Opening remarks from the Director of the Near East and North Africa Division
In an effort to increase the effectiveness of its agricultural and rural development programmes, IFAD has developed a new action plan. The plan is now IFAD’s principal vehicle for organizational change during the period 2007-2009. The priorities of the Near East and North Africa (NENA) Division for this period are set to maximize the division's contribution to the action plan. These priorities will also fully support IFAD and its Member States in the region in their efforts to achieve their strategic agriculture and rural development objectives.
Among the division’s main priorities is enhancing the development of IFAD's country programmes and project pipeline, in close collaboration with the main country partners. In 2007 and 2008, five country strategic opportunities programmes (COSOPs), including project pipelines, will be developed for Jordan, Morocco, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen. A main theme of the resulting programmes and projects will be the effort to address the alarming problem of rural unemployment, especially among young men and women. Another theme will be the efforts to strengthen the domestic and export market links for small rural producers. This will be a continuation of a trend that IFAD started in 2006. A number of articles in this issue of Rural Echoes explain how IFAD intends to accomplish this goal through projects and programmes approved in 2006 and 2007.
Another important priority is the work with governments, cooperating institutions and other partners to improve the implementation and results of ongoing IFAD-supported projects. This is crucial to ensuring that these projects produce the expected positive impact on rural poor people. To achieve this goal, we have set for ourselves specific targets that will help reduce the ratio of projects at risk in our ongoing portfolio. These targets will also help gradually increase the number of projects under the direct supervision and support of IFAD headquarters and field staff. Efforts to meet these targets are being monitored carefully.
Special support and supervisory efforts will be required wherever delays in realizing project effectiveness are particularly long. This is a major bottleneck in the implementation process. We are currently intensifying the dialogue with our Member States to reach an agreement on the appropriate means to speed up project effectiveness. In addition, we are developing and carefully monitoring special project-level action plans to address other issues affecting the implementation of ongoing projects. In doing so, we need the involvement and support of all our partners at the country level.
Mona Bishay, Director, Near East and North Africa Division
IFAD and Saudi Arabia: Consolidating a historical partnership
A high-level delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia paid a three-day visit to IFAD headquarters in Rome from 19 to 21 February 2007. Headed by Dr Abdullah al-Obaid, Deputy Minister for Agricultural Research and Development, the Saudi delegation held talks with IFAD President Lennart Båge, Assistant President Kevin Cleaver (Programme Management Department), NENA Division Director Mona Bishay, and other senior staff members. The delegation also participated in a series of discussions with other IFAD directors and staff. The discussions focused on identifying areas of cooperation that would enhance the ongoing partnership between Saudi Arabia and the Fund.
In his meeting with the Saudi delegation, President Båge underlined the importance of the delegation’s visit as follow-up to his earlier visit to the country in May 2006. The President reiterated IFAD’s intention to enhance cooperation with the Saudi Ministry of Agriculture. In this context, the Fund’s vast experience and knowledge in agroecological regions similar to many areas in Saudi Arabia could be of benefit to the country.
The director and staff members of the NENA Division briefed the Saudi delegation on IFAD’s new strategic framework for the period 2007-2010 and the related operational modalities. A series of PowerPoint presentations was made that included an analysis of rural poverty and the programmatic implications and characteristics of IFAD’s ongoing programmes and thematic priorities in the NENA region.
The presentations covered ongoing regional grants and technical assistance programmes suitable for Saudi Arabia and other member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Other IFAD units and the Saudi delegation discussed IFAD’s organizational and financial structure, human resources management, and the IFAD website and Rural Poverty Portal, among other issues.
Deputy Minister Al-Obaid presented an overview of the country’s agricultural strategies and the challenges facing agricultural development. He spoke about the regional differences in natural resource holdings and the constraints to formulating specific development programmes and policies, especially in remote areas with poor economic prospects. The discussions with the Saudi delegation resulted in the identification of a number of areas in which the Fund and Saudi Arabia may develop an enhanced cooperation programme.
With an eye to capacity-building, the Ministry agreed to ensure the participation of Saudi nationals in various training courses through the Near East and North Africa Management Training in Agriculture Programme (NENAMTA). Saudi nationals may also receive training in Web-based knowledge-sharing through the Regional Programme of Knowledge Management in the Knowledge Access for Rural Interconnected Areas Network (KariaNet). It was also agreed that Saudi authorities would consider nominating candidates for the IFAD Associate Professional Officers programme.
