Issue no. 1 - October 2005

Message from the Director of IFAD's Western and Central Africa Division

In September 2000, for the first time in history, the international community agreed to a set of clear goals for reducing world poverty by 2015. In doing so, they understood that all partners would need to work together on the priorities identified in national poverty reduction strategies.

IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicting rural poverty in developing countries and plays a vital role in the shared task of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is in this context that IFAD adopted, in 2002, a regional strategy for poverty reduction in Western and Central Africa . The strategy focuses on building the capacity of rural poor people and their organizations. It is based on local and external knowledge, and on partnerships with institutions that share IFAD's vision and complement its approaches.

It is clear from the United Nations' recent report that it will not be easy for many African countries to reach the MDGs. All donors, governments, civil society, farmer organizations, development agencies and project staff must take concerted action to strengthen partnerships for greater impact.

IFAD believes that better communication with its partners can improve the results of its operations. Therefore, the Western and Central Africa Division has created a newsletter called FIDAction to share information on its activities and programmes with its partners. This quarterly newsletter will keep you informed on IFAD's operations in the region, including new programmes and projects, partnership agreements, and innovative approaches to reducing poverty and promoting policy dialogue.

Each newsletter will contain: an editorial; news from IFAD on policies, strategies, activities, new loans and grants; reports on cross-cutting themes; and information on projects, FIDAFRIQUE and partnerships.

FIDAction will also be a forum for discussion and information exchange with all our partners on development and poverty reduction efforts. Your contributions are welcome. Through an exchange of our successes, experiences and lessons learned, we can all benefit, and thus contribute to poverty reduction and economic growth in the region.

Dear partners, FIDAction is your publication. Your contributions, comments and suggestions will be its cornerstone. We are counting on you. Therefore, I invite you to send articles and opinions by e-mail to [email protected]

FIDAction will be distributed in English and French, in print and electronically on the websites of IFAD and FIDAFRIQUE.

Mohamed Béavogui

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Improving the impact of IFAD's programmes and projects: the Bamako workshop

A workshop on the implementation of IFAD-supported programmes and projects in the Western and Central Africa region was held in Bamako , Mali 8 to 11 March, with the aim of identifying and planning ways to improve their performance.

BamakoOrganized in partnership with Government of Mali, the workshop was attended by 130 representatives from governments, IFAD-supported programmes and projects, regional organizations, civil society, cooperating institutions, donor organizations and IFAD.

Recent studies on progress by countries towards achieving the MDGs suggest that very few African countries will achieve their goals by 2015. In their opening address to the Bamako workshop, both the Vice-President of IFAD, Cyril Enweze, and the Minister for Agriculture of the Republic of Mali , Seydou Traoré, underlined the need to improve the impact of poverty reduction policies and projects in the region. In response to the evolving macro-institutional context and the commitment of the international community to poverty reduction and achieving the MDGs, IFAD is adopting new operating mechanisms and adjusting its strategies.

In his introductory message to the workshop, the Director of IFAD's Western and Central Africa Division, Mohamed Béavogui, mentioned a number of far-reaching changes in Western and Central Africa and in IFAD that contribute to poverty reduction efforts in the region. In particular, IFAD has established a Performance-Based Allocation System (PBAS) and a Results and Impact Management System (RIMS). The PBAS is a basis for dialogue between IFAD and partner governments; RIMS is a tool designed to measure the impact of programmes and projects by tracking a few, well-focused indicators. Both are backed by a continuous emphasis on policy dialogue, partnership building, and the formulation of common strategies on cross-cutting themes like gender, rural finance and knowledge management. These new approaches will enhance IFAD's ability to pursue its strategic objectives in a rapidly changing context that is both favourable and challenging at global and regional levels.

IFAD's intervention approach is shifting away from the financing of stand-alone projects towards a more programmatic approach at country level. IFAD positions itself as a partner in the countries where it works, to increase impact.

The working groups and plenary sessions of the Bamako workshop were an opportunity to discuss the experiences of different partners and identify the main constraints to ensuring effective implementation. The challenges identified included: monitoring and evaluation systems; quality of service provision; rate of disbursement of funds; and performance in project management.

Workshop participants identified priority actions and formulated the Bamako Action Plan for the period 2005-2007. The plan's main objective is to improve the management and implementation of programmes and projects by harmonizing methods and tools.

Bamako CD coverThe plan highlights the importance of communication, partnerships and policy dialogue to accelerate the introduction of the programmatic approach at the country level. The priority actions were identified using criteria that were specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART), building on the experience gained through implementation of an earlier action plan adopted in 2002, in Cotonou, Benin.

Documentation on the Bamako Workshop is available electronically and on request or on the FIDAFRIQUE website.

