimously approved a loan of SDR9.50 million for the above project without any specific comment. The Director for Germany congratulated IFAD on its excellent collaboration with the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) during project preparation.

Africa II (Eastern and Southern Africa)

Eritrea: Gash Barka Livestock and Agricultural Development Project
EB 2002/75/R.18 + Add.1 + Sup.1 (now EB 2002/75/R.18/Rev.1)

The Executive Board approved a loan of SDR8.10 million for the above project. The Board noted that the project area has been severely affected by the recent border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia and welcomed the recent resolution of the conflict. The Board emphasized the need to restrict project activities to secure areas and to support people being repatriated from The Sudan, as well as demobilized soldiers settling in the project area. Finally, the Board noted the need to ensure that women, including heads of households, who are among the region's poorest, will be represented in decision-making bodies and have access to project support.

Asia and the Pacific

India: Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihoods Programme
EB 2002/75/R.19 + Add.1 + Sup.1 (now EB 2002/75/R.19/Rev.1)

While approving the programme with a loan of SDR16.05 million, under the Flexible Lending Mechanism (FLM), the Executive Board commended the efforts in aligning the programme’s goal and approaches with the strategic framework of IFAD, the regional strategy and the country strategy for India; the location of the programme in an area that is fragile in terms of food security; and the selection of a target group that is weak in bargaining power. The Board expressed great satisfaction that the programme will be addressing the issue of empowerment of tribal people and appreciated the efforts made in establishing partnerships and leveraging significant cofinancing with relatively limited funding from IFAD. The Board also noted that the process of partnership-building during programme development has undergone a learning process, and specific measures have been undertaken, such as a longer implementation period and pooling of resources among financiers, to reflect the difficulty the programme area faces and the relatively ambitious targets the programme has set. The Board was also of the view that the issues of land tenure, capacity of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system, and support during implementation (including consideration of enhancing field presence) need to be addressed during implementation.

Laos: Oudomxai Community Initiatives Support Project
EB 2002/75/R.20

The Executive Board approved a loan of SDR10.80million for the above-mentioned project. The Board expressed its appreciation for the project objectives and IFAD’s efforts to target its assistance to ethnic groups in the poorest area of the country. The Board also appreciated the measures undertaken in project design to mitigate the risks in project implementation, while noting the limited institutional capacity available in the country and the project area.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Haiti: Productive Initiatives Support Programme in Rural Areas
EB 2002/75/R.22 + Add.1 + Sup.1 (now EB 2002/75/R.22/Rev.1)

In approving a loan for SDR17.40 million, under the FLM, for the above programme, the Executive Board commended IFAD for its design, especially with regard to aspects of policy dialogue on rural development and poverty alleviation and targeting mechanisms to reach and benefit the most deprived population. However, concern was expressed about governance issues, institutional capacity to implement the programme and potential financial risks for IFAD, and the Directors for Canada and the United States did not join the consensus. With regard to the issue of the allocation of funds to functional literacy, raised by the Director for Pakistan, it was observed that the amount is modest and the programme strategy is to develop partnership with private and public institutions already engaged in literacy training in the programme areas and, eventually, to contribute complementary financing.

Near East and North Africa

Egypt: West Noubaria Rural Development Project
EB 2002/75/R.23

The Executive Board approved a loan of SDR14.60 million for the above-mentioned project. The project was commended as having an appropriate approach to improving the quality of life and as a means of sustainable livelihood through the generation of employment opportunities and agriculture-related activities. The Board welcomed Italy’s cofinancing through the Debt Swap facility. It was felt that while provision of social infrastructure is an important project intervention, the process should be accelerated to allow new settlers to build up their assets at the household level. More participatory initiatives were called for in the creation of water users’ associations (WUAs), credit delivery and participation of NGOs. Board members also requested closer cooperation with bilateral donors, particularly in the water sector, and given the multidisciplinary nature of the project, implementation of project activities should be well coordinated among the various stakeholders, particularly at the governorate level. It was explained to the Board in detail that provision had been made under the project in support of these preoccupations, in particular the multi-tier rural finance system, the possibility of involving local NGOs and the significant contribution of the project to improve the quality of life of the settlers, in addition to their economic empowerment.

II. Grant Proposals

In approving the grant proposals submitted to the Board, the Directors for Indonesia and Nigeria sought clarifications on the nature and level of grant resources provided by the Fund for research grants and, as a subgroup, to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) centres. It was clarified that the Fund’s support channelled through the CGIAR system was for specific, pro-poor, downstream adaptive research projects, with National Agricultural Research System (NARS) partners, and did not support international research centre core budgets, as was implied. The level of resources for agricultural research grants (CGIAR and non-CGIAR) is confined to a ceiling of 3.5% of the Fund’s annual effective lending programme. It was noted that only one of the seven grants under discussion was designated for the CGIAR. The Director for Germany reminded the Board of the ongoing Office of Evaluation and Studies (OE) evaluation of the research grants portfolio and suggested that this set of issues would be best addressed when the results of this exercise are available to the Board, along with a new grants policy paper incorporating the lessons and future directions emerging from that evaluation.

The following grant proposals were approved by the Seventy-Fifth Session of the Executive Board:

Technical Assistance Grant for Agricultural Research and Training by a CGIAR-Supported International Centre
EB 2002/75/R.24

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA): Enhancing Food Security in the Nile Valley and Red Sea Region: Technology Generation and Dissemination for Sustainable Production of Cereals and Cool-Season Food Legumes

In approving about USD1.2 million for this programme, in response to a clarification from the Director for Eritrea, it was clarified that, while the country would not be a lead participant in this new phase of an ongoing research initiative, it would nevertheless be a beneficiary of the international public goods emerging from the programme– specifically, from the new cultivars to be developed under the programme and from training and travelling workshops by which NARS from several countries, in the subregional and thematic networks under the regional programme, would directly benefit.

Technical Assistance Grant for Agricultural Research and Training by a Non-CGIAR-Supported International Centre
EB 2002/75/R.25

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): Marine Resources Management Programme in the Red Sea

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD 1.0 million.

Technical Assistance Grant to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for the Rural Knowledge Network Pilot Project for East Africa
EB 2002/75/R.27

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD 1.5 million.

Grant to the Global Mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (CCD) to Support the Development and Implementation of Action Programmes and Related Initiatives– Second Instalment
EB 2002/75/R.28

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD 1.25 million.

Technical Assistance Grant to the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) for the Programme for Electronic Networking for Rural Asia/Pacific (ENRAP) Projects– PhaseII
EB 2002/75/R.29

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD 1.0 million.

Technical Assistance Grant to the International Farming Systems Research Methodology Network (RIMISP) for the FIDAMERICA Network– Phase III
EB 2002/75/R.30

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD 913000.

Technical Assistance Grant to the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) for the Rural Microenterprise Support Programme in Latin America and the Caribbean (PROMER)– PhaseII
EB 2002/75/R.31

The Executive Board approved a grant of USD 587000.