In the area of technical assistance, discussions focused on the role that IFAD might play in supporting the Ministry in gaining additional expertise in project design and supervision. IFAD welcomes the participation of technical staff from the Ministry in IFAD field missions during the various phases of the project cycle, from inception through appraisal and implementation.
In support of agricultural research in Saudi Arabia, IFAD offered assistance in formulating framework cooperation agreements with regional research entities. This should help to foster research agendas with a specific focus on the needs of marginalized zones in the country and in favour of small farmers.
Deputy Minister Al-Obaid expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the visit and reiterated the importance of cooperation between Saudi Arabia and IFAD in combating rural poverty in the developing world. He concluded that the visit had allowed both parties to develop a more tangible framework of cooperation within which Saudi Arabia might also benefit from IFAD’s expertise, particularly in development of the agricultural sector.
For further information, contact: [email protected]
IFAD seeks greater engagement by Arab financial institutions in project co-financing
An IFAD delegation headed by President Lennart Båge visited Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates from 31 January to 3 February 2007. The visit was intended to strengthen the foundations for greater cooperation with the Governments and development aid institutions of the two countries. The President also attended a high-level meeting of Arab financial institutions in Kuwait City. He was accompanied by senior IFAD officials, including Matthew Wyatt, Assistant President, External Affairs Department, and Mona Bishay, Director of the NENA Division.
In the United Arab Emirates, the President met with the Minister for Finance and Industry, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, the Minister of State for Finance and Industry, Mohammed Khalfan bin Kharbash, the Minister for Environment and Water, Mohammed Saeed al Kindi, and other senior government officials. The President also held extensive discussions on future cooperation with the heads of national institutions, including the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.
Discussions with the acting Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), Ahmed Hussein Baqer, centred on the complementarity of the roles of the two institutions and the prospects for joint funding opportunities. The President emphasized the need to take advantage of synergies between the two institutions to pursue collaborative efforts actively in priority countries.
During the discussions, the Director of IFAD’s NENA Division shared information on the Fund’s project pipeline and elaborated on the opportunities for co-financing in the region, including in Lebanon, the Sudan and Yemen. ADFD was informed of IFAD’s plans to hold a workshop in Yemen in July 2007 and welcomed the opportunity to participate. It was agreed that IFAD and ADFD would pursue discussions at the level of their respective programme managers.
In Kuwait, the President and his delegation met with Finance Minister Bader al-Humaidhi, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Khaled al-Jarallah, and other senior government officials. The President also held talks with Abdelwahab al-Bader, the Director-General of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED).
President Båge emphasized the need to take advantage of the synergies that exist between IFAD and KFAED to pursue opportunities for joint collaborative efforts actively. Director Bishay provided a list of pipeline projects for possible co-financing by the Kuwait Fund. Al-Bader welcomed the chance to explore new opportunities for cooperation at the technical and operational levels. He explained that KFAED’s investments followed very closely the priorities and borrowing policies of client governments.
Both parties agreed that IFAD and KFAED would endeavour to explore every possibility with recipient countries for such an engagement. The President invited KFAED representatives to visit IFAD to discuss in greater detail how collaboration could be strengthened based on respective complementarities. KFAED has previously co-financed three IFAD-supported projects, one each in Burundi, Morocco and Yemen, for a total amount of US$52 million.
At the invitation of Mr Abdlatif al-Hamad, Director-General of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the President of IFAD and his delegation participated in the annual high-level meeting of the Heads of the Arab Funds Coordination Group. The group consists of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the Saudi Fund for Development, the Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organizations, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Islamic Development Bank and the OPEC Fund for International Development.
The meeting represented an opportunity to discuss cooperation with the delegations of these traditional partners and explore possibilities for the joint funding of new projects. By the end of 2006, these partners had provided a total of US$865 million for 104 IFAD-supported projects in 56 developing countries. The discussions revealed considerable interest on all sides in building stronger partnerships with IFAD to help contribute effectively to rural poverty reduction. IFAD intends to pursue more interaction with these partners aimed at greater engagement in co-financing new interventions and initiatives.
For further information, contact: [email protected]
Regional themes
Addressing the key challenge of rural youth unemployment
Developing countries continue to suffer from high rates of unemployment and underemployment among the young generations. Most of the world’s unemployed people between the ages of 15 and 24 live in developing countries. The countries most seriously affected by youth unemployment are found in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region, followed by sub-Saharan Africa.
