National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 2011-2015

GAMBIA NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL INVESTMENT PLAN (GNAIP) 2011 - 2015 September 2010 Republic of The Gambia i GAMBIA NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL INVESTMENT PLAN (GNAIP) TABLE OF CONTENTS C UR R E NC Y E QUI V A L E NT S .................................................................................................... iii A B B R E V I A T I ONS A ND A C R ONY M S ..................................................................................... iii E X E C UT I V E SUM M AR Y ............................................................................................................vi M A P OF T H E G A M B I A ...............................................................................................................ix I . I NT R ODUC T I ON ................................................................................................................. 1 I I . C OUNT R Y A ND SE C T OR A L B A C K G R OUND .............................................................. 2 A . G ener al C ountr y Situation and E conomic C ontext ...................................................... 2 G ener al C ontext ........................................................................................................... 2 E conomic C ontext ........................................................................................................ 2 B . A gr icultur al Sector ........................................................................................................... 3 C . Pover ty, F ood Secur ity and Nutr itional Status ............................................................. 4 Pover ty .......................................................................................................................... 4 F ood and Nutr ition Secur ity ....................................................................................... 5 D. M ain Policies and G over nment-Donor A ctivities in A gr icultur e ................................ 6 G over nment Policies .................................................................................................... 6 M ain Donor A ctivities in the A NR Sector ................................................................. 9 Pr ivate Sector E ngagement ....................................................................................... 12 D. M ain A gr icultur al Sub-sector I ssues ........................................................................... 12 Pr oduction I ntensification thr ough I mpr oved L and Pr epar ation and I r r igation12 R angeland, F or est, F isher ies and Par ks and W ildlife M anagement ..................... 13 A NR V alue C hains Pr omotion and M ar keting ....................................................... 16 National F ood and Nutr ition Secur ity ..................................................................... 18 Sustainable F ar m Development................................................................................ 21 Sector C oor dination................................................................................................... 22 I I I . I NV E ST M E NT PL A N R A T I ONA L E ............................................................................... 23 I V . I NV E ST M E NT PL A N DE SC R I PT I ON ............................................................................ 25 A . G NA I P Objectives ......................................................................................................... 25 B . I nvestment Plan Pr ogr ammes ....................................................................................... 26 Pr ogr amme 1: I mpr ovement of A gr icultur al L and and W ater M anagement .... 26 Pr ogr amme 2: I mpr oved M anagement of Other Shar ed R esour ces ................... 30 Pr ogr amme 3: Development of A gr icultur al C hains and M ar ket Pr omotion .... 32 Pr ogr amme 4: National F ood and Nutr itional Secur ity (NF NS) ......................... 36 Pr ogr amme 5: Sustainable F ar m Development ..................................................... 39 Pr ogr amme 6: G NA I P C oor dination, M onitor ing and E valuation ..................... 42 C . C osts and F inancing ...................................................................................................... 48 Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) ii V . B E NE F I T S A ND B E NE F I C I A R I E S ................................................................................. 50 B enefits ....................................................................................................................... 50 B eneficiar ies ............................................................................................................... 51 V I . R I SK S A ND SUST A I NA B I L I T Y ...................................................................................... 53 R isk A nalysis .............................................................................................................. 53 Sustainability .............................................................................................................. 53 I nnovative F eatur es ................................................................................................... 54 V I I . I SSUE S A ND NE X T ST E PS..................................................................................... 55 I ssues to be addr essed ................................................................................................ 55 Next Steps ................................................................................................................... 56 BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................................................................56 ANNEXES 1. Overview of GNAIP Programmes and CAADP Alignment 2. Programme Matrices 3. Logical Frameworks 4. Stakeholder Matrices 5. Programme Cost Tables 6. Financing Gap Estimates and Alignment of Ongoing Projects/Programmes with GNAIP 7. Risk Assessment and Mitigation Matrix FIGURES 1. Programme Overview 2. Map of The Gambia 3. Organogram of GNAIP Institutional Arrangements TABLES 1. Production and yield targets for selected upland crops 2. Estimated GNAIP Costs by Programme and Component 3. Estimated GNAIP Financing Gap (USD million) 4. Identified sources of financing for the implementation of the GNAIP Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) iii DOCUMENTS ON FILE Documentation on GNAIP Formulation Mission July 2010: Mission Programme List of Mission Members List of Institutions Contacted and People Met Summary Outcomes of Expert Group Validation Meeting iv Currency Equivalents (July, 2010) Local Currency = Dalasi (GMD) USD1 = GMD27.0 GMD1 = USD0.037 Abbreviations and Acronyms AATG Action Aid The Gambia ADB Agricultural Development Bank AETS Agricultural Engineering Technical Services AfDB African Development Bank AGOA African Growth and Opportunity Act AGRHYMET Specialized Institute of the CILSS AHPTS Animal Health and Production Technical Services ANR Agriculture and Natural Resources ARC Africa Rice Centre ASPA Agribusiness Service and Producer Association ASSET Association of Small-Scale Enterprises in Tourism ATS Agri-Business Technical Services AU African Union CAADP Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme CBG Central Bank of The Gambia CBO Community Based Organization CDM Clean Development Mechanism CEES Communication Education and Extension Services CILSS Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel CORAF West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development CPCU Central Project Coordination Unit CPMS Cooperative Produce Marketing Societies CRODT Centre de Recherches Oceanographiques de Dakar-Thiaroye CRRS Central River Region South DDC District Development Committee DMC Disaster Management Committee DMF Disaster Management Fund DNT Directorate of National Treasury DOA Department of Agriculture DOF Department of Forestry DOLGL Department of Local Government and Lands DP Development Partner DPWM Department of Parks and Wildlife Management DWR Department of Water Resources EC European Commission ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EPA European Partnership Agreement ESMP Environment Sustainable Management Plan EU European Union FAFS Framework for Africa Food Security FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FARA Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) v FBO Farmer Based Organization FFE Food for Education FFS FMO Farmer Field School Framework of Mutual Obligation FSNIS Food Security and Nutrition Information System FSTF Food Security Task Force FSWG Food Security Working Group FTS Food Technology Services GBOS Gambia Bureau of Statistics GCAA Gambia Civil Aviation Authority GCCI Gambia Chamber of Commerce GEF Global Environment Facility GFATM Global Fund for Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria GGC Gambia Groundnut Corporation GHE Gambia Horticultural Enterprise GIA Gambia International Airways GIEPA Gambia Investment Export Promotion Agency GIPFZA Gambia Investment Promotion and Free Zone Agency GNAIP Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan GOTG Government of The Gambia GPA Gambia Ports Authority GPPA Gambia Public Procurement Agency GRA Gambia Revenue Authority HE His Excellency HTS Horticultural Technical Services IAR4D Integrated Agricultural Research for Development IBAR Inter-African Bureau for Animal Genetic Resources IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute IITA International Institute of Tropical Agriculture IPPM Integrated Plant and Pest Management ISFP Global Initiative on Soaring Food Prices ITC International Trypanotolerance Centre IUCN International Union for Nature Conservation IWRM Integrated Water Resources Management JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency KFAED Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development LADEP Lowland Agricultural Development Programme LGA Local Government Area LRR Lower River Region MEPID Ministry of Economic Planning and Industrial Development MFD Micro-Finance Department of the Central Bank of The Gambia MFI Micro-Finance Institution MICS Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey MOA Ministry of Agriculture MOBSE Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education MOF Ministry of Finance (since June 2009) MOFEA Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (until June 2009) MOFEN Ministry of Forestry and Environment MOFWRNAM Ministry of Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters MOHSW Ministry of Health and Social Welfare MOI Ministry of Interior MOICI Ministry of Information and Communication Infrastructure Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) vi MOLG&L Ministry of Local Government and Lands MOTIE Ministry of Trade, Industry and Employment (until June 2009) MOTRIE MOWI Ministry of Trade, Employment and Regional Integration (since June 2009) Ministry of Works and Infrastructure MOYS MSME Ministry of Youth and Sports Micro Small and Medium Enterprise MWG Multi-disciplinary Working Group NACCUG National Association of Cooperative Credit Unions The Gambia NAMA Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions NaNA National Nutrition Agency NARI National Agricultural Research Institute NBFI Non-Bank Financial Institution NBR North Bank Region NCM National Council of Ministers NDMA National Disaster Management Agency NEA National Environment Agency NERICA New Rice for Africa NFNS National Food and Nutritional Security NGO Non-Governmental Organization NRA National Roads Authority NYSS National Youth Service Scheme PCO Programme Coordination Office PCU Project Coordination Unit PIWAMP Participatory Integrated Watershed Management Project PLWHA People Living With HIV/AIDS PMO Personnel Management Office PO Producer Organization POWPA Programme of Work for Protected Areas PPP Public Private Partnership PPS Plant Protection Services PROGEGBE Sustainable Management of Endemic Ruminant Livestock of West Africa PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper PS Planning Services of DOA PSC Programme Steering Committee PTS Planning Technical Services PVS RAIP Participatory Varietal Selection Regional Agricultural Investment Programme RDC Regional Development Committee ReSAKSS SDF Regional Strategy Analysis and Knowledge Support Systems Social Development Fund SWMS Soil and Water Management Services TANGO The Association of Non-Governmental Organizations TF TOR Trust Fund Terms of Reference UK United Kingdom UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UN-REDD United Nations programme for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation URR Upper River Region Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) vii UTG University of The Gambia VAM Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping VCMIS Value Chain Market Information System VDC Village Development Committee VISACA WAAPP Village Savings and Credit Association West African Agricultural Productivity Project WB World Bank WDC Ward Development Committee WFP World Food Programme WR Western Region WTO World Trade Organization WWF World Wide Fund For Nature Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) viii E X E C UT I V E SUM M AR Y The Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) is the medium-term (2011-2015) strategic plan of the Government of The Gambia (GOTG) towards achieving the vision for the agricultural and natural resources (ANR) sector and food security in the country within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa (NEPAD) Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). It is aligned fully with the national goals of Vision 2020, and supports the realization of main national strategic programmes, including the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper II (PRSP II 2007-2011) and the ANR Sector Policy (2010). The proposed interventions are expected to achieve at least eight percent growth in the agricultural sector in The Gambia and this combined with accelerated non-agricultural growth could stimulate the level of growth needed in the sector to transform the country’s rural areas and to significantly reduce