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FIDAFRIQUE: a communication network for rural development

FIDAFRIQUE is a communication network for IFAD-financed programmes and projects in Western and Central Africa that facilitates the sharing and dissemination of knowledge to improve the performance and impact of programmes and projects at local, national and regional levels.

It is an Internet-based network, connecting all IFAD-supported programmes and projects in the region, as well as key partners in rural development. FIDAFRIQUE was established to make information widely available, including to the most isolated rural communities reached by IFAD's programmes and projects.

Launched in 1999, the network's first phase was devoted to: purchasing computers and telecommunications equipment for projects; establishing networks; and training staff, who continue to benefit from access to technical assistance and training on demand.

During the second phase, launched in January 2002, a newly-established coordination team has developed electronic communication tools. The network's electronic system is now operational, and provides users, particularly project and programme staff, with a broad range of services, including a web site, software, domain names, e-mail, chat rooms and an electronic discussion forum. Thirty programmes and grassroots organizations throughout the region are now members of the network.

By the end of the year, FIDAFRIQUE will focus more on documenting learning and building on successful experiences, through a system designed to allow users to exchange information and lessons learned. The approach and methodology for knowledge sharing will be fine-tuned in collaboration with all stakeholders. Staff of IFAD-supported programmes and projects, and other partners will be able to share information electronically on methods they have found useful for collecting and processing data, disseminating information, knowledge management and for sharing good practices.

The success and sustainability of FIDAFRIQUE depends on the quality and relevance of contributions by programme and project staff, and the level of user participation.

The network's core role as a mechanism for communication and knowledge-sharing throughout the region was mentioned repeatedly during the Bamako workshop. It plays an important role in ensuring that knowledge management and the sharing of experiences are an integral part of all IFAD-supported programmes and projects in the region.

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IFAD approves new activities in Western and Central Africa

More resources and more constant investment in development activities for rural poor people and their organizations are needed in order to fight poverty in Western and Central Africa . IFAD provides loans and grants to finance projects and activities in the region.

New activitiesA US$19 million loan for the Republic of Ghana to support the US$27.7 million Root and Tuber Improvement and Marketing Programme was approved by the Eighty-Fifth session of IFAD's Executive Board in September. The programme will help small farmers, traders and processors participate more fully in the marketing chain for selling roots and tubers, including negotiating prices and contracts, and improving bartering and marketing skills. It will promote the use of processing technologies by increasing rural producers' access to matching grants, micro-leasing and other lending instruments.

Four other interventions, financed through a grant and three loans worth a total of US$43.5 million, are expected to start soon in the region. The loans were approved by the Eighty-Fourth Session of IFAD's Executive Board, held in Rome in April, and will finance activities in Chad, Mali and Senegal.

MaliThe Northern Regions Investment and Rural Development Programme in North Mali ( Programme d'investissement et de développement rural dans les régions du Nord Mali , PIDRN) will promote rural development and strengthen the capacity of marginalized groups, small-scale producers, nomadic herders, women and rural youth in the areas of Timbuktu and Gao. Participatory approaches will be used to assist poor rural communities to learn to plan and carry out self-sustaining agropastoral development activities and improve community-level infrastructure. The programme is cofinanced by the West African Development Bank (BOAD) and the Belgian Survival Fund. The loan agreement was signed on 24 May this year at IFAD headquarters in Rome , in the presence of the President of the Republic of Mali , Amadou Toumani Touré. The ceremony also provided the occasion for celebrating 20 years of collaboration between IFAD and the Government of Mali. North Mali is particularly disadvantaged, and this programme will be the first in the area with IFAD as the lead donor.

The Promotion of Rural Entrepreneurship Project – Phase II ( Projet de promotion de l'entreprenariat rural, phase 2, PROMER-II) in Senegal will build on and consolidate the achievements of the project's pilot first phase. It will continue to promote the creation of durable employment and diversification of income sources among the most vulnerable rural poor people, particularly women and young people. The project will work to create an enabling environment for the development of non-farm, micro- and small-scale enterprises by setting up a self-sustaining network of providers of business development services. It will also assist microentrepreneurs to expand their businesses and improve their profitability. This is the 12 th project that IFAD has financed in Senegal . It is also cofinanced by BOAD.

The Batha Rural Development Project ( Projet de développement rural du Batha, PRODER-B) in Chad focuses on a region marked by rapid land degradation and limited access by the poor to both resources and information. Rural poor people in this region depend on agriculture for their survival, and are made even more vulnerable because they are excluded from decision-making. The project will strengthen the capacity of rural producers and their organizations, including women, young people, farmers' organizations and rural communities in general. They will be assisted in identifying the constraints to their own development, establishing priorities, and in planning and implementing their own projects. They will be fully involved in monitoring and evaluating performance and impact.