To examine the steps that governments, development agencies and partners might take to address the problem, the NENA Division convened a round-table discussion, in collaboration with two of IFAD’s other Africa divisions, on 14 February 2007 as a side event to the annual meeting of the IFAD Governing Council. A number of panellists addressed the round table, which was attended by representatives of a significant number of IFAD Member States and staff. The discussion focused on generating remunerative livelihood opportunities for rural youth.
According to Samir Radwan, former Managing Director of Egypt’s Economic Research Forum and one of the invited panellists, the NENA region has the world’s highest rates of general and youth unemployment. The average unemployment rate among Arab youth is 25.6 percent, almost two times higher than the total unemployment rate in the region.
Extensive analyses of the magnitude, nature and underlying root causes of growing urban and rural youth unemployment and underemployment were presented for discussion at the round table. The participants noted that, in the NENA region, rapid population growth and a delay in the decline in fertility rates had led to 3 percent growth in the working-age population over the last few decades. This is the world’s highest such rate. Given that more than half of all Arabs are under the age of 21 and two thirds are under 30, the region will need to create 100 million more jobs by the year 2020 merely to keep up with rising labour demand. Rapid growth in urban unemployment in most countries of the region is not due to demographic growth alone. It is also heavily affected by increased migration from rural areas, where resources for development are becoming more scarce.
Participants noted that the agricultural sector’s inability to solve the problems of rural unemployment, poverty and food insecurity leads to increased migration to urban areas. One panellist said the failure of the agricultural sector to generate employment opportunities was partially due to the recent transition to a market economy. He added that the transition had negatively affected small landholders and the landless. Globalization and trade liberalization have yielded major problems for small farmers, including the difficulty of competing with heavily subsidized foreign products and the problem of internal supply constraints.
The round-table participants discussed various approaches and success stories while examining the problem in several developing countries. A general consensus emerged on key challenges facing governments, development agencies and other actors. These challenges include the need to identify innovative ways to promote the positive contribution of youth to development.
Agricultural and rural areas need to be made more attractive to young people so as to encourage them to live, work and invest in these areas. Agriculture must become more productive and profitable. Niche markets and new economic opportunities that might provide remunerative livelihood opportunities for entrepreneurial youth, such as engagement in organic production for export, should be encouraged.
Increased investment in agriculture by government and development partners will be critical. It is essential to increase the productivity and profitability of agriculture to make it more attractive to rural youth. For national economic and rural youth policies to be effective, they must be developed in a consultative way so that the views of youth representatives, organizations and NGOs that work with young people are taken into account from the early stages of policy formulation. Priority interventions should include increasing young people’s access to education and vocational training, addressing transport and housing bottlenecks, and access to credit.
The round-table participants also identified a number of areas for potential support by IFAD and development partners, including:
- developing better targeting strategies that involve rural youth in rural and agricultural development programmes;
- creating employment and income-generating opportunities in marketing channels in rural areas;
- increasing the productivity and profitability of agriculture through programmes that support better access to technology and support services and promote more equitable trade policies;
- strengthening the capacities and voice of rural youth organizations;
- identifying success stories in the promotion of rural youth employment and replicating these success stories on a larger scale;
- fostering access to better education and vocational training opportunities among rural youth;
- providing incentives to encourage rural families to send their children to school and keep them there despite the tendency of families to rely on the labour of their children on family farms; and
- organizing a world conference on rural youth and development to raise awareness about the need to address specific development issues related to rural youth.
IFAD’s NENA Division is currently designing a number of new programmes that will address rural youth unemployment. The division will also include youth unemployment as a major component in other rural poverty reduction programmes in the NENA region.
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For further information, contact: [email protected]
Enhancing the role of the marketing of horticultural commodities for domestic and export consumption to reduce rural unemployment and poverty
A regional workshop on the role of the marketing of horticultural commodities for domestic and export consumption to reduce rural unemployment and poverty was held in Aleppo, Syrian Arab Republic, from 13 to15 March 2007. The workshop was jointly organized by IFAD’s Near East and North Africa (NENA) Division and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).
The workshop was opened by the Director-General of ICARDA, Mahmoud Solh, and the Director of IFAD’s Near East and North Africa Division, Mona Bishay. It brought together various experts and development practitioners who knew of successful experiences in the production and marketing of horticultural commodities. A number of NENA Division staff members participated actively in the workshop. This exercise will help them to internalize lessons learned from successful experiences and apply them in the design and implementation of future rural development programmes. The discussions focused on the following themes:
- obstacles to production and marketing;
- success stories in employment generation and rural poverty reduction;
- the assessment of marketing potential; and
- strategies, interventions and partnerships.
