Project ID: 1360
Executive Board document: EB-2006-89-R-16-Rev-1

Agricultural Commodity Chain Support Project

The five commodity chains to be supported by the proposed project – cowpea, sesame, goats/sheep, poultry and onions – hold significant development opportunities for the rural poor. Given the promising trends in the potential for improving marketing and access to new technologies and for increasing both farmgate prices and profit margins for rural poor actors located downstream from production, support for these commodity chains is both timely and appropriate. The domestic market is vibrant and the regional integration process is accelerating. Thanks to the support given by the Economic Community of West African States and the West African Economic and Monetary Union to commodity chains, a growing number of agricultural products can now be more easily exported. Burkina Faso is particularly well placed to take advantage of this regional economic opportunity, as it shares a border with six other countries.

The project will target 1,000 common economic interest groups (CEIGs): 800 farmer groups and 200 trader and processor groups. It will also strengthen 30 professional commodity chain organizations. In total, 20,000 households should benefit from project activities. Target groups include: (i) farmers, pastoralists, migrants, processors, marketers, local entrepreneurs and other small-scale actors located up and downstream in the five targeted commodity chains; (ii) vulnerable (foodinsecure) groups, especially young people and women; and (iii) farmer and professional organizations, women’s groups and the private sector.

The project’s development objective is to reduce rural poverty by improving rural poor people’s access to profitable markets. Its specific objectives are to: (i) develop links between the target group and other commodity chain stakeholders; (ii) strengthen the capacities of target group members and their organizations; and (iii) improve the access of rural poor people to productive investments and
marketing services.

Loan amount: SDR 9.35 million (equivalent to approximately US$13.83 million) on highly concessional terms

Total project cost: US$16.86 million

Cooperating institution: Directly supervised by IFAD

Project ID: 1247
Executive Board document: EB-2004-83-R-16-Rev-1

Sustainable Rural Development Programme

The programme will assist the target groups in the (i) It will strengthen their organizational capacities by empowering the beneficiaries to gain ownership in the planning and management of their own development. (ii) It will help them obtain secure land tenure. The programme involves the implementation of concrete pilot actions to improve land access and tenure rights on land on which agricultural production is hampered because of conflicts and land tenure and (iii) It will enhance the sustainable development of productive capacities by opening up economic opportunities so as to improve the livelihoods and the livings conditions of the beneficiaries through: (a) watershed development, protection and management; (b) the intensification and diversification of agricultural production; and (c) support for incomegenerating (iv) The programme will also generate 1.5 million additional paid workdays among women, migrant workers and young people in the area.

The programme target group consists of the poor in village communities in the five provinces of Bam, Loroum, Passoré, Yatenga and Zondoma in the central/northern region of Burkina Faso. The target group is composed of approximately 440 000 would-be beneficiaries living in 374 villages and comprising small-scale farmers, landless migrants, women and youth.

The programme will be implemented through village organizations called comités villageois de gestion des terroirs (village committees for land resource management), farmers associations and other grass-roots producer groups. The programme will create an enabling environment to strengthen collective action and community involvement. The approach of the programme is demand driven and participatory and focuses on community-development planning and gender balance. Beneficiaries will also contribute, through the mobilization of the workforce, to land and infrastructure development.

Loan Amount

SDR 10.7 million (equivalent to approximately USD 16.0 million) on highly concessional terms

Total programme cost:USD 38.3 million

Cooperating Institution:

BOAD

Project ID: 1220
Executive Board document:EB-2003-79-R-19-REV-1

Community Investment Programme for Agricultural Fertility

This programme is designed to sustainably enhance agricultural productivity, and contribute to soil protection and rehabilitation through soil and water conservation techniques, soil restoration, agroforestry and grazing paths. It also aims to support income-generating activities, facilitate access to land by vulnerable groups (particularly women and rural youths), and strengthen the capacity of the rural poor and their organizations. The programme will be guided by various principles during implementation: (i) focus on agricultural investments; (ii) assist projects supporting the ongoing decentralization process to address fertility, livestock and crop production issues; (iii) seek to create synergies with other projects; (iv) use the watershed approach to develop both upstream and downstream areas of lowlands; (v) strengthen capacity through literacy and training modules; (vi) undertake infrastructure investment; (vii) contribute to improving productivity by addressing constraints to water supply, agricultural inputs and equipment supply; and, (viii) seek to improve access to credit and land tenure.

