 |
|
|
|
 |
|||
| Project ID: 1260
Community-based Natural Resource Management Programme - Niger Delta Who are the beneficiaries? The beneficiaries are the core poor, women and youth of targeted rural communities in the nine Niger Delta States – Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers where poverty is widespread and community-wide. Typically, beneficiaries are rural women, who are among the most vulnerable groups. The beneficiaries also include poor men and women from the ‘most at risk’ category that straddles both economic and social criteria, who are likely to suffer malnutrition, ill health, and a generally low quality of life. The programme also targets rural youth to help improve their productive opportunities and channel their energies into natural resource management and the development of sustainable livelihoods. Why are they poor? Poverty is prevalent among farmers using small areas of land mainly for food crops and among artisanal fishermen possessing only rudimentary equipment and obtaining minimal catch. These fishermen build or repair canoes for fishing and transportation using simple tools. The poorest have to rent out their land to buy productive inputs as they lack any other source of capital. Their survival often depends on seasonal employment. These groups are powerless and often perceived as not being useful to the community, and therefore do not participate in (or benefit from) development programmes. They are highly vulnerable to environmental shocks and are also food insecure, with few assets and little access to physical or financial resources. They depend on low productivity income-generating activities. The poor have limited access to basic social services, safe water, reliable roads, electricity and telephone services. What will the programme do for them? The programme will support the Government’s efforts in addressing rural poverty by identifying and targeting the most vulnerable, and empowering them to participate effectively in development activities. Activity-based interventions selected by the poor will be supported through flexible financing from the Community Development Fund. The programme will also focus on capacitybuilding of the federal, inter-state and local government institutions and build on the decentralized administrative system. Furthermore, it will consolidate partnerships among donors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations and other agencies. How will beneficiaries participate in the Programme? Participatory capacity-building activities will be concentrated at the local level, enabling beneficiaries to analyse the constraints they face, identify opportunities and requirements, and obtain and administer the support they most need. Participatory activities will focus on three main areas: sustainable rural livelihoods; natural resource management; and village-level community infrastructure. How was the programme formulated? Programme formulation has been participatory with substantial contributions from federal and state institutions, the Niger Delta Development Commission, and local government, beneficiaries and other local resources (NGOs, traditional leaders, private sector). There was also significant donor consultation with participation by the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Department for International Development and the Canadian International Development Agency. The programme has evolved from the country strategic opportunities paper. The formulation process included an evaluation report and an environmental impact assessment of the IFAD-funded Artisanal Fisheries Development Project, in addition to inputs to the formulation of the Government’s Rural Development Strategy and to the Poverty and Environment Strategy for Nigeria. Loan Amount: SDR 11.35 million (equivalent to approximately USD 15.0 million) at highly concessional terms Total programme costs: USD 82.2 million Cooperating Institution: International Development Association (IDA)
 |
| Project ID: 1196
Community-Based Agricultural and Rural Development Programme The programme will support the Government’s efforts to address rural poverty by identifying and targeting the most vulnerable groups and empowering them to effectively participate in development activities. Activity-based interventions demanded by the poor, especially women and other vulnerable groups, will be supported through a flexible community development fund. The programme will also focus on building up the capacity of the continuum of institutions that comprise federal, state and local governments; build on the decentralized administrative system; and strengthen partnerships between various implementing agencies so as to facilitate access to and demand for scarce resources by the rural poor. Efforts will be focused at the local government and village levels. Poverty is associated with cropping small areas of both upland and fadama (river flood plains), mainly for food crops, using simple tools. The poorest have to rent out their land for lack of capital to buy inputs and their survival often depends on seasonal employment. These people are powerless, and since they are often judged as serving no useful purpose to the community they do not participate in (or benefit from) development programmes. The ‘at-risk’ poor are most vulnerable to the hazards of the fragile environment (including extended periods of droughts) and are food-insecure with few assets or access to physical or financial assets. They also have limited access to basic social services, safe water, all-weather roads, electricity and telephone services. The beneficiaries are the poor and vulnerable poor rural communities of the eight northern states of Nigeria, where poverty is widespread. The typical beneficiaries – who constitute 75% of the rural population – are the landless, the nomadic pastoralists, those with only marginal lands or smallholders, whose main activities relate to agriculture. Women are among the most vulnerable groups. The beneficiaries also include people from the most ‘at-risk’ category, both economically and socially, who have a poor quality of life and are vulnerable to malnutrition and ill health. The Hausa and Fulani ethnic groups dominate, but other ethnic and minority groups are also targeted. Loan amount: SDR 23.8 million (equivalent to approximately USD 29.9 million) Total project costs are estimated at USD 68.5 million of which USD 3.0 million in cofinancing and USD 2.9 million by the Federal Government, USD 5.2 million by State Governments and USD 23.4 million by Local Governments Cooperating Institution: International Development Association (IDA)
|
| Project ID: 1016
Roots and Tubers Expansion Programme This eight-year IFAD-initiated programme will serve as a testing ground for an IFAD commodity-based approach for poverty alleviation. It builds on the encouraging achievements of the previous IFAD-supported Cassava Multiplication Programme (CMP). That programme contributed to a two-fold increase in cassava production in less than eight years and enhanced the potential role of cassava and other root crops in raising the country's food self-sufficiency level. The overall objectives of this new programme are to enhance national food self-sufficiency and improve rural food security and the incomes of poor farmers. The project seeks to: - increase production of cassava, yam and Irish potatoes; - adopt improved processing technology; - offer education about adequate storage methods; and - increase support/education in marketing activities. About 3.2 million farming households are estimated to be in the roots and tubers-growing belt. The principal target group for this programme is comprised of smallholders, generally with less than 2 ha of land per household. These smallholders have been selected from 18 of the southern and middle-belt states. The poorest segment has less-than-average household size, limited labour, no access to fertilizer or credit - with resultant low crop yields - no marketable surplus and a strong dependence on low-income, off-farm activities for economic survival. Women in particular will benefit from programme activities, as they traditionally undertake the processing of cassava. It is expected that 560 000 farm households will benefit from increased incomes. Innovative Features: Using the experience gained in the preceding Cassava Multiplication Programme, the programme will: - expand the scope of IFAD interventions to support the production of other suitable roots and tubers in addition to those mentioned above; - use the existing extension system to provide farmers with information relating to on-farm, off-farm and conservation-oriented technologies, while at the same time exploring alternative approaches (for example, community-based) to disseminating this information; - emphasize poverty-oriented packages, including measures to maintain soil fertility for smallholders facing land and labour constraints; and - combine the proposed loan with other financial resources to encourage partnerships between government agencies and civil-society organizations (NGOs and community-based organizations specializing in agricultural training for farmers and food processing), with a view towards long-term sustainability. Loan Amount: SDR 16.7 million (approximately USD 23.1 million) on highly concessional terms. Total Programme Costs: Estimated at USD 36.1 million, of which USD 7.2 million will be provided by the federal Government, USD 5.9 million by the state Government and USD 10 000 by the beneficiaries. Cooperating Institution: IDA. |
