IFAD WCA- Building success together

Building Success Together How IFAD is Responding to the Opportunities and Challenges in West and Central Africa WCA Regional Implementation Retreat Dakar, Senegal 8 to 11 November, 2010

WCA – A diverse region
24 countries
Populations ranging from under 200,000 to more than 135 million
Rainfall from less than 10 cm per year in the Sahara to more than 200 cm per year in the Congo rainforest
Agriculture varies from 10% to 50% of economy, but in almost all countries remains main source of employment

Growing Opportunities for Agriculture in WCA and Globally
Overall economic growth is increasing to Asian levels – 5 to 10% per year in many countries
Improving political stability and reduced conflict is building confidence for the longer term
Almost half of workforce composed of young, better educated women and men
Rapid growth of urban markets – two largest African cities are in WCA – Kinshasa and Lagos - with 8 to 9 million population
The proportion of food marketed is expected to increase by at least 50 percent by 2030
Governments want to increase food sovereignty by producing locally -particularly rice and other staples
World prices for export and biofuel crops are good and expected to remain strong

Agriculture production is responding in all WCA countries

Increasing support for agriculture in WCA under CAADP
Donor and private sector financing for agriculture is increasing
Regional economic communities encouraging trade and policy integration
Governments are increasing own budget spending to meet Maputo commitments

Challenges remain for WCA
Competitiveness constrained by poor quality and high costs of transport (roads), electricity and water
¾ of potential irrigated area in Africa is in WCA, but only 5% is now under irrigation
Less than 5% of the total population save or borrow from formal financial institutions (including registered MFIs)
Many countries improving investment climate but bureaucracy and other unofficial costs remain high

IFAD Vision of Future of Rural WCA
Strong role of agriculture in supporting accelerated growth at or above AU/NEPAD target of 6% per year characterized by:
Significant increases in investment in African agriculture supply chains – domestic and foreign – particularly for rice and cassava (food and biofuel)
Rapid increases in agricultural production based on extensive (large land deals) and intensive (irrigation and technology transfer to smallholders) development
Increased business activity and employment in rural areas in ag and non-ag micro and small enterprises

An evolving role for IFAD in WCA
Moving from (but not away from)
strengthening collective action in poor rural areas through CDD
to…
helping smallholders and rural poor to sustainably escape poverty by becoming competitive providers of goods and services in supply chains
while…
ensuring stability and sustainability of production systems in context of climate change – particularly in Sahara-Sahel zone

This is reflected in what we do
Strengthening farmer organizations, financial services, seeds and fertilizer access, and infrastructure to support value chains – for staple crops for local markets and and cash crops for export and biofuels
Continuing to support community-based organizations to ensure voice and participation of poor and vulnerable in economic opportunities
Innovating and scaling up NRM and climate adaptation through re-greening, better livestock management, micro-irrigation, local renewable energy

Who we work with
Strengthen role of farmer organizations and links with NGOs to ensure the poor are able to access production services and markets on fair terms
Continue to build capacities of ministries of agriculture to set policies, provide public services and monitor sector performance
Increase partnerships with private sector to ensure availability of high quality financial services, inputs and market outlets

And how we work
Decentralizing to better serve projects and support sector policies (CAADP investment plans)
4 subregional hubs with CPMs and CPOs – Dakar, Yaounde, Accra, Brazzaville
In addition, 6 country offices with CPOs – Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Togo
Regional services – WCA Regional Gender Specialist in Dakar and financial assistants in all four hubs
Strengthened regional team to support CPMTs with COSOPs, lending, supervision and implementation support and grants

Immediate challenges for us all
Rapid mobilization of financing and co-financing
Increasing disbursements but ensuring that we:
Disburse with integrity (proct and fin. Mgmt)
Disburse with quality (technical partners and participation)
Disburse with results (M&E)

Some projects which are achieving this
Ghana – REP, RTIMP and NRGP
Senegal – REP, PSAOP2 and PRODAM
Mali – PIDRN
Cote d’Ivoire – PPMS
Nigeria – CBARDP
Sierra Leone – RFCIP and RCPRP
We believe all projects can stand-out as top performers by next year

Some Key Challenges Going Forward…
Assessing markets – better quality identification of opportunities and constraints using value chain and other tools
Balancing market opportunities with support to the poorest
Public-Private Partnerships – expanding role of private sector in projects (financing, inputs, technical support) while ensuring benefits for IFAD target group
Building the future of agriculture – farming as an attractive business for young people

Our Vision of IFAD in WCA in 2020
IFAD staff based in every country in WCA with decentralized regional support in hubs
Broader range of financing options to work with both public and private sector
Key agency linking farmer organizations and governments with local and international investors
Preferred partner for those who care about smallholder- gender-, youth- and environmental friendly approaches to agricultural development

Thank you

IFAD WCA- Building success together

by FIDAfrique-IFADAfrica on Nov 08, 2010

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