poverty levels. The GNAIP formulation process was highly consultative and participatory from the grassroots at village level to the highest level policy making body at national level through district, regional and national consultative meetings. There were also consultations with ECOWAS and its specialized institutions to ensure that the document is consistent with the CAADP pillars. The Overall Goal of GNAIP is achieving an increased contribution of the ANR sector to the national economy by improving productivity through commercialization and active private sector participation predicated on a sound national macroeconomic framework aimed at enhanced growth and poverty reduction. To meet this goal, the Development Objective of GNAIP is increased food and nutritional security and household incomes including for vulnerable households through increased ANR production, productivity and marketed output, based on sustainable use and management of natural resources in support of national goals of poverty reduction and improved livelihoods. The GNAIP has six strategic programmes: Programme 1: Improved Agricultural Land and Water Management aims to increase food security, income generating capacity and nutritional status of the farmer beneficiaries especially women and youth through the use of sustainable land and water management practice for the cultivation of 25,000 ha of land. The Programme comprises three components: (i) Lowland Development for Rice Production; (ii) Irrigation for Horticulture and Upland Crops; and (iii) Capacity Building of Support Services Institutions. Programme 2: Improved Management of the Other Shared Resources aims to improve livelihoods and food security, and reduce poverty of populations that depend on The Gambia’s other shared natural resources (including rangelands, forests, fisheries, parks and wildlife) through sustainable management and use of these resources. The Programme comprises three components: (i) Management of Rangelands and Organization of Transhumance; (ii) Sustainable Management of Forest Resources; and (iii) Ensuring Sustainable Management of Fisheries Resources. Programme 3: Development of Agricultural Chains and Market Promotion aims to transform the agricultural sector from a traditional subsistence economy to a modern market-oriented commercial sector with well integrated food chains and a viable agro-processing private sector, resulting in increased incomes of agricultural value chain actors (including farmers, input suppliers, processors, traders and exporters). The Programme comprises three components: (i) Development of Agricultural Marketing Chains (including food crops, groundnut, horticulture, agro-forestry food products, short cycle livestock, dairy products and fisheries products); (ii) Strengthening of National Operator Support Services and Structures; and (iii) Development of Domestic, Intra-regional and Extra regional Markets. Programme 4: National Food and Nutritional Security has the objective to improve national and household food security and adequate nutritional levels, including during periods of disaster, with Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) ix attention to targeting the most vulnerable groups and households of rural and urban communities. This will be achieved through two components: (i) National Food Security; and (ii) Disaster Risk Management. Programme 5: Sustainable Farm Development aims to achieve increased and sustained agricultural production and productivity growth by introducing agricultural practices through people-centred learning processes that enhance and conserve local natural resources and the environment, and help smallholder farmers to adapt to climate change. The Programme comprises three components: (i) Sustainable Farm Management; (ii) Land Use Suitability and Land Tenure Security; and (iii) Capacity Building of Support Services and Farmer Organizations. Programme 6: GNAIP Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation is a precondition for effective implementation of the Technical Programmes 1-5 and achieving the stated objectives. It comprises four components: (i) Institutional Arrangements and Coordination; (ii) Financing Mechanisms; (iii) Monitoring and Evaluation; and (iv) Implementation Capacity Building. Costs and Financing. Total programme costs over the five-year period (2011-2015) are estimated at USD 296.7 million. Taking into account existing projects and programmes implemented by Government or outside the Government that will directly support GNAIP, the estimated financing gap over the five-year period amounts to USD 201 million. Sources of financing for the GNAIP include: (i) Government Budget (with an expected increase of ANR Sector budget to 10 percent of total budget by 2015); (ii) the Beneficiaries; (iii) Micro-Finance Institutions including the Village Savings and Credit Associations (VISACAs), National Association of Cooperative Credit Unions (NACCUG) and Social Development Fund (SDF); (iv) Commercial Banks, which would be encouraged to contribute through favourable policies; (v) GOTG grant aid accounts; (vi) Non-Bank Private Sector; and (vii) Development Partners. Benefits and Beneficiaries. Numerous economic, social, environmental and institutional benefits are expected from the GNAIP programmes. Detailed financial and economic analyses will be prepared in the course of specific project/programme design under the CAADP Programmes to quantify these benefits and ensure that the proposed interventions are financially viable and economically sound. The primary beneficiaries are the population that depends on the ANR sector for their livelihoods and the private sector operators engaged in the sector. Other beneficiaries include government and non government institutions that are critical for the development of the sector and consumers. Risks. Overall, the risks related to the implementation of the GNAIP programmes can be regarded as low to moderate as: (a) the programmes will be implemented through existing structures and experienced partners; and (b) most interventions are based on proven approaches and/or focus on areas of intervention that are/were successfully supported by ongoing or past programmes and projects. However, a number of risks have been identified that could potentially limit meeting programme objectives. These relate to: (i) socio-political and economic environment; (ii) commitment by Government and development partners; (iii) governance; (iv) capacity of Government institutions and implementing partners/service providers; (v) private sector interests; (vi) access to finance and markets; (vii) impact of climate change; and (viii) gender, youth and vulnerability aspects. Adequate measures to mitigate the identified risks have been incorporated in the programme design. Sustainability. The sustainability of the GNAIP processes and benefits is facilitated through several mechanisms: (i) GNAIP coordination and management structures will work directly through existing Government structures at all levels; (ii) High attention will be given to ensuring active engagement of national stakeholders at all levels in planning, implementation and monitoring of GNAIP programmes, including notably Government, private sector, farmer organizations (ensuring inclusion of women, youth and other vulnerable groups), NGOs and other development partners; (iii) While Government will mainly have a coordinating and supervising function, the GNAIP programmes will Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) x be primarily implemented by private sector stakeholders which will be strengthened to ensure sustainability of interventions. Innovative Features. The GNAIP programmes are primarily based on interventions and approaches that have proven successful under ongoing or past programmes and projects in the country. However, the GNAIP design is characterized by a number of features that can be considered innovative in the context of The Gambia, but which have been successfully implemented in other countries of the sub region. These include: (i) support to social protection and safety nets; (ii) building a sound Food Security and Nutrition Information System (FSNIS); (iii) support to producer organizations including organizational and institutional apex body strengthening; (iv) community-based approaches to natural resource management; (v) developing value chains in new niche markets; (vi) climate change adaptation and mitigation measures which are mainstreamed throughout the programmes; (vii) new financial mechanisms for smallholders; and (viii) overall institutional arrangements/inter-ministerial collaboration which represent a complete new way of doing business and will require commitment by all government agencies and development partners to collaborate in a well coordinated manner. Figure 1: Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) Programme Overview Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP II) Vision 2020 Programme 1 Improvement of Agricultural Land and Water Management Programme 6 GNAIP Coordination, Monitoring & Evaluation Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) Programme 2 Improved Management of Other Shared Resources Programme 3 Development of Agricultural Chains and Market Promotion Programme 4 National Food and Nutrition Security Programme 5 Sustainable Farm Development xi Figure 1 G am bia N ational A gricultural Investm ent Plan (G N A IP) D raft Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 1 I . I NT R ODUC T I ON 1. Within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa (NEPAD), in 2003 the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) was initiated soliciting each member country of the African Union (AU) to formulate a National Agricultural Investment Programme (NAIP) consistent with the Regional Agricultural Investment Programme (RAIP) to guide each country’s pathway to agricultural and natural resource development. The Gambia National Agricultural Investment Programme (GNAIP) was prepared through a highly consultative and participatory process starting in 2008 with the constitution of the National Multidisciplinary Taskforce which comprised Government institutions (led by the Ministries of Agriculture, Trade Industry and Employment – now Trade Regional Integration and Employment, and Finance and Economic Affairs – now Finance), National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), National Agricultural Development Agency (NADA) now transformed into Department of Agriculture (DOA), private sector and civil society representatives (Gambia Horticultural Enterprises and Action Aid the Gambia, respectively) with the responsibility to coordinating the preparation of the GNAIP leading to the signing of the partnership compact. The taskforce identified and recruited a team of national consultants to assist in the formulation of the GNAIP. The process also involved a wide spectrum of stakeholders including government agencies, non governmental organizations, the private sector, farmers and development partners. Finally, GNAIP was subjected to a two-day retreat of key stakeholders for review and validation, culminating in the signing of the CAADP Partnership Compact agreement by representatives from all major development partners. Prior to signing of the compact, a two-day Roundtable Conference aiming to seek financial assistance from the donor community was held from 27th to 28th October 2009. In addition to the internal consultations, there were also very close consultations with ReSAKSS (IFPRI and IITA) in the development of the model in selecting appropriate strategic options. 2. GNAIP is aligned fully with the national goals of Vision 2020, and aims to support the realization of main national strategic programmes, including the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper II (PRSP II 2007-2011) and the Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) Sector Policy (2010). GNAIP comprises six programmes: (i) Improvement of Agricultural Land and Water Management; (ii) Improved Management of Other Shared Resources; (iii) Development of Agricultural Chains and Market Promotion; (iv) National Food and Nutrition Security; (v) Sustainable Farm Development; and (vi) GNAIP Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation. 3. Following its submission to ECOWAS, preliminary comments and recommendations were provided to The Gambia (June 2010) by CAADP/ECOWAS on strengthening the GNAIP and translating it into a concrete investment plan to operationalize its programmes. As a follow up, the Government of The Gambia (GOTG) requested support from FAO’s Investment Centre (TCI) in preparing the Investment Plan1 1 In the remainder of the document, GNAIP refers to the Investment Plan. . A mission was undertaken in July 2010 comprising Government, national and international consultants with participation from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to prepare, through stakeholder consultations, an investment plan. The draft plan was endorsed during a National Stakeholder Validation Workshop held on 15th July 2010. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 2 4. Following this introduction, Section 2 presents background of the country and the agricultural sector, including general and economic situation, poverty and food and nutritional security, main national policies and donor activities, and importantly, main issues of key sub sectors. The third section includes the rationale, objectives and approach of the investment plan. The fourth section presents brief descriptions of each of the six GNAIP programmes, their components, expected outcomes, outputs and activities to be undertaken, and also details implementation arrangements, main stakeholders and beneficiaries. A series of annexes support this section, including activity matrices, logical frameworks, stakeholder matrices and costing for each programme. Annex 6 presents ongoing interventions in support of the ANR sector and their potential alignment with GNAIP which details financing gaps of the GNAIP. The fifth section describes expected benefits and impacts of the investment plan, and the sixth section discusses risks, sustainability, and innovations. A Risk Assessment and Mitigation Matrix is provided in Annex 7. Finally, the investment plan concludes in Section 7 with a description of key issues and next steps to be taken. I I . C OUNT R Y A ND SE C T OR A L B A C K G R OUND A. General Country Situation and Economic Context G ener al C ontext 5. The Gambia is a small country located in the West Coast of Africa with a total area of 10,689 square km, a population of 1,722,200 (2010 GBOS estimate). About 51 percent of the population is concentrated in the urban and peri-urban areas while 49 percent is living in the rural areas with 60 percent of total population under 25 years of age. Since independence in 1965, The Gambia has been governed through multi-party democracy and enjoyed political stability. It is a member of many regional groupings such as ECOWAS and Senegalo-Gambian Secretariat. E conomic C ontext2 6. The Gambian economy is characterized by its small size, narrow base and a large re export 3 2 Adapted from GOTG/ISFP - Final Report Situation Assessment and Country Action Plan, GOTG, 2008; and GAFSP Draft Concept Note, GOTG/FAO, 2010. trade comprising about 80 percent of the country’s merchandise exports. Re-export trade contributes between 53 and 60 percent of domestic tax. Between 2004 and 2009 the country has had a stable macroeconomic performance and steady economic growth averaging 5-6 percent per annum. Economic growth was based on services (58 percent), agriculture (30 percent) and industry (12 percent). Real GDP growth at factor cost was 7.2 percent in 2009 and domestic debt 32.2 percent of GDP in 2008. The GDP per capita was estimated at USD 556 in 2009 while in the same year the annual average exchange rate was pegged at 26.64 Gambian Dalasi (GMD) per USD. Inflationary pressures accelerated by rising world market prices for food and fuels have largely been contained up to July 2008. Despite the economic rigidity experienced during the soaring food prices in 2008, rising costs of food and oil imports pushed the annual rate of inflation around five to six percent in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The Government has responded to the 3 The Gambia re-exports imported commodities such as rice, sugar and flour to countries in the sub-region, mainly Senegal, Guinea Bissau and Mali. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 3 food price increase by reducing the sales tax on rice imports from 15 percent in July 2007, to five percent initially and eliminating it altogether in May 2008. 7. The improvements in macroeconomic management were buttressed by a number of significant reforms on public financial management and Central Bank operations. These reforms have improved transparency and accountability in the use of public resources and reduced the opportunities for corruption. The main preoccupation of the Government is how to maintain the steady growth and macroeconomic stability achieved over the last five years and avoid policy reversals of effective reforms undertaken in particular during the volatile food prices and the world financial crisis. 8. Government’s pursuit of a sustained fiscal and monetary discipline has been accompanied by significant improvements in public financial management. The performance of the fiscal sector has been driven mainly by higher than expected revenues and lower than expected expenditures. It significantly improved from a deficit of 7.8 percent of GDP in 2007 to a surplus of 0.5 percent in 2008 due to stringent monetary measures to reduce expenditures. The Dalasi appreciated by 32 percent in the later part of the third quarter of 2007 and this has helped to reduce the Dalasi payments against debt service obligations and other international payment obligations. 9. The country qualified to access the Highly-Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief initiative in December 2007 which consequently contributed to the fall in external debt from 133.6 percent to 50.0 percent of GDP. As a result, external debt payment declined from 1.4 percent of GDP to 0.4 percent in 2008. Consequently, Government has been able to fund significant public investments notably in PRSP priority areas including education, health, agriculture, infrastructure and public sector capacity building. 10. Despite the promising macro-economic situation, the budget allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has steadily decreased since 2003 and reached a low of 2.5 percent in 2007. This is contrary to the Maputo Declaration which represents a commitment by member countries to allocate at least 10 percent to the agricultural sector. However, Government’s commitment to reversing this trend and increase investment in agriculture progressively resulted in an increase to 4.5 percent in 2009 and 2010, and projections for 2011 are 6 percent. 11. Groundnut exports contribute significantly to the national economy, accounting for 60 percent of domestic exports (GOTG/ISFP 2008) but exports began to collapse in 2004 to just USD 9.6 million compared to USD 49 million in 1975 as a result of failures in internal marketing arrangements. The Government has undertaken measures and started implementing strategic reforms to revitalize the groundnut sub-sector. The partial recovery of groundnut exports as well as strong tourism growth contributed to the narrowing of the current account deficit in 2006. B. Agricultural Sector 12. Physical. The natural vegetation type of The Gambia is Guinea Savanna Woodland in the coastal area, that gradually changes into Open Sudan Savanna in the east. The climate is Sudano-sahelian characterized by a short rainy season from June to October and a long dry spell from November to May with scattered vegetation and forest cover. Mean annual rainfall varies from 900 mm in the south-west to about 500 mm in the north-east. Mean temperatures vary from 14oC to 40oC and generally higher in the eastern part of the country. The country has a total arable Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 4 land area of 558,000 ha and about 320,000 ha or 57 percent is cropped annually. The estuary basin of The Gambia River is a tidal inlet with a saltwater intrusion ranging from 180 km in the rainy season to 250 km in the dry season. Agriculture is mostly rainfed, and only about six percent of the irrigation potential has been used. 13. Contribution to the Economy. The agricultural sector accounts for about 29 percent of GDP in 2009. It provides employment to 75 percent of the country’s population and meets about 50 percent of the national food requirements. Its share of the country’s total exports is 70 percent, thus constituting a substantial part of The Gambia’s foreign exchange earnings. Agriculture is also the sole means of income generation for the majority of rural households below the poverty line. In The Gambia, about 91 percent of the extremely poor and 72 percent of the poor work in agriculture. The agricultural sector is regarded as the prime sector for investments to raise income, improve food security and reduce poverty. Notwithstanding the unimpressive performance of the agricultural sector over the recent past, The Gambia does enjoy comparative advantages for lowland rice, groundnuts, coarse grains, and cotton as well as for vegetable production. The livestock sector contributes 33 percent to agricultural GDP, groundnuts 23 percent, other crops 43 percent, fisheries 3 percent and forestry 2 percent (2009 GBOS Estimate). 14. Structure of the Sector. The agriculture sector is characterized by small-scale, subsistence rainfed crop production (mainly groundnuts, coarse grains, rice, cassava), traditional livestock rearing, semi-commercial groundnut and horticultural production, small cotton and a large artisanal fisheries sub-sector. Agricultural output is generated by around 69,100 farm households (500,000 people engaged in farming) cultivating 320,000 ha or about 57 percent of total arable land estimated at 558,000 ha. Of the total cultivated area about 30 percent is devoted to the production of groundnuts for cash income, 144,000 ha for coarse grains and about 72,000 ha for rice cultivation under rainfed conditions. Cotton is grown on land area averaging about 3,000 hectares annually, while cassava, potato and horticultural crops occupy between 1,500 to 2,000 ha per year on average. An estimated 2,500 ha is annually put to irrigated rice, mainly in the CRR, with an additional 800 ha under horticulture. Livestock production is carried out nationwide by almost all rural households. Cattle totalling about 300,000 heads are the most valuable asset in the sub-sector, closely followed by small ruminants comprising sheep (160,000) and goats (230,000). Poultry meat is an important source of quality animal protein, especially because of the short production period. It is estimated that small-scale producers raise some 700,000 birds, representing 90 percent of the national poultry flock (2009 NASS/MOA). Further details are provided in Section E. Main Agricultural Sub-Sector Issues: which also covers Rangelands, Forest and Fisheries Resources. C. Poverty, Food Security and Nutritional Status Pover ty 15. With a Human Development Index ranking of 168 out of 182 nations in 2008 (UNDP Human Development Index, 2009) The Gambia is one of the poorest countries in the world. Despite efforts in addressing poverty, notably with the launch in 1994 of the first Strategy for Poverty Alleviation (SPA), the proportion of people living in poverty4 4 A person/household is considered poor if the person’s/household’s income cannot acquire the basket of goods and services required to satisfy basic material needs (PRSP II). continues to rise. In 2006, Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 5 the PRSP II reported that 63.3 percent of the rural population and 57.2 percent of the urban populations are living in poverty and, of these, 39 percent live in extreme poverty5 16. Inequality is rising in The Gambia. The Gini coefficient at the household level is reported to have risen from 0.466 in 1998 to 0.483 in 2003 . Of the 91 percent of the extremely poor, 72 percent were dependent on agriculture for their survival. In rural areas in particular groundnut producers - with a poverty rate of about 76 percent - are among the poorest in the country. 6 17. Dimensions of poverty in The Gambia are complex and dynamic. There is concern that a “feminization” of poverty is underway, exemplified by higher levels of poverty among female-headed households - estimated at 18 percent of the rural households - of which 63 percent fall below the poverty line compared to 48 percent of male-headed households (CSD 2003). It is reported that over 78 percent of women engage in the agricultural sector of which only one third report receiving cash income compared to 43 percent for men. Evidence indicates that discriminatory socio-cultural practices prevent gender equity notably in areas of service delivery access. Poverty also has an important youth implication, as the national population is skewed heavily towards younger age bands, where about 44 percent of the population is aged 0-15 years. Farming is becoming less attractive to the youth, and coupled with their desire to seek for a better future in urban settlements and abroad, mass exodus of youth from the rural areas to urban areas will likely have important consequences for agricultural production, notably labour availability. Cognizant of a potential youth problem, Government in partnership with the private sector, is retooling and training the youth to increase their employability for example in trades, vocational skills and business management. . Poverty is highest among those in rural areas (reported in Central and Upper River Regions) among agriculture and fishing sectors and unskilled workers, lowest among social, personal and sales service professionals and workers. 18. Main causes of poverty have been reported as: income insecurity resulting from weather-induced crop failures; shortages of cash forcing farmers to sell their produce immediately after harvest at low prices and then buy back grain at high prices during the hungry season (August – September); rising costs of living e.g. children’s schooling and medical care; and lack of alternative income-generating opportunities. Other constraints are further discussed below. F ood and Nutr ition Secur ity 19. The Gambia is classified as a Low Income Food Deficit Country (LIFDC) and produces about 50 percent of total food consumption needs. Its national requirements for rice (major staple food) are in the range of 180,000 to 200,000 metric tons (MT) in 2008 while the quantum of national production of polished rice was estimated at only 12,000 MT or only six percent. Despite the relative increasing trend of cereal net production, the population growth (2.77 percent) and therefore country’s cereal needs has been consistently above local production with the result that the cereal gap has been widening between 1991 and 2007. Cereal consumption deficit increased from 65,661 MT in 1991 to 150,000 MT in 2007 (GAFSP, 2010). The food deficit is bridged by commercial imports of rice and wheat flour coupled with food aid. Soaring food and fuel prices (through increased transport fares) affected the living standards of Gambians 5 Extreme poverty is defined by the World Bank as living on less than USD $1.25 per person/day (adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity). 6 PRSP II (2006). Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 6 a large proportion of whom depend on rain-fed agriculture for their subsistence and cannot meet their subsistence requirements. 20. In 2006, it was reported that 46 percent of rural households fell below the food poverty line, compared with 15 percent in peri-urban and 4 percent in the Banjul Area. The estimated per capita consumption of cereals in the country is about 175 kg of which 117 kg is rice and 58 kg coarse grains (millet, maize and sorghum). According to the Food Security Situation and Response Strategies to Food Crisis Situation, household food security is eroded severely due to low, erratic and unevenly distributed rainfall resulting in low productivity and production. Consequently, rural farmers are compelled to sell their produce immediately which results in income loss and lowering food stocks which cannot take them through the hungry season. 