Loan Amount:

SDR 8.80 million (approximately USD 12.1 million) on highly concessional terms

Total project cost:: estimated at USD 26.9 million, of which beneficiaries will provide about USD 3.1 million, the African Development Bank (AfDB) USD 7.5 million, the West African Development Bank (BOAD) USD 1.0 million and national Government USD 3.2 million

Cooperating institution:

BOAD

Project ID: 1132
Executive Board document: EB-2000-69-R-17-Rev-1

Community-Based Rural Development Project

This 15-year International Development Association (IDA)-initiated project was conceived as the first phase of a project that will contribute to reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development in rural areas by breaking the spiral of poverty characterized by natural resource degradation, reduced production and decreased quality of life. The project aims to empower rural communities in order to bring about sustainable improvements in natural resource management, rural production and socio-economic infrastructure. That will be achieved through:

(i) strengthening the organizational capacity of beneficiary communities;

(ii) diversifying the rural economy and increasing rural incomes;

(iii) stabilizing and improving pastoral and forest management, soil fertility and biodiversity; and

(iv) increasing the availability of basic socio-economic infrastructure.

Through its capacity-building efforts, the project will also support the Governments decentralized rural development strategy and the creation of ru ral municipalities. The target group of this nationwide project encompasses the rural population at large, with particular emphasis on the most vulnerable groups, including subsistence farmers, women and youth. In 28 provinces, approximately two million people (about 25% of the rural population) living in 2 000 villages will benefit directly from project investments and activities. In the other 17 provinces of the country, the project will complement ongoing projects and programmes by supplying financial resources where needed.

Innovative features:

The project will launch, for the first time, a long-term effort to harmonize rural development activities throughout the country. It will expand the participatory land development approach, tested so far only within limited geographical zones, to national coverage, and thus provide a basis for implementing the Governments decentralization policy in an effective and efficient manner. Within this overall approach, the most innovative feature is that village communities will not only contribute to the design, implementation and management of their investments, but will be directly responsible for all related financial and technical aspects. They will be empowered to play a direct role in planning and implementation and will be given the opportunity to strengthen their capacities in order to take up these new responsibilities effectively.

Loan amount:

SDR 8.5 million (approximately USD 11.4 million) on highly concessional terms.

Total project costs:

Estimated at USD 111.0 million, of which USD 55.0 million will be provided by IDA, USD 5.6 million by Denmark, USD 9.0 million by The Netherlands, USD 10.2 million by other cofinanciers to be identified and USD 19.8 million by the Government and the beneficiaries.

Cooperating institution:

IDA.

Project ID: 1103
Executive Board document: EB-99-66-R-13-Rev-1

Rural Microenterprise Support Project

The overall goal of this seven-year IFAD-initiated project is to diversify and increas e rural incomes by launching a sustainable process of microenterprise development. This will be achieved by setting up support mechanisms for rural microentrepreneurs and by strengthening decentralized financial systems. Key objectives of the project are to:

- improve the availability of basic goods and services in rural areas;

- lengthen the period of the year during which the rural population is gainfully employed; and

- reduce the exodus of rural youth through the creation of working opportunities.

While national in scope, the project concentrates initially on areas that favour the emergence of rural microenterprise. The target group consists of individuals and groups that, because of their poverty or insufficient knowledge of appropriate technologies, are unable to implement their own business ideas for the rural sector. The project, which has been prepared in line with the main thrusts of IFAD's medium-term strategy for Burkina Faso, places special emphasis on the needs and aspirations of poor rural women, who represent a particularly vulnerable category. Women and youth will be ensured equal access to all project services and facilities.

Innovative Features:

- The project is the first IFAD intervention in Burkina Faso dealing exclusively with the off-farm sector. While external donors and NGOs have offered rural microentrepreneurs technical and financial support on a selective basis, no consolidated attempt has been made until now to assist this increasingly important subsector.

- The project will provide technical support to rural microenterprises using a new mechanism based on area focal points. Use of such focal points will enable the project to cover extended parts of the country, avoid any duplication of interventions and promote complementary interventions.

- The project's strong private-sector orientation distinguishes it from any previous intervention and is evidence for its potential success and sustainability. Private agencies, i nstitutions and enterprises will play a crucial role during the implementation period, and it is also foreseen that, after the seven-year investment phase, all support activities will be taken over by the private sector, in particular by former project personnel and partners. This "hand-over" will ensure continuity without reliance on public funds.

Loan Amount:

SDR 7.0 million (approximately USD 9.4 million) on highly concessional terms.

Total Project Costs:

Estimated at USD 12.9 million, of which USD 1.1 million will be provided by the Network of People's Bank of Burkina Faso, USD 1.2 million by the Government and USD 1.2 million by the beneficiaries.

Cooperating Institution:

BOAD.