 

A loan agreement for PROMER II in the Republic of Senegal was signed at IFAD headquarters on 7 July by IFAD President Lennart Båge, and the Ambassador for Senegal to Italy and the Permanent Representative for Senegal to IFAD, FAO and WFP, Momar Gueye. A loan agreement for PRODER B in the Republic of Chad was signed at IFAD Headquarters on 14 July by Lennart Båge and the Plenipotentiary Ambassador for Chad Mahamat Abdelrassaoui.

 

A US$1.5 million grant was awarded to the NGO West African Rural Foundation ( Fondation rurale en Afrique de l'Ouest - FRAO) for a programme to strengthen the management skills of staff implementing IFAD-financed programmes and projects in the region. This programme is particularly important considering the role of better management in the IFAD's efforts to strengthen the capacity of rural poor people. It is a major element in the Bamako Action Plan.

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Sao Tomé and Principe : the promise of organic cocoa

The development of organic cocoa farming under Sao Tomé and Principe's Participatory Smallholder Agriculture and Artisanal Fisheries Development Programme is producing promising results and improving the livelihoods of hundreds of farmers and their families. The initiative, which was launched in partnership with private enterprise, is part of the country's efforts to reach the MDGs.

Sao TomeIn the early 1990s, IFAD, the World Bank and the French Cooperation agreed to support the land reform programme of Government of Sao Tomé and Principe . The programme led to more secure land tenure for smallholders and increased agricultural production. Cocoa is the country's main crop, accounting for more than 90 per cent of its export earnings. Most cocoa is produced by small farmers. Sao Tomé was formerly the world's largest exporter of cocoa, producing up to 40,000 tonnes a year. But since the 1990s, production has declined steadily to an average of 4,000 tonnes a year. This decline, in combination with fluctuating world prices, has resulted in severe poverty for farmers.

In January 2000, through the programme, IFAD initiated a study to develop a specialty commodity chain for Sao Toméan aromatic organic cocoa. The study team worked with André Deberdt, president of Kaoka, a subsidiary of Cemoi agro-industrial group and the largest French producer of fine organic chocolate. The study concluded that cocoa farmers could greatly boost their income by focusing on two quality standards, aroma and organic growing. The team concluded this was a lucrative niche market for small-scale cocoa growers.

cacaoThe organic cocoa programme was launched in 2001 under the National Support Programme for Family Agriculture to promote the production of a high-value aromatic organic cocoa that would be less subject to world price fluctuations, and to create the label "Origine Sao Tomé". Under a five-year contract signed between the growers participating in the programme and KAOKA, the farmers agreed to produce a cocoa bean that complied with KAOKA's quality standards, and the French company agreed to buy all their cocoa. The partners in the programme include two local NGOs called ZATONA and ADAPPA, the CIAT research institute, ECOCERT for certification, and 11 rural villages with a total of 320 farm families. Today, 20 communities participate in the programme with a total of 750 smallholder families of which 30 per cent are women.

As a result of the partnership, farmers have access to both a stable market and stable prices and to the expertise needed to enter and establish a solid position in European markets. Purchase prices are established using a grid ranging between a guaranteed minimum of US$1 per kg and a maximum of US$1.70 per kg, depending on quotations on the New York stock exchange. KAOKA has access to a guaranteed supply of quality cocoa. Cost-benefit analyses carried out in April this year, revealed a 17 per cent return on investment. The average annual family income rose by more than 30 per cent. About 1,000 farm families are expected to benefit from the programme by the end of 2006.

This experience is an example of IFAD's commitment to promoting investments that will generate durable benefits for rural poor people, through partnerships with the private sector. Similar programmes are being promoted in Western and Central Africa for commodities such as gum arabic, green beans, mangoes , millet and sorghum and cassava.

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Events

President of Burkina Faso Blaise Compaoré with IFAD President Lennart Båge during a courtesy visit to IFAD headquarters in Rome on 24 May this year. Their discussions focused on IFAD's commitment to increasing resource allocations to Africa , with a view to making a significant contribution towards achieving the MDGs in rural areas.


Rome, Italy: The Eighty-Fifth Session of IFAD's Executive Board was held 6 to 8 September. Deliberations concerning the Western and Central Africa region included discussions of country strategic opportunities papers for Benin and for Niger , and approval of a new loan to the Republic of Ghana, for the Root and Tuber Improvement and Marketing Programme.

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: A regional workshop on implementation of the FIDAFRIQUE Action Plan took place from 26 to 28 September. It was attended by managers of IFAD-supported programmes and projects in the region and by IFAD country programme managers.

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: A regional workshop on the Results and Impact Management System took place 29 to 30 September.

Doha, Qatar: Consultation on the Seventh Replenishment - Fourth Session, 1-2 October

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