21. Steps are being made in the health sector to improve maternal and infant mortality as well as malnutrition to realize the MDGs (1 and 4). Maternal mortality ratio though still high, declined from 1050/100,000 in 1990 to 730/100,000 in 2001 due to the numerous safe motherhood interventions undertaken by the health sector. Furthermore, infant mortality rates declined to 75/1,000 in 2006 from 84/1,000 in 1993 and 167/1,000 in 1983 while overall life expectancy has increased from 57 in 1993 to 63.4 years in 2003. Currently, the crude birth rate is 46 per 1000 population while the total fertility rate is 5.4 births per woman. With such a high fertility level, the total population structure is youthful. For instance, nearly 44 percent of the population is below 15 years and 19 percent between the ages 15 to 24. Average life expectancy at birth is 64 years overall (GBOS, 2003 Census). According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) in 2005/2006 Report, at national level, 7.3 percent and 29 percent of under-five children are wasted (too thin for their height) and stunted (too short for their age) respectively which is an indication of chronic malnutrition. In addition, 19.9 percent of infants have low birth weights, 20.3 percent of under-five children are moderately underweight and four percent severely underweight. This situation is due primarily to inappropriate child feeding practices, particularly early end to breastfeeding. It is also caused by inadequate complementary feeding after six months. Micronutrient deficiencies (Vitamin A and Iodine) are also important contributory factors. Limited access to food – in terms of both quality and quantity, in particular for pregnant and lactating mothers is also contributing to infant malnutrition. D. Main Policies and Government-Donor Activities in Agriculture G over nment Policies 22. In 1996, the country formulated a long-term plan called The Gambia Incorporated Vision 2020 aimed at transforming the country into a middle-income and export-oriented country by the year 2020. Following formulation of the Vision 2020, a series of major policies/strategies have been prepared with high participation of beneficiary groups. The Vision 2020 aims at stabilizing the economy and cushioning it against external as well as internal shocks. The policies/strategies are expected to have direct and indirect impact on the ANR sector performance. Key policies/strategies include: (i) the Strategy for Poverty Alleviation (SPA); (ii) Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers I &II which are notably relevant for achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); and (iii) the ANR Sector Policy with an overall policy objective of improving and sustaining measurable levels of food and nutrition security in the country in general and vulnerable populations in particular. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 7 23. The Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) such as the Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) launched in 1985 and the Programme for Sustained Development (PSD) implemented in 1990 were executed with the primary aims of reducing Government expenditures and stabilizing the economy and consolidating the gains achieved. They had, however, a negative impact on the performance of the ANR sector. Input subsidies were removed suddenly resulting in general price hikes of inputs decreasing production and exacerbating poverty levels among resource poor farmers. To redress this situation, Government launched the First Strategy for Poverty Alleviation (SPA I – 1995-1999), which focused on ANR issues related to food self sufficiency and security, income security as well as diversification of the food and export base. SPA I showed little achievements in terms of poverty reduction and the ANR sector still continued to register poor performance. In fact, the incidence of poverty actually increased and a large proportion of the farmers who normally derived their livelihood from the ANR sector became poorer. SPA II (known as PRSP I) implemented between 2003 and 2005 with the aim of eradicating poverty by increasing national income through stable economic growth, placed increased focus on the ANR sector. Difficulties, however, were encountered during its implementation due to limited human resource capacity, weak institutional framework and the fact that donor pledges made in Geneva were not honoured. 24. PRSP II was implemented between 2007 and 2011, aimed at improving welfare and eradicating poverty. Its objectives are to: (i) enhance the capacity and output of productive sectors: agriculture, fisheries, industry, trade and tourism; (ii) improve coverage of the Unmet Basic Needs and Social Protection of the Poor and Vulnerable; (iii) build capacity for local, people-centred development through decentralization; and (iv) mainstream cross-cutting issues: gender, youths, population, HIV/AIDS, nutrition and environment into the development process. The PRSP II mid-term review showed that there have been some achievements in meeting its objectives including macroeconomic stabilization, economic growth (5 to 6 percent) and appreciation of the local currency against major foreign currencies. 25. In tandem with these achievements, there have been policy initiatives undertaken in the ANR sector. One important initiative includes the formulation and validation of the ANR Sector Policy Framework (2009-2015). The ANR Sector Policy gives the sector vision as: “a sharpened focus on transformation of the sector from a traditional low output, subsistence economy with centralized structures, to a modern, market led sector with efficient value chains, diversified production base and effective decentralized structures”. Key strategic ANR policy objectives by 2015 focus on the following: (i) improved and sustainable measurable levels of food and nutrition security in the country in general and vulnerable populations in particular; (ii) a commercialized sector ensuring measurable competitive, efficient, and sustainable food and agricultural value chains, and linkages to markets; (iii) strengthened institutions (public and private) in the sector, providing needed services, strong and enabling environment, and reducing vulnerability in food and nutrition security; and (iv) sustainable effective management of the natural resource base of the sector. The ANR Policy forms the foundation of the CAADP-GNAIP and is highly consistent with CAADP’s pillars, in particular 1 to 3. 26. Another policy with relevance to the ANR sector and GNAIP concerns the devolution of power to the local government authorities. This policy, enacted by the Local Government Act (2002), establishes a new decentralized local government system with more space for the participation of civil society in decision making at local level. The basic structure includes: regional, district, ward and village development committees. Similarly, the MOA restructured its Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 8 technical departments into the Department of Agriculture (DOA) with nine Service Units7 27. The National Trade Policy (based on Trade Policy Review by WTO Secretariat) relevant to the ANR focuses on regulating standards regarding imports of animals, marine life, plants, their products, and processed foods of plant or animal origin. It mandates that these products must be accompanied by appropriate import certificates issued in accordance with Codex Alimentarius quality control requirements. Imports of cereals, pulses or legumes, including rice, require phytosanitary certificates issued by the national plant protection service of the country of origin, and fumigation certificates issued by the exporting company or an approved company. For exports, the Ministry of Trade, Employment and Regional Integration (MOTRIE) has recently finalized a Quality Assurance Framework for groundnuts which, if followed, could assist greatly in bringing the groundnut trade up to required Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) and improve the commercialization process of the ANR sector. and six Regional Agricultural Directorates. These structures set up in the regions will be integral to the GNAIP implementation while strengthening their structures and promoting sustainability of interventions. These decentralized structures will improve GNAIP efficiency and outputs by ensuring coordination among interventions at regional, district, ward and village levels. It will also minimize the operational costs and bureaucratic procedures compared to creating new parallel structures. 28. Other important policies include the National Policy for Advancement of Gambian Women, which concerns mainstreaming women into the national development process across all sectors and setting goals and strategies for enabling women to have equal access to opportunities in order to bridge gaps of traditional gender based inequalities and deprivation and to achieve an equitable gender balance in rural economic activities, especially agricultural production, processing and marketing. Objectives include to: (i) enhance and develop the productive capacities of women with a view to increasing their contribution to household welfare and food security in particular; (ii) reduce drudgery of rural women so as to enhance the quality of their life; and (iii) increase women's access to production resources and inputs and support services. The Women’s Bureau is an important institution that advises Government on these matters and is responsible for conducting data collection, research, analysis and dissemination of information, monitoring of women’s programmes and backstopping to other institutions. In tandem, the Youth Policy focuses on the mainstreaming of youth into the productive economic sectors (e.g. ANR) for greater achievement of food, nutrition and income security and also inculcate in them to be self reliant. 29. A rural finance policy is still in the formulation process. The draft framework has the aim to institutionalize a properly functioning self-sustaining beneficiary-managed rural finance system that will make available credit easily accessible to smallholder farmers at reasonable (not commercial rate) interest rates. 30. The Gambia National Agricultural Investment Programme (GNAIP)8 7 Planning Services; Communication, Extension Education Services; Food Technology Services; Animal Health and Production Services; Agribusiness Services; Crop Protection Services; Agricultural Engineering Services; Soil and Water Management Services; and Horticulture Services. (2010-2015) is the national CAADP/NEPAD strategic framework that each member country has developed for accelerated growth, poverty reduction as well as food, nutrition and income security. It is a 8 The acronym GNAIP is used both for the Investment Programme of 2009 and the present Investment Plan. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 9 national programme framework that operationalizes the CAADP at country level. Its formulation in The Gambia started in 2008 and was finalized in 2009, and builds on and is fully consistent with all the existing policies mentioned above. CAADP sets the long-term framework in guiding the planning and implementation of current and future programmes for the agricultural sector. It sets parameters for partnership in the agricultural sector, specific commitments for government and partners (notably ensuring alignment and commitments to scale up assistance to the sector), and clarifies expectations from agribusiness and farming communities (Gambia Compact brief 2009). The GNAIP 2009 has six pillars which provided the basis for the six programmes of the Investment Plan: (i) Development of agricultural chains and market promotion; (ii) Improvement of water management; (iii) Prevention and management of food crises and other natural disasters; (iv) Improved management of the other shared resources (common properties); (v) Sustainable farm development; and (vi) Institutional capacity building for the implementation of the GNAIP. 31. Preparation and implementation of the Investment Plan is comprehensive, emphasizing on national food and income security as well as the development and promotion of export base diversification in order to exploit opportunities in niche markets abroad. The aim is to encourage farmers to grow high value and quality standard ANR products and engage in value addition (incl. agro-processing) activities targeted to competitive markets domestically and abroad earning higher prices. This should broaden and deepen commercialization opportunities of the ANR sector improving incomes, poverty levels and livelihoods. M ain Donor A ctivities in the A NR Sector 9 32. From 2000 to 2007, donor assistance in the ANR sector has overall decreased due to limited financial resources as a result of global economic crisis and the shift in policy on the part of donors towards funding mainly social sectors (education and health). However some donors have maintained high commitment to support the ANR sector including the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) continue supporting the sector through the implementation of a number of projects/programmes. Many of these projects are on-going and include: (i) Participatory Integrated Watershed Management Project (PIWAMP); (ii) Rural Finance Project (RFP); (iii) Farmer Managed Rice Irrigation Project (FMRIP); (iv) Multinational NERICA Dissemination Project (MNDP); (v) Participatory Integrated Management of Invasive Aquatic Weeds Project (PIMIAWP); (vi) Peri-urban Smallholder Improvement Project (PSIP); (vii) Rural Finance and Community Initiatives Project (RFCIP); (viii) Artisanal Fisheries Development Project (AFDP); and (ix) Livestock and Horticulture Development Project (LHDP). Overall, these projects support food, nutrition and income security and poverty reduction through a range of interventions such as soil and water management and land development for rice irrigation, the eradication of aquatic weeds, support to income generating activities and rural livelihoods, and provision of rural microfinance. 