In his opening remarks, Director-General Solh underlined the need for a strategic vision, clear directions and appropriate technologies in promoting the production and marketing of horticultural commodities in the NENA region. He reiterated the complementarity of the ICARDA research agenda and IFAD’s role in scaling up successful technologies for improved production and marketing.
NENA Division Director Bishay addressed the challenges and prospects of promoting the horticultural products of small farmers. She highlighted the potential for growth in employment as a result of the expanding production and exports of these products. She also described the potential for satisfying demand in the growing urban centres of many countries in the region. She stressed the need for institutions to join hands in taking full advantage of these opportunities for poverty reduction over the medium and long term.
A total of 22 presentations were delivered during seven sessions at the workshop, and working groups held detailed discussions on each of the major themes. Among the themes were the region’s existing and potential comparative advantages, such as its agroclimatic diversity, that allow the production of high-value fruits and vegetables, including indigenous species of various natural and organic crops. Proximity to markets in the Gulf and the European Union – where there is growing demand for out-of-season products and dried vegetables and fruits – is another comparative advantage. The workshop underscored the need to create an enabling environment for exports to regional and international markets.
The workshop suggested several criteria for identifying and targeting horticultural commodities suitable for production by small farmers. Such commodities should have the potential for high unit return, low cost of investment, low production costs, high water-use efficiency and high nutritional value. Obstacles identified by the participants included unfavourable macroeconomic policies, processing infrastructure and transport capacity; trade and tariff barriers; quality and safety standards; and export-market requirements.
Several success stories from the NENA region were presented, including specific cases in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen. An appropriate institutional and regulatory environment and effective producer and marketing associations are key factors in the successful market integration of small horticultural growers. Other factors are skilful management, the supply chain, market information, horticulture education, training and extension, strategic planning, and government support. The lessons learned revolve around the need for private-public partnerships, unions of producers and exporters, entrepreneurial “champions”, and planning capabilities at the local and national levels.
The workshop proposed a number of strategic approaches and interventions to link smaller horticultural growers to markets. Key interventions would include:
- support for improvement of policy, institutional and regulatory frameworks;
- assessment of market opportunities;
- analysis of commodity chains; and
- development of market-based business plans.
Enhancing the entrepreneurship and business skills of small farmers through technical information and knowledge transfers, training and capacity-building is also a key factor. The development of local market channels and information systems and the establishment of microfinance and agricultural credit facilities will support the launch of effective horticultural initiatives. Likewise, the development and transfer of appropriate technologies, improved farm-level quality and the promotion of post-harvesting, processing and value-adding activities will be crucial for market outreach.
The organizers agreed to summarize these findings in a report on the strategic orientation in research and development to support the horticulture of small farmers in dry areas. The findings will shape the design of IFAD’s country programmes in the NENA region in coming years.
For further information, contact: [email protected]
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Continuing support for the sustainable management of natural resources in the Arabian Peninsula
In April 2007, the Executive Board of IFAD approved a grant of US$1.5 million for a “Technology Transfer for Natural Resources Management and Enhancement of Farmers’ Livelihoods in the Arabian Peninsula Programme”. This is the third in a series of grant-supported programmes designed to help countries of the Arabian Peninsula address issues related to the sustainable management of their natural resources, especially water and range resources.
The new five-year programme will be carried out by the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA). It will benefit Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
In April 2007, the Executive Board of IFAD approved a grant of US$1.5 million for the Programme for Technology Transfer to Enhance Rural Livelihoods and Natural Resource Management in the Arabian Peninsula. This is the third in a series of grant-supported programmes designed to help countries of the Arabian Peninsula address issues related to the sustainable management of their natural resources, especially water and range resources. The new five-year programme will be carried out by the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). It will benefit Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
IFAD and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development provided several grants in support of the Arabian Peninsula Regional Programmes I and II (APRP). These programmes aimed at building the capacity of national agricultural research systems to generate technologies and management practices for more effective on-farm use of water and the sustainable use of rangeland resources.
The APRP resulted in a number of technology packages to address on-farm water management and land degradation problems. The overall objective was to improve the incomes and livelihoods of poor farmers and pastoralists, while protecting the natural resources on which they depend. The APRP and the national agricultural research systems have tested and evaluated the technology packages on a number of farms in Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The technologies have proved their economic feasibility and sustainability under local farming conditions.
The new programme will promote the transfer of these technologies to a wide range of resource-poor farmers and pastoralists in the Arabian Peninsula. Rural women will constitute an important segment of the target group. Women are playing an increasingly important role in agriculture as a result of men’s shift towards off-farm employment. These technologies include:
- an integrated production system to produce large quantities of indigenous forage species with high water-use efficiency for range reseeding and forage production;
- an integrated production system for forage-type spineless cactus;
- the participatory development and evaluation of rangeland rehabilitation, water harvesting and reseeding practices;
- an integrated production and protection management practice for the production of high-quality cash crops with less pesticide residue and hazardous chemicals; and
- efficient high-intensity water-use techniques for the production of high-quality cash crops.
The new programme continues a strategic partnership among IFAD, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, ICARDA and the national agricultural research systems to help transfer much needed technologies to resource-poor farmers in the Arabian Peninsula.
For further information, contact: [email protected]
Country programme features
IFAD to focus its interventions in Lebanon on water and markets
An official Lebanese delegation visited IFAD headquarters in Rome from 2 to 4 May 2007. The delegation was composed of Hussein Nasrallah, Director of the Coordination and Studies Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture; Rania Khalil, Head of the Project Development Unit, Ministry of Agriculture; Gloria Abu Zeid, President of the Executive Committee of Lebanon’s Green Plan; and Wafa Charafedine, Director, Funding Division, Council for Development and Reconstruction.
The Lebanese delegation was received by IFAD Assistant President Kevin Cleaver (Programme Management Department), who expressed support for Lebanon’s efforts in rural reconstruction.
The delegation held extensive talks with IFAD officials, headed by Mona Bishay, Director of the Near East and North Africa Division. The discussions dealt with Lebanon’s reconstruction efforts in the rural and agricultural sector following the July 2006 war with Israel. They also reviewed lessons learned through IFAD’s completed projects, its strategic framework and thematic priorities in the region, and its performance-based allocation system. The delegation and IFAD also discussed the Fund’s ongoing operations and its future investments in the country. The deliberations included discussions on relations between the Government of Lebanon and the IFAD-housed Global Mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
The Government of Lebanon and IFAD agreed to focus IFAD financing on the supplementary irrigation sector and on soil and water conservation activities. The parties also agreed to use complementary financing to link smallholders to markets. In addition, they agreed to develop a new project concept note on processing. The new project would cover the entire country.
Progress was reviewed with the preparation of the study on the livelihood and gender assessment of war damage, to be finalized in July 2007. The study is currently under preparation by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Directorate of Studies and Project Management of the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture.
Discussions with the Lebanese delegation revealed that a large database on agriculture and poverty is now available in Lebanon. The database will be used by the Ministry of Agriculture to develop an agricultural strategy that will serve as a platform for mobilizing additional national and donor support for the agricultural sector. It was agreed that IFAD would support the development of a “poverty focus” in Lebanon’s agricultural strategy. The available databases will also be used to validate the investment options of the forthcoming IFAD-financed intervention in Lebanon.
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Pressing ahead with efforts to extend microfinance services in rural Upper Egypt
Pressing ahead with efforts to extend microfinance services in rural Upper Egypt Tackling rural unemployment, especially among young people, is one of the main features of the joint interventions of the Government and IFAD in Egypt. The Upper Egypt Rural Development Project, which was approved by the IFAD Executive Board in December 2006, will enhance both past and ongoing efforts. The project is also the first of a series of projects foreseen under IFAD’s new country strategy for cooperation with the Government of Egypt. The country strategy places greater emphasis on addressing the issue of rural financial services and creating job opportunities.
The new project will help to reduce rural unemployment and poverty in the governorates of Assiut and Qena, where the poverty rate ranks among the highest in the country. Worth a total of US$19.7 million, the project will be financed through an IFAD concessional loan of US$15 million and a grant of US$0.95 million. The Government and the Egyptian Social Fund for Development will jointly supply the remaining US$3.75 million.
The project is expected to provide access to financial services for 44,000 microentrepreneurs and 200 small business operators over eight years. Some 134,000 loans would be provided for a variety of investments. These investments are expected to generate increased seasonal employment for some 30,600 women and men. A full 43 percent of these mostly young beneficiaries are women.
The project will endeavour to achieve its goals through microfinance and small and medium microenterprise development that will create sustainable job opportunities. It will also develop partnerships with the private sector.
The project will provide technical assistance and will support rural communities in the establishment of commodity-specific farmer marketing associations and handicraft marketing associations. These associations will provide the necessary support to help achieve economies of scale. They will function as focal points for small producers to establish business relationships with larger processors, exporters and domestic-market suppliers. Such partnerships will support them in marketing their products and accessing training, advisory services and research.
In addition, a credit line will finance borrowers’ requirements through two windows, namely, microcredit loans and microenterprise loans. Selected commercial banks and intermediary financial institutions offering microcredit loans will be the launching pad for expanding microfinance services in rural areas. The project will also strengthen the capacity of selected NGOs and village-based community development and marketing associations to deliver rural financial services efficiently.
The project would be implemented by the Social Fund for Development in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation. The governors of Assiut and Qena will be responsible for overseeing and coordinating project implementation in their respective governorates.
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Creating rural employment opportunities for young people in the Syrian Arab Republic
The IFAD Executive Board approved the Syrian Arab Republic’s ambitious North-eastern Region Rural Development Project in April 2007. Targeting unemployed youth, women, small farmers and landless people in the provinces of Deir Ezur, Hassake and Raqqa, the project aims to generate massive employment opportunities.
The US$57 million project will be jointly financed by IFAD, the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) and the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic. IFAD will provide a loan of US$20 million on highly concessional terms. This investment will be matched by a n OFID loan of US$17 million and a Government contribution of US$20 million.
The project’s target group consists of 190,000 poor rural families representing 70 percent of the rural population in the project area. The main components of the project are community empowerment, natural resource management and irrigation, and small and microenterprise development.
The community empowerment component will promote participatory approaches and support local communities in the formation of interest groups. The natural resource management and irrigation component will support poor smallholders in modernizing their old and inefficient irrigation systems and establishing sustainable water users’ associations.
The main issue that the project will address is the growing stress between available natural resources and a rapidly increasing population with greater demands and expectations. In addition to reversing the severe water deficit, the project will promote microfinance and microenterprise development, marketing, and partnerships with the private sector. The small and microenterprise development component will support profitable on-farm and off-farm enterprises for small-scale private-sector investors.
To create employment opportunities and improve incomes, the small and microenterprise development investments will focus on credit and advisory services for a wide range of profitable private undertakings. Business advisory services will help young entrepreneurs develop business plans. Likewise, organizational development services will help create rural organizations to assist farmers in product marketing.
The project will help to establish a sustainable microfinance system by supporting the Savings Bank in improving customer services. Eventually, this will lead to the establishment of a new microfinance bank to satisfy the need for sustainable microfinance services in the rural areas of the North-eastern Region.
The proceeds of the IFAD loan will sustain a technical assistance component intended mainly to strengthen the Savings Bank and community-based associations. The Savings Bank will also receive support in implementing best practices at three project area branches and in upgrading the bank's management information system. The support for community-based associations will focus on community organization, group management and business development skills for small and microenterprises, and natural resource management.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform will be responsible for overall coordination. It will also be responsible for project operations in the crop and livestock sectors and modern on-farm irrigation. The Ministry of Irrigation will be responsible for all aspects of the project’s support for the management of water resources. On behalf of the Syrian Government, the Agricultural Cooperative Bank will manage credit delivery to investors interested in acquiring modern irrigation equipment and working capital. The Savings Bank will manage funds for lending to target group investors in small and microenterprises.
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For further information, contact: [email protected]
Somalia: Producing a food surplus in a hunger-stricken country
An independent mission to evaluate the North-Western Integrated Community Development Programme in Somaliland (North-western Somalia) discovered an interesting fact: An oasis of peace in Somalia’s troubled landscape is producing enough food to feed a large population in a country suffering from widespread hunger.
The evaluation was carried out by a team from the Wageningen University and Research Centre of the Netherlands. The team visited the project sites and assessed the impact of the project activities in November 2006. It included participatory and joint observation analysis and reflection involving all partners, with special emphasis on community members and representatives of local organizations and authorities.
The North-Western Integrated Community Development Programme has been financed since 2001 through a € 5.3 million grant from the IFAD-Belgian Survival Fund Joint Programme. The programme targets a population of 127,000 rural families in some 500 villages and hamlets, helping them to chart a new path towards betterment. Initially, it aimed to ensure that the rural families in the target group had access to the goods and services required to meet their basic needs for food, water, income and good health. But the evaluation found that the results achieved were far better than expected.
The programme has successfully increased agricultural production to surplus levels, brought about a sustainable level of food security and tackled deficiencies in nutrition, sanitation and health conditions. It has also stimulated the creation of community-based support mechanisms for a sustained increase in crop and livestock production through an impressive amount of training among community members in crop production techniques and animal health care.
Activities in health, water supply, feeder road rehabilitation, and gender have been particularly successful. It is in these components that the integrated approach has been most successful in achieving the maximum participation of community members individually and collectively. The combined involvement of local formal and informal groups, service providers from local or district authorities and the private sector has led to tangible results.
The positive response of local communities has brought substantial improvements in the quality of infrastructure, such as feeder roads, alleys and shallow wells. Local communities have displayed their potential for mass mobilization and have contributed effectively to the programme’s activities. Noteworthy results have been achieved also in terms of better accessibility of the more remote villages and the mobility of their inhabitants. This has facilitated the collection and transport of surplus production, thereby increasing the marketability of local production and the market access of villagers.
The programme’s support for rural health services, has allowed targeted communities to gain much greater access to preventive and curative health care. These services and the mechanisms adopted to fund them are established and operate in a sustainable way. A key factor in this process is the close collaboration among villagers, health workers, project staff and local authorities.
The programme has increased the capacity of local populations to access information, acquire know-how, improve organizational skills and increase the physical and financial assets of community members. It has also effectively addressed the critical degradation in the natural environment of the communities.
IFAD and the Belgian Survival Fund Joint Programme have begun work to design a second phase that will consolidate and replicate programme achievements. The second phase is expected to start implementation in 2008 immediately after the completion of the current phase of the programme.
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Knowledge management and capacity-building
KariaNet trains project staff in video film-making
IFAD’s Knowledge Access in Rural Interconnected Areas Network (KariaNet) organized a regional training workshop on video film-making in Alexandria, Egypt, from 25 to 29 March 2007.
KariaNet is a multi-stakeholder partnership among IFAD, the International Development Research Centre and IFAD-funded projects in the Near East and North Africa region. It was established in 2004 to connect IFAD-funded projects and their beneficiaries with each other and with the outside world with a view to sharing knowledge and exchanging information and experiences.
This latest training course was conducted under the Regional Training Programme of KariaNet, which supports capacity-building and knowledge-sharing among IFAD projects in the region. The event was organized with the collaboration of the West Noubaria Rural Development Project, Egypt, and held at the International Centre for Training and Development of the New Lands of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, located in Alexandria.
The training agenda included practical steps for understanding how a digital camera works and ways of shooting video clips. It also included the transfer of video clips to a personal computer or laptop, editing the clips into a video film and finally burning video compact discs for dissemination.
To ensure cost-effectiveness in the video editing, the training was based on Microsoft Windows Movie Maker, a free-use software that can be installed on any computer running the Windows XP operating program.
As a field exercise, three teams of trainees were assigned to prepare a film of short duration on the activities of the West Noubaria project.
As follow-up, KariaNet requested that member projects prepare an action plan to use video techniques to document success stories for the rest of 2007. The newly trained staff will engage in training their colleagues at project sites. IFAD expects this activity to make tangible information from IFAD-financed projects more readily accessible through project websites to network members and to all interested partners.
For further information, contact: [email protected]
Extending IFAD’s programme for the development of an information and decision support system for cereal production in the NENA region
The completion date for IFAD’s programme to develop an information and decision support system (IDSS) for cereal production has been extended from March to September 2007. This extension will allow programme staff to assess the results and achievements.
The programme was initially implemented by the International Centre for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development in Morocco in 2004 and was extended to the Syrian Arab Republic in 2005. The programme developed and tested an effective information-gathering and decision-making system to help increase farm production of wheat and barley in the region.
The system provides mechanisms for collecting minimum data sets on soil, weather and crops to calibrate and validate crop models. The application of the IDSS to risk assessment includes information-gathering on nutrient transformation and water responses. The system also provides small farmers with fertilizer recommendations using geo-referenced soil, weather, crop and economic data. Morocco and the Syrian Arab Republic were selected as case studies to determine whether the IDSS technology might be applied elsewhere in the region, specifically in Algeria, Jordan, Tunisia and Turkey.
In collaboration with the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and national research centres, the programme includes IDSS validation, staff training and the testing of methodologies for technology transfer. It includes the development of an Internet website to disseminate information from the programme in Morocco and the Syrian Arab Republic. Training in the use of the IDSS was extended to national staff of agriculture ministries and national research institutes in the NENA region, as well as in other regions.
The last major training event organized under the programme was dedicated to “Decision Support Systems and Crop Modeling to Improve Agricultural Efficiency and Reduce Production Risks.” It was held in Marrakesh, Morocco, from 4 to 8 September 2006. Attending were 26 participants from Algeria, India, Jordan, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey and Uganda.
Overall, the participants rated the training programme as very good and expressed interest in seeing similar projects implemented in their countries.
Extending the programme would assure at least one full season of farmers receiving IDSS recommendations before planting in both countries. It would also ensure data collection from experimental station trials in Morocco and the Syrian Arab Republic to validate the IDSS. This would allow time to carry out a socio-economic survey among participants in the baseline study in each of the two countries to determine the impact of the programme on farmer livelihoods. The results will be available for the use of IFAD projects in the NENA region and beyond.
For further information, contact: [email protected]
In brief
Italy’s Undersecretary for Finance and Economic Affairs, Paolo Cento, visits an IFAD project in the Sudan
Italy’s Undersecretary for Finance and Economic Affairs and IFAD Governor, Pier Paolo Cento, visited IFAD project activities in the Sudan from 23 March to 9 April 2007. He was accompanied by members of his office and the Secretary of IFAD, Paolo Ciocca. The Italian delegation joined an IFAD follow-up mission on a visit to the sites of the Gash Sustainable Livelihoods Regeneration Project in Kassala Province. The mission was carrying out a progress review on the implementation of recommendations on supervision relating to three IFAD projects in the country.
The visiting delegates had the opportunity to become familiar with the nature of IFAD interventions in the country. They also received on-site briefings from beneficiaries and project staff on the relevance and impact of the project. The briefings included the role of the Government of the Sudan in implementation and monitoring and the role of IFAD in supervision and follow-up.
The Undersecretary commended the project management for the close, hands-on collaboration among the Government, farmer organizations and farmers. He also commended the efforts to reach out to poor women and men and noted the social transformation the project is helping to bring about.
At the end of his visit, the Undersecretary met with Ibrahim Hamed, Governor of Kassala. Among other issues, they discussed the opportunity of twinning the city of Kassala with an Italian city to promote a cultural exchange. This will also help attract Italian private investments to the area. IFAD would inform the Government of the Sudan on specific collaboration outcomes resulting from this visit in due course.
Enhancing inter-agency cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
A partnership coordination meeting between IFAD’s Near East and North Africa (NENA) Division and the Europe, Near East, North Africa and Central Asia Service of the Investment Centre Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was held in Rome on 5 April 2007. The meeting, which was attended by senior staff members of the two offices, discussed ways to enhance collaboration and technical cooperation in common areas of interest. The offices acknowledged the need to develop a strategic approach for their partnership by focusing on certain themes and countries, rather than filling gaps when needed. Flexibility in sharing staff among FAO divisions will allow it to respond more quickly to IFAD’s technical project needs while gradually building the basis for longer-term engagements.
To develop a more strategic partnership at the thematic level, the two divisions identified four thematic priorities for the NENA region: water and natural resource management; trade and market development for high-value crops; rural finance; and employment generation.
Country poverty assessments and livelihood assessments would also be another area for partnership. This would be especially relevant in preparing new country strategic opportunities programmes. Other thematic studies in areas such as rural finance in transition countries are also envisaged.
IFAD’s delegation informed the Investment Centre that the Fund would directly supervise 26 projects previously supervised by the United Nations Office for Project Services. These include 10 projects in the NENA region that require a fair amount of input and assistance from the FAO Investment Centre. The Centre agreed to start programming supervision missions with IFAD’s NENA Division. The meeting also discussed the possibility of organizing joint information-sharing workshops and seminars on themes of common interest, such as the use of supply chain analysis.
The meeting also discussed similar initiatives relating to the Fund’s activities in the Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States region, which forms part of the responsibilities of the NENA Division.
IFAD organizes a regional workshop to promote the production and export of medicinal and aromatic plants
IFAD and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) have joined forces to organize a regional workshop, set for July 2007, on promoting the production and export of medicinal and aromatic plants in the Syrian Arab Republic. The importance of the contributions and potential contributions of medicinal plant cultivation to the incomes of poor farmers is often underestimated and little appreciated. Presentations will include useful data and analysis on the current levels of exploitation of medicinal plant cultivation by small farmers. The workshop draws lessons from past experiences in this area and recommends future directions for IFAD's involvement in this field in the region.
The event builds on the workshop held in the Syrian Arab Republic last March to promote the production and exportation of horticultural products. The two workshops are part of a collaborative effort by IFAD and ICARDA to promote the export of non-traditional agricultural commodities.