33. Other main donors supporting the ANR sector include: Islamic Development Bank (IDB), World Bank (WB), BADEA, EU and the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) funding: (i) the Gambia Lowland Development Project (GALDEP); (ii) Africa Emergency Locust Project (AELP); and (iii) Irrigated Rice Development Project (IRRIDEP) respectively. Furthermore, the third co-financing components of the LHDP and PIWAMP will be funded by IDB and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) respectively. Other key interventions 9 A detailed list of the relevant projects and programmes and their potential alignment with GNAIP including financing gap estimates is presented in Annex 6. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 10 carried out include: World Food Programme (WFP) providing additional USD 1.5 million on top of the existing school feeding programme for all rural schools; Taiwanese Agricultural Technical Mission providing NERICA (New Rice for Africa) seeds to farmers and the development of aquaculture for fish production and tidal irrigation for rice seed multiplication and dissemination; and the Italian-Government supporting food security through commercialization of smallholder agriculture in six countries of West Africa (Mali, Senegal, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and Liberia). Egypt has pledged 0.5 million Egyptian Pounds for fertilizer and irrigation pumps; UNICEF currently supports nutrition of children. 34. In addition to multilateral and bilateral agencies, a large number of international and national NGOs and international research centres are supporting the ANR sector. Notable interventions include: Concern Universal, Action Aid and other NGOs who support food production, agribusiness development and capacity building, the Africa Rice Centre for the development and promotion of the NERICA variety; Action Aid who provides support to the rice mill located at Jahally CRR South and the farmer organizations in operating the mill and other activities; AU/IBAR for the revitalization of the ITC into a livestock research centre of excellence. 35. At present, a thematic working group concerning ANR and food and nutritional security issues has not been formally organized among development partners (DP). However DPs engaged in the sector do meet on an irregular basis as needed. There are some indications that a thematic group might soon be created, especially to interface with GNAIP through a coordinated mechanism. The WFP and FAO are currently members of the Food Security Task Force. 36. Projects mentioned above have provided important contributions to the ANR sector, but with multiple difficulties including: (i) delays in fulfilling regular disbursement requests limiting or delaying project achievements; (ii) irregular Government counterpart funding resulting in unmet targets; (iii) procurement delays hindering project implementation; (iv) inappropriate monitoring and evaluation systems leading often to misreporting and ineffective implementation; (v) beneficiaries’ unwillingness to provide their contributions to the projects (often due to inadequate sensitization/mobilization); (vi) little follow up and sustainability of interventions (in part due to limitations in Government staff to continue support to activities); and (vii) lack of coordination, harmonization and synergies among projects (each having their own intervention mechanisms, standards and reporting systems with separate implementation units and project steering committees but targeting the same beneficiaries). Recognizing the need for improved coordination, MOA established a Central Project Coordination Unit (CPCU) to strengthen coordination, harmonization and avoid duplication of efforts and also result in resource savings otherwise spent on administration of individual PCUs. It is envisaged under GNAIP that CPCU would be transformed into the Programme Coordination Office (PCO), largely retaining its current role and responsibilities (see Programme 6). 37. Following the soaring food prices in 2008, donor attention to food security issues heightened and focus shifted towards the ANR sector. Government established a National Taskforce on Food Security in May 2008 under the Office of the Vice President that included a technical working group coordinated by the MOA. The Taskforce comprised government and other key stakeholders from the private sector and NGOs, Farmers Platform as well as key UN agencies (WFP, FAO, UNDP) with the aim to redress causes and impacts of the food crisis, particularly concerning the main staple food, rice and the increasing national food deficits Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 11 exacerbated by the usual “hungry season”. In response to the crisis, Government requested support from the Global Initiative on Soaring Food Prices (ISFP) to assist Government in scoping pertinent causes, effects and mitigation measures of the crisis. The inter-agency assessment mission (GOTG, FAO, WB, WFP, IFAD) prepared an analysis and detailed Country Action Plan (CAP) (July 2008) for short and medium-term measures, many of which have been followed up and supported. Responses include: 38. European Union (EU) Under the Groundnut sub-sector revitalization programme, the sub-sector continues to enjoy tremendous support from the European Union. From 2008 to 2010, under STABEX FMO 99, EC provided the sum of EUR1.041 Million to improve GGC processing and transport capacity, upgrade Cooperative Produce Marketing Societies (CPMS) marketing equipment. It also provided agricultural inputs to farmers including 133 MT of decorticated groundnut seeds, 1,500 bags of fertilizer and 200 kg of seed treatment chemical worth over USD 0.33 million in support of the soaring food prices. All these interventions are aimed at making the Sub-Sector attractive for full privatization in the medium term. In addition, EU supported a grant under the European Union Food Crisis Rapid Response Facility Trust Fund (EU-TF) of the Global Food Crisis Response Programme (GFRP) to the tune of Euro 5.3 million for an Emergency Agriculture Production Project implemented with support from WB. Currently, there are negotiations for the World Bank to provide similar support to the sub-sector. 39. AfDB reviewed its loan portfolios for agricultural projects and shifted funds from two main projects (the Farmer Managed Rice Development Project (FMRIP – amount USD 0.80 million and NERICA – amount USD 0.464 million) for the immediate purchase of inputs (seeds, machinery and agro-chemicals). 40. FAO approved a Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) of USD 300,000 for agricultural inputs to boost production, while two other TCPs were launched in the areas of Rural Aquaculture Development and on Nutritional Education. In addition, eleven small-scale community projects have been approved for poultry production, fish smoking, fruit tree production and fruit and vegetable processing using solar dryers. 41. WFP approved an increase of USD 1.5 million of resources for 2008 in addition to its ongoing support programmes, school feeding to cover all rural primary schools. This is regarded as an important element in the social safety net. Based on the CAP, WFP also recruited a Vulnerability Assessment Officer to support Government in developing a comprehensive food security and nutrition assessment and monitoring system to better target and respond to food insecure and nutrition-deficit households in all regions of the country. 42. A number of bilateral partners provided support including: Agricultural Technical Mission of Taiwan supporting rice and horticultural development, Italy through its Italian Africa Fund, providing Euro 1 million of poultry meat and 8 MT of rice; Japan, providing 45,000 bags of fertilizer distributed among the five administrative regions of the country; NGOs and direct support from Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) have also provided assistance to farmers following the crises over the last 2-3 years. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 12 Pr ivate Sector E ngagement 43. Government encourages increasing private sector involvement in economic development and has provided investment incentives including no importation tax on agricultural machinery and inputs; no export tax on agricultural products; and duty waivers on fuel for use in the agricultural sector among others. Despite these incentives, many private sector actors do not have sufficient start-up capital to meaningfully invest in the ANR sector, considered a risky and unsustainable venture. Commercial banks are reluctant to provide loans for these types of investments. This is evidenced by the small number of private entrepreneurs operating in the ANR sector. In addition, cooperatives and producer organization as well as small and medium enterprises (e.g. food processors associations) are also viewed as vital to the growth of the ANR sector. Through a sound and realistic policy framework, Government will support improved access to financial resources by the private sector and use of public/private partnership for infrastructural development. Government will also encourage active private sector participation in research. D. Main Agricultural Sub-sector Issues Pr oduction I ntensification thr ough I mpr oved L and Pr epar ation and I r r igation 44. The ANR sector is characterized by subsistence farming mostly undertaken on a single rainy season from June to September. Annual rainfall is increasingly erratic and unevenly distributed in time and volume. The country’s mean annual rainfall varies from 500 mm to 900 mm. With this short duration and unreliable rainfall, crop and livestock production becomes increasingly difficult. The absence of adequate water control measures and irrigation structures that ensure continuous production of food and cash crops have seriously hampered progress in the ANR sector over the past decade. 45. About 90 percent of production is carried out by over 500,000 smallholder resource poor farmers with limited access to water conservation and management technologies. However there exists untapped potential in water resources (both surface and underground) suitable for production. The River Gambia divides the country into two halves (North and South Banks) with a length of over 400 km. It constitutes 20 percent of the total surface area of the country and is the main source of surface water for irrigation. The river is susceptible to saline intrusion ranging from 80 to 250 km upstream (eastern part of the country) and the rest is fresh water suitable for two types of irrigation: tidal and pump. Excessive and continuous extraction of water from the river moves the saline front on average 24 km per month upstream. There are abundant underground water resources (about 650 billion m3) available for drinking and irrigation. This potential could be more fully exploited if appropriate and cost-effective mix (tidal and pump) irrigation technology is used to ensure all year round production of crops and livestock. 46. The ANR policy and national strategic programmes in the sector specifically promote expansion of irrigation and land development in the country, as well as irrigation-based production, namely horticulture. These policies aim to: (i) reduce land and soil degradation and depletion through application of appropriate land use and soil management; (ii) periodically review and assess lands, soils and water resources; and (iii) increase modernization and commercialization through production intensification, productivity and competitiveness namely of cereals – particularly rice (use of mechanized and irrigation technologies). Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 13 47. Despite a favourable and enabling policy environment, many factors constrain development of irrigation and irrigation-based production (specifically horticulture) including: adequate and suitable irrigation technologies not available at affordable prices; limited surface water (mainly from the river) available for irrigation; saline intrusion which limits irrigation potential; and the absence of an irrigation policy framework and comprehensive land tenure reform which would enable security of landholdings among irrigation-based smallholders as a precondition for investments. 48. A number of Government and non-government institutions are directly involved and currently active in supporting improvements in the water and land management sub-sector. Key among these institutions include: the Department of Water Resources under the Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources; decentralized structures of the local government authorities (regional, district, ward, village development committees working also with MOLG&L); multi disciplinary facilitation teams with staff from across Government ministries and Departments as well as NGOs; Soil and Water Management Services of the DOA; NARI (soil analysis lab). Capacity among staff, particularly of government ministries is weak and constrained by high staff attrition rates; low remuneration and motivation, limited training incentives and facilities available and inadequate logistic support. NGOs are also active in the sector, mainly working as implementing partners in donor-supported programmes. 49. There are a number of donor-assisted programmes being implemented in the sub sector, including: AfDB/IFAD/GOTG-supported PIWAMP, which is a programme aiming with focus on increased land productivity and reduced soil erosion through enhancing lowland and upland rice production, promoting lowland watershed management schemes, improving upland conservation management among other initiatives; the FMRIP, mainly co-financed by AfDB and GOTG, focuses mainly on rice production to enhance food and income security of the target beneficiaries through land preparation, tidal and pump irrigation; the GALDEP co-financed by IDB and GOTG is also involved in the preparation of the inland valleys of the nine districts of Western Region for the production of rice and horticultural crops in a drive towards food and income security. GNAIP Programmes 1 and 5 will seek to complement and scale-up as appropriate these activities and capitalize on opportunities to expand suitable land and water management practices and watershed conservation (see Section III). R angeland, F or est, F isher ies and Par ks and W ildlife M anagement 50. Degradation and depletion of rangeland resources threatens the growth of the livestock sub-sector and exacerbates degradation of the natural resource base. Rangeland occupies 40 percent or 400,000 ha of the country’s total area of which about 60 percent (or 240,000 ha) is used for pasture practicing transhumance. Rangeland resources are often characterized by poor drainage, rocky topography and low soil fertility. While transhumance of livestock (particularly cattle) is practiced in order to increase access to pasture and water especially during the dry season, it also exposes livestock to increased incidence of disease epidemics. Disease and surveillance systems in the country however are limited due to inadequate number of qualified veterinarians (only two working for Animal Health and Production Services - AHPS) and production specialists, insufficient logistic support, and lack of adequate funding for drugs and vaccines. Potential is high for improving rangeland resource management, as well as for improving production of feed resources through animal feed gardening, production of forage crops and utilization and preservation of crop residues such as groundnut hay. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 14 51. A number of national policies and strategies provide the framework that supports improving rangeland management and transhumance in the country; including the ANR Sector Policy and the Gambia Environment Action Plan (GEAP), among others. Sustainable management of rangeland resources and their protection is supported through these frameworks. Efforts to fight rampant bush fires as well as reduction of transhumance are important initiatives, as is controlling incidence of disease epidemics. 52. AHPS is the main technical arm of DOA under MOA charged with the responsibility of livestock management and protection including rangeland and transhumance. Other institutions include: the Gambia Livestock Marketing Agency (GLMA), which was created by an Act of the National Assembly in 2008 to promote the development of the livestock sub-sector; the National Veterinary Council, which registers and authorizes permission for qualified veterinarians to practice in the country; the International Trypanotolerance Centre (ITC), which researches and screens indigenous livestock species against trypanosomiasis caused by trypanosomes (through tsetse fly vectors). ITC has developed a small ruminant germ pool at Keneba (about 120 km from Banjul) for use by the surrounding communities and beyond. Other players include livestock owners, middlemen traders, butchers and herders. The cumulative performance has been encouraging among these diverse institutions and actors in the livestock sub-sector and has contributed meaningfully to food and income security of rural communities. 53. Forest resources including mangroves cover from 350,000 ha to about 505,300 ha (43 percent) of the country (PIWAMP 2004, GNAIP 2009). State forest is the largest proportion (78 percent) of this coverage, with community and private forests covering about 17,487 ha only, though increasing. Forest products include timber, palm oil, wild fruits, honey, woodcarvings and fuelwood, the latter providing nearly 90 percent of all household energy needs. Forests also provide important potential revenue sources through eco-tourism, forest-based enterprise development including wood and non-wood products, and habitats for wildlife and fish. Although much of the forest areas have been degraded by overgrazing, exploitation for fuelwood, timber and non-timber products, by bush fire, extensive cultivation and drought, open and closed forests have increased by one percent since the last survey in 2005 through the Participatory Forest Management Programme of Community Forestry. 54. The current forest policy envisages that 30 percent of the total land area should be covered by forests, and that 75 percent of this should be sustainably managed by communities. Clearly, the policy target for the area has already been surpassed. In complement, special initiatives exist that ensure that wood and non-wood forest products are available in a sustainable way to meet national requirements, ensuring multiple use of forests and forest resources/products for food and nutrition security, incomes, employment and investment. 55. The Forestry Department in the Ministry of Forestry and Environment is the main agency overseeing forest management. In 1995 the Department was restructured to decentralize forest management authority, and the forest legislation was revised to include the Forests Management Concept for the sustainable management of forest reserves. Despite these reforms, the sub-sector is faced with inadequate number of well trained staff and insufficient logistic support due to low public funding. Government efforts in financing forest management have been low, on average less than one percent of the total government recurrent budget. Activities are nonetheless ongoing and include national tree planting and tree seedling distribution to farmers and schools. Other agencies involved in the forestry sub-sector include NEA and Department of Parks and Wildlife. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 15 56. The fisheries sub-sector is divided into two categories: artisanal and industrial fisheries, the former producing the bulk of resources. Industrial production remains largely underdeveloped. Fish provides the cheapest form of protein and supplies about 40 percent of the total animal protein consumed in the country. Its current per capita consumption is estimated at 28 kg (compared to 20 kg in 1995). The sub-sector’s (both artisanal and industrial) performance is marred by several constraints: lack of accessibility and affordability of concessionary credit, limited technical capacity, foreign dominance, high cost of pre-mix fuel and low use of suitable fishing technologies; absence of a fisheries port and lack of sufficient industrial on-shore facilities (fish factories) to encourage landing of high value fish catches from national waters; inadequate fish handling and storage facilities; poor distribution and marketing systems and structures. Despite these challenges, the fisheries sub-sector has great potential for contributing to national socio-economic development, providing sources of income, employment – including for youth and women, animal protein, foreign exchange earnings and has been identified by Government as key sector for increased investment. The objectives of the Fisheries Policy (2009 – 2013) include: promoting the increase of fish supplies by at least 30 percent of present levels to meet food fish security needs of the country particularly the vulnerable populations; linking artisanal fisheries to markets to realize increased income and employment and take advantage of investment opportunities; providing artisanal fisheries with appropriate advice; data and information provided on a continuous basis to improve policy, planning and investment in productivity in the sector; and appropriate legislation, guidelines and practices with adequate monitoring. 57. Main institutions and actors involved in the fisheries sector include: foremost among Government institutions, the Department of Fisheries with overall responsibility of the sector. The Gambia Navy protects the country’s territorial waters; Ministry of Health and Social Welfare manages issuance of export health certificates; Gambia Ports Authority manages fish landing issues; and Ministry of Justice reviews and updates the fisheries Act and Regulations. In addition to Government, private fishing companies (e.g. Barra Fishing Company and Pelican Fishing Company) and community fisheries centres (semi-autonomous) are involved in the sector, the latter in particular managing fisheries centres to facilitate transportation and marketing. In addition to the above, there is the Department of Youth and Sports in MOYS, the National Youth Service Scheme (NYSS) and associations of youth, women, and communities and individuals already active or with potential for involvement in the sector. A few programmes are operating in support of the sector funded by different institutions including: AfDB and BADEA which support the development of the artisanal fisheries sector under the Artisanal Fisheries Development Project. The Japanese Government is supporting the artisanal sub-sector and marketing of fisheries products. The Sub-regional Fisheries Commission is supporting surveillance of the territorial waters. 58. Government attaches high priority to the preservation and management of national parks and wildlife, and is fully aware of the importance of conservation and sustainable use of the wildlife resource base to ensure biological diversity of species, genes and ecosystems, and to tap the potential of this sub-sector for the socio-economic development of the country. Efficient management of the parks and wildlife can contribute to increasing the productivity of the country’s land and soil resources and competitiveness in products of high value markets, particularly tourism. 59. Many constraints prevent the optimal use and management of parks and wildlife. These include: a steadily increasing population; desertification, which is exerting considerable Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 16 pressure on the availability of wildlife and maintenance of their natural habitat; hunting pressure (poaching) and gradual reduction of vegetation density; frequent bush fires and drying of streams and other drinking points, contributing to the disappearance of natural habitats and indigenous traditional wildlife species; limited institutional and financial support to cope with the numerous challenges of the sector; little or no engagement in research and development to generate and transfer new technology; devolution of authority in wildlife resource management not fully operational at local government levels (district authorities and village community levels); and inadequate land access and security of tenure to stimulate private sector investment in wildlife resource management. 60. The main institution overseeing parks and wildlife is the Department of Parks and Wildlife Management (DPWM) under the Ministry of Forestry and Environment (MOFEN). The main policy instruments guiding this process include the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and its attendant Act of 2003 and the National Biosafety Framework. Key objectives of these policies include: the increase of national parks, nature reserves and other protected areas from four percent to ten percent of total land area by 2015: the level of protection and availability of wildlife and their habitats would have risen by at least 75 percent; incidence of conflicts on the production of food crops reduced to below five percent of present records; parks and wildlife resources put under organized and sustainable participatory management providing opportunities for wildlife and forest producers to produce quality products for food, incomes, employment, and investment in ecotourism; increased level and health of wildlife in the country; appropriate legislations, guidelines on good practices, advice and delivery services provided; data and information collected and disseminated on a continuous basis for policy, planning and investment focusing on appropriate management in the exploitation of natural resources and biodiversity conservation mainstreamed in all socio-economic sectors for adequate protection of marine and coastal habitats. 61. Main actors and partners working in this sector include in addition to DPWM, the Departments of Forestry and Fisheries, MOA, MOF, local government authorities (working under MOLG&L) in partnership with local communities. Others include: The Gambian Tourism Authority (GTA), private tour operators – in particular working through the Association of Small Scale Enterprises in Tourism (ASSET). At the international level the DPWM is being supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), World Bank (WB), UNDP, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN); bilateral partners include Senegal in the area of biodiversity conservation and Zambia for institutional strengthening including transforming DPWM into an Authority. 62. Taking advantage of the vast opportunities in the livestock, forestry and fisheries sub sectors, Programme 2 of the GNAIP aims to improve sustainable management practices of the country’s natural resources, namely rangelands – including transhumance, forests, fisheries, parks and wildlife to achieve reduced natural resource degradation, improved food security, expanded sources of livelihood and incomes and reduced poverty particularly of communities that depend on these resources. A NR V alue C hains Pr omotion and M ar keting 63. The transformation of the ANR sector from subsistence to a commercially-oriented modern sector is a national priority as stated in the PRSP II and ANR Policy and Strategy which emphasize development of the agribusiness sub-sector in support of smallholders as the main Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 17 pathway to development. This will be achieved through accelerated growth in potentially fast growing sub-sectors such as horticulture, groundnuts, coarse grains and livestock, as well as increased rice production and productivity for enhanced food security and import substitution. 64. The ANR sector holds potential for commercial growth in a wide range of products (food crops, fruits and vegetables, livestock, fish and forest). Value addition through processing and packaging in these production chains for domestic and foreign markets are promising, notably for high-value “niche” commodities (e.g. horticultural, groundnuts, sesame). The groundnut market, once vibrant and high-income earning, has potential to rebound but has been constrained over recent years (53 percent production loss was reported in 2007) resulting in a decline in rural incomes by more than 50 percent in 2008 (GOTG/ISFP 2008). Challenges in groundnut have included: inadequate financial resources to purchase the crop by stakeholders (Gambia Groundnut Corporation, private dealers and individuals) leading to credit buying; inadequate processing and storage facilities; insufficient processing equipment and facilities and high cost of transportation. Constraints to accessing markets are now being overcome as regular and weekly markets exist and some regional and international market linkages are being developed by private producers with potential for scaling up. Other opportunities in the ANR sector also include re-export trade in coarse grains and rice, which has particular opportunity notably through trade with Senegal and other countries in the sub-region. Although in decline in recent years because of closure of the Senegal border this has now partially re-opened and the unofficial re-export trade has resumed with increased volumes of commodities. 65. To commercialize the sector, however, requires improvements in several key areas: value chain and agro-processing development - including post-harvest practices, value addition and meeting quality standards in selected chains; improving and expanding market chain linkages and trade opportunities - including infrastructures and information systems as well as reinforcing or revising regional and international trade agreements and incentive structures; strengthening and promoting linkages among key institutions and actors in the sub-sector, e.g. Government and non government agencies, producer organizations and private sector; and broadening access to rural finances for smallholder activities. Agribusiness development through value chain approaches specifically have many challenges: smallholders use low-input technologies, labour-intensive systems and limited value–addition technologies that result in low quality products and low incomes; support services are weak and underdeveloped - including training for smallholders and groups in all aspects of the value chain; market opportunities are still few and largely untapped, not easily known or accessed by small producers due to limited information flow; limited organization and partnerships (notably among producers and with marketing/private sector actors); poor infrastructure and transportation networks (e.g. feeder roads, air freight costs; irregular or no power supplies; limited storage facilities; and limited access to start-up capital for smallholders entering agribusinesses - those MFIs supporting this still require strengthening. 66. MOA and several of its key agencies (DOA and NARI) are working to mitigate many of the challenges to accelerate commercialization. Currently a number of initiatives are being implemented including many with donor support. Notable among these include: NGO programmes, including Concern Universal for crop production and marketing for example through “Gambia is Good” Project, Action Aid supporting sesame growers associations for marketing, and the Italian Government-supported food security project promoting commercialization and Government capacity building in this sub-sector. Lessons learnt to date Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 18 from these interventions suggest more financial support and clear policy directive are needed to achieve stated objectives. 67. Government ministries relevant to the development of the sub-sector include MOTRIE, MEPID, MOF, MOICI, MOFWRNAM, MOFEN and MOHSW. Among stakeholders, the Gambia Investment Export Promotion Agency (GIEPA) is a key institution with the aim of increasing engagement of private sector actors in the sub-sector and creating linkages between them to vitalize the agribusiness sub-sector. A number of private sector actors currently operate in support of the sub-sector and include: the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) supporting private operatives in value addition and marketing; the Gambia Horticulture Enterprise (GHE) - a large and private sector actor supporting inputs and marketing linkages to private producers and producer groups including providing quality seeds (mainly horticulture), fertilizers and agro-chemicals and exporting horticultural crops mainly to UK; commodity group institutions such as Gambia Groundnut Corporation (GGC) - supporting the groundnut sector in the purchase and export of groundnuts; and others such as the Cooperative Produce Marketing Society (CPMS), the Farmers Platform and rural finance institutions (e.g. VISACAs and NACCUG). National F ood and Nutr ition Secur ity 68. National food and nutrition security is a cornerstone to achieving poverty reduction and national growth and development. It is a flagship objective of the ANR sector in the medium to long-term perspective as outlined in the ANR Policy (2006-2015). Food security is particularly critical during periods of disaster including natural calamities such as floods, pest and disease outbreaks, severe droughts and desertification. Government is committed to achieving food and nutrition security for all including during periods of disaster as a universal right within the shortest possible period of time. This is highlighted in main national policies and strategies: the Vision 2020 (2006), MDGs and the PRSP II (2007-2011), the ANR Policy (2006-2015) and the GNAIP (2009). To date however, a national food and nutrition security policy, common in other African countries, does not exist. 69. Also lacking is a national social protection policy. This would ensure a food security and livelihood safety net coverage for those most vulnerable - particularly during acute periods of high risk and disaster. The absence of a social protection policy has implications for supporting poorest households of the population in meeting their daily food requirements and essential needs. This is particularly relevant given the regional inequities in terms of poverty levels and incomes growth potential in the country10 10 See details in GoTG/CAADP brochure 2009 and GOTG/ISFP 2008. . In periods of crises and recovery, a social protection policy would provide the framework for guiding Government’s response and recovery measures, in particular in support of the most vulnerable pockets of the population. The country is making solid steps forward in terms of disaster management however. A National Disaster Management Policy (2008) has recently been approved by Parliament, accompanied by a National Disaster Management Act (2008) and Strategic Action Plan (2008-2011). To operationalize the Disaster Management Strategic Plan and oversee implementation of the national disaster management agenda, the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) has been established (2008) with the aim of strengthening national disaster preparedness and mitigation at all levels and improving resilience and responses to emergencies and disasters including at community levels. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 19 70. Despite national priority on agriculture and food security for all, food deficits are chronic. The country is able to produce only 50 percent of its domestic food requirement in cereals (rice, maize, millet and sorghum). The balance is catered for by commercial imports (mainly rice and flour) and food aid grants (WFP for schools and Japanese food aid grant for under-privileged farmers). The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey in 2005/2006 indicated that under-five children are malnourished: 7.3 percent wasted (too thin for their height) or 29 percent stunted (too short for their age) with 20.3 percent infants moderately underweight and 4 percent severely underweight. In addition, the NaNA National Nutrition Survey (2005) reports micronutrient deficiencies is a severe problem especially among children. Estimates compiled from various Government reports in 2008 (during the GOTG/ISFP 2008) indicate about 15 percent of the total population as food insecure. In The Gambia, while 11% of the rural population is most vulnerable, 9% are potentially vulnerable. The Lower River Region accounts for 21% of the people in this category followed by the Central River Region, while the remaining regions contain 8–12%. 71. Some of the main constraints to reaching national food security in specific include: inadequate household incomes to access minimal food requirements and nutritious and safe foods – an important part of the population are net “buyers” of grains (630,000 persons reported in 2008 – see GOTG/ISFP 2008); lack of awareness/information on nutritional food preparation and consumption practices; limited rural health care support for food security notably for pregnant and lactating women and infants; weak food and nutrition information systems vital for decision making, programming and planning targeted interventions regarding food and nutrition security; the absence of an operational high-level national body to champion food and nutrition security issues in the country and general lack of awareness of the implications of food security and commitment to achieving it; insufficient attention to transforming the ANR Sector Policy into concrete action toward moving the sector into twin-track food self-reliance and commercialization. 72. For rural producers, a range of agricultural technical deficiencies (most described in detail in other sections) further worsen household purchasing power due to low yields and marketing constraints: use of traditional low input/output production practices by smallholders (notably for staple food crops, mainly rice); low incomes of smallholder producers because locally produced major staple food commodities (rice, poultry and beef) are not competitive with cheaper imports; essential inputs such as high quality crop seeds, planting materials and livestock breeds, fertilizers, agro-chemicals and year round water supplies are relatively expensive and not easily affordable by the majority of resource-poor smallholder producers; limited economies of scale to encourage and attract investment in mechanized farming that would increase productivity and expand production areas; inadequate or under-performing support institutions that deliver essential services of extension, research, finance (credit), information and timely availability of inputs; poor infrastructure (feeder roads) in some rural areas limiting access to markets, weak capacity of producer organizations. 73. Despite challenges, achieving national food and nutrition security at all times is within reach and can be realized by revitalizing the number of existing initiatives in the sub-sector in particular. These include: a high-level food security working group and task force on food security exist but lie dormant and could be revitalized to play a meaningful role in promoting food and nutrition security and in coordinating efforts in this sub-sector; data collection and information systems on food security already exist - notably in the Department of Water Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 20 Resources (DWR) and the Planning Services (DOA) who both work with assistance from the regional AGRHYMET/CILSS - these systems have potential for improvement and expansion in coordination, technical operations and outputs; over 40 percent of arable land remains available for production expansion; potential for increased incomes among rural producers is high through development of niche market opportunities and value chains; opportunities prevail for increased women’s empowerment through increased income earnings due to their dominance in the food sector – this would lead to improved levels of household food consumption and nutrition; sensitization and support could be upscaled from MOA, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW) and Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MOBSE) through schools and village-based mechanisms to eat locally produced and nutritionally balanced foods and produce what they eat; enhancing linkages with other sectors of the economy is critical, particularly to increase rural incomes (e.g. tourism) and overall household purchasing power; and interest and support from a number of development partners exists and could be leveraged to support ongoing programmes and also fill gaps by initiating new ones. 74. A number of institutions and agencies support the food security sub-sector, across sectors, starting at the highest levels. An inter-ministerial Food Security Working Group under the Vice President’s Office and the technical arm of the technical Task Force was created in 2008 specifically in response to the soaring food price crisis with the objective of providing strategic guidance and overall coordination of food and nutrition security. Although currently dormant, there is much potential for reviving this body. DWR of the MOFWRNAM and Planning Service in MOA both play vital roles in providing information on food and nutrition through a multi disciplinary working group (MWG) along with other services under MOA including Communication, Extension and Education; Animal Health and Production; Plant Production, as well as the National Environment Agency (NEA). An envisaged reformed and expanded MWG could enable the group to work more effectively in providing comprehensive national information in food and nutrition sectors. AGRHYMET/CILSS has been assisting DWR and the MWG in producing early warning bulletins; this would be mainstreamed into the work of the reformed MWG making it a comprehensive Food Security and Nutrition Information System (FSNIS). The Vulnerability Assessment and Monitoring Officer in WFP will also provide a vital contribution to the design and operations of the new FSNIS. Other key institutions currently operating in the sector include: NaNA, which is the national nutrition agency under the Vice President’s Office responsible for supporting activities in the nutritional sector through for example information collection and dissemination, coordination of interventions in the topic area, service delivery concerning related interventions (such as agro-processing, food preparation, food standards and quality assurance); MOHSW, which contributes to the health and social welfare aspect of the general population and in collaboration with NaNA provides the vital vitamin A supplement to children; MOBSE who in partnership with WFP support food for education programmes and school gardens, UNICEF, and NGOs who are implementing a range of programmes such as school and community gardens, agro-processing and nutritional support programmes, among others. 75. Main agencies and stakeholders operating in the disaster risk management field are few. The recently established NDMA is the pivotal agency responsible for guiding and coordinating disaster risk management initiatives. NDMA works through a decentralized structure comprising Regional Disaster Management Committees (RDMC) recently established. RDMCs support community and household resilience and vulnerability to disasters and risk by broadening coping strategies, supporting disaster contingency plans at local levels – essential for preparing Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 21 communities to prevent, mitigate, effectively respond to and recover quickly from disasters, supporting the creation of disaster platforms and assisting in infrastructure development, for example storage and initial restocking of emergency cereal/seed and non-food reserves - some of which will be supported by a newly created disaster management fund. Development partners such as Japan and WFP have already committed support to these initiatives as well as some NGOs. Sustainable F ar m Development 76. It is estimated that there are about 320,000 ha (57 percent of the total arable land area of 558,000 ha) harvested annually by about 69,100 farm families with only 3,300 ha of land under irrigation. The production system is characterized by subsistence-based rain-fed mixed-crop farming carried out mainly by small-scale resource poor farmers who use labour-intensive traditional production practices on less than one-hectare average farm size plots (usually fragmented). This type of farming system results in low outputs, and in general, causes a gradual decline in soil fertility. Despite cultivated area expansion in recent years, agricultural productivity and overall performance in the smallholder farming sector are either stagnant or declining11 77. Two systems of land tenure co-exist - traditional and modern. At district level, traditional authority on land tenure matters rests with the District Chief, responsible for allocation of unclaimed land, settlement of disputes between villages and guiding the affairs of his constituency. Under the modern local government system, authority for land tenure issues at district level is vested in the local authorities comprising of representatives of MOLG & L, village head, district chief and electoral wards. GNAIP has proposed review of the existing Land Act to identify weaknesses, inequities and reinforce tenure security for all categories of land holders. as a result of a number of factors such as erratic, short duration and unevenly distributed rainfall; poor and declining soil fertility; inappropriate farming techniques and practices; inadequate access to inputs (such as high yielding crop seeds, agro-chemicals, improved livestock breeds, fingerlings); limited access to markets; insufficient access to credit; weak research and extension services; weak capacity and poorly organized producer organizations; and unsuitable land tenure system. 78. The sub-sector has, however, a number of positive features: availability of over 40 percent of total arable land for expansion of crop and livestock production; potential for expansion of irrigation; availability of improved agricultural practices and improved technology transfer approaches (such as farmer field schools); presence of highly motivated producer organizations and producer apex bodies (such as the Farmer’s Platform); openness to examine and reform land tenure arrangements to provide more equitable distribution of plots and increased security of holdings. 79. Government is addressing farm management development, by putting in place a number of main sectoral policies and strategies, many of which have been discussed above. Specific policies include: the Medium-term Soil Fertility Policy, which includes objectives to: (i) intensify measures to address erosion and land degradation through community-based integrated watershed management and the implementation of rain water harvesting techniques; (ii) develop national institutional capacity to cope with land development problems in the Gambia; and (iii) develop a land tenure system which will make land more accessible to farmers 11 Over the last five years, total cultivated area of all crops averaged 320,000 ha but average yield stagnated around one MT per ha as against the potential of over 1.5 MT per ha. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 22 particularly women. The Government’s National Seed Policy (2008) provides a well-defined and stable framework for the development of an effective and sustainable seed sector, creating an environment to foster cooperation between government and partners for quick delivery of new improved varieties from research to farmers, access to global experience and materials, monitoring of seed imports, seed security and emergency seed distribution. The current Land Act (2002) states that ultimate rights to land are vested in the District Authorities and that the "occupation and use" of land is governed by customary laws. 80. In addition to ensuring an enabling environment, a number of interventions are underway to improve farm management. There have been many soil fertility maintenance interventions, such as the GOTG/AfDB/IFAD-supported Lowland Agricultural Development Programme (LADEP) which has achieved encouraging results, for instance in the development of 3,735 ha of lowlands for rice production and 3,086 ha of tidal irrigation. A follow up to the LADEP is the ongoing GOTG/AfDB/IFAD-supported PIWAMP with the objectives to train and empower communities in natural resources management – including through improved watershed protection; to increase production and productivity of project areas on a sustainable basis; and to increase access to markets and inputs through improved infrastructure. A number of projects are working to enhance capacities of Government services in research and technology development and to support smallholders in improved farm management practices. PIWAMP includes a capacity building component that aims to build extension service capacities as well as skills in a range of MOA Departments and Services. Projects such as PIWAMP and many NGOs are showing initial promising results in supporting the emergence of producer associations through technical and organizational strengthening. Action Aid and Concern Universal are providing support to producer groups in farming practices, post-harvest processing, agribusiness development and market linkages, group organization, networking and information dissemination among many other activities. 81. Improving farm management involves a wide range of institutions and actors. Effective coordination among stakeholders is vital to making progress and meeting objectives of the GNAIP. MOA, including NARI and DOA with its technical service units will be lead players, complemented by the Regional Directorates. In addition, other ministries and partners will be critical players, in particular MOFEN, NEA, MOLG&L, MOYS, TANGO (comprising all NGOs), UTG, private sector, producer organizations including apex bodies, local and traditional authorities, and development partners such as IFAD, AfDB, FAO, EU, WB and bilateral partners. Sector C oor dination 82. The ANR sector comprises a range of sub-sectors and includes a number of stakeholders, many with ongoing interventions being supported by various sources of funding which will be incorporated into the GNAIP framework. Therefore, effective institutional arrangements for coordination and management, and for building synergy and alignment among interventions are required. Challenges in ensuring complementarity and coordination among GNAIP programmes and interventions are likely and may include for example: lack of willingness or capacity to collaborate among stakeholders from different sectors/agencies; insufficient emphasis and prioritization on GNAIP from high-level authorities; donor pledges not honoured or delayed; slow disbursement of funds; weak reporting and information systems among programmes/projects, which is essential to align and track progress among interventions; duplication in structures and mandates; weak management capacity – resulting in poor work planning, irregular meetings, weak M&E implementation and poor communication. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 23 83. GNAIP will specifically provide the mechanism for the coordination, management and monitoring and evaluation systems essential for its success. Coordination and management structures will work directly through existing Government entities (decentralized structures: regional, district, ward and village development committees) thus avoiding parallel structures. Mainstreaming GNAIP management and coordination through Government institutional arrangements is expected to build national ownership and capacity of existing structures and reinforce sustainability. 84. Development partners, NGOs, private sector, producer organizations have all expressed interest in engaging in and supporting GNAIP. IFAD, AfDB, FAO, WFP and a number of NGOs for example are already providing technical assistance to the GNAIP design process. Partners have also expressed support to mainstreaming their ongoing programmes into the GNAIP framework and working with GNAIP to better align ongoing and future activities. I I I . I NV E ST M E NT PL A N R A T I ONA L E 85. Agriculture is the basis of Gambian economy, employing around 70 percent of the population and accounting for about 30 percent of the GDP. It is the principal source of livelihood for the rural population and for the majority of households below the poverty line. Weak performance in the sector (at only about four percent growth) is a primary cause of national poverty levels. 86. With the economy heavily dependent on rain-fed agriculture, adverse climatic conditions have caused negative effects on agricultural production, eroding farmers’ productivity and purchasing power. The agribusiness sub-sector remains undeveloped and market linkages with domestic, regional and international markets are under-exploited. Despite priorities to modernize and transform the sector from a subsistence-based to commercialized market-oriented sector, necessary conditions to realize these goals remain unmet. 87. Depletion of natural resources has reached serious proportions resulting in adverse effects to the ANR sector. Gradual but increasing shortages of land due to population pressure, recurrent droughts and the onset of climate change have led to the degradation of soils and natural resources. The upland watershed ecosystem has been disturbed and degraded largely due to deforestation and extended periods of shifting cultivation. Reduced water infiltration, high water runoff rates, drying of inland valleys and river tributaries and less water availability for crops and livestock have been observed. The destruction of riverine wetlands has resulted in erosion and siltation of the Gambia River, reducing water flow and causing more than half of length of the river to be affected by saltwater intrusion from the Atlantic Ocean. The lowlands - where most of the investments in agricultural production take place - have undergone pronounced siltation and sedimentation which threatens their sustainability.12 88. To realize objectives set in GNAIP, capitalizing upon existing potentials and opportunities is essential. Government’s leadership in the stocktaking process under the CAADP These effects combined with increasing periods of drought, increasing desertification largely caused by climate change, periodic floods and epidemics place the country at risk to disasters. 12 PIWAMP 2004. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 24 framework and the signing of the Compact - the Gambia National Agriculture Investment Programme (2010-2015) demonstrate political engagement from the highest levels and indicate Government’s commitment to its successful implementation. 89. Across the country, there is arable land, water and natural resources available for increasing production and forests, parks and wildlife for development through sustainable conservation management. Many initiatives have already shown success. In addition, high potential exists for agribusiness development and enhancing market linkages including partnering with private sector operators. This will include provision of infrastructure such as storage facilities and access roads. Scaling up domestic, regional and international trade particularly in high-value and niche products has high potential. Establishment of the multi-stakeholder Food Security Working Group and Task Force under the Vice President’s Office at the time of the soaring food price crises, efforts to improve national food and nutrition security information systems, expanding school feeding programmes and recently establishing the National Disaster Management Agency are all examples of Government’s focus on addressing food security issues. 90. The five technical programmes of the Investment Plan are based on core GNAIP 2009 components identified as priority to realizing national food and nutrition security and socioeconomic development and growth. These include: (i) improving agricultural land and water management – through promoting sustainable land and water management practices; (ii) improving management of shared resources through strengthening rangeland and forest management as well as supporting fisheries, parks and wildlife; (iii) developing agricultural chains and promoting markets through development of value chains and expanding trade opportunities; (iv) supporting national food and nutrition security including in periods of disaster through strengthening institutions overseeing these issues, promoting social protection measures with attention to improved targeting, and improving national disaster risk management; and (v) developing and improving sustainable farm management resulting in increased productivity and production and climate change adaptation that also enhances and conserves the natural resource base. 91. These priority areas will be implemented through a Government-led coordinated approach emphasizing decentralization and mainstreaming through existing structures to reinforce sustainability. High attention will be given to ensuring active engagement of national stakeholders at all levels, including notably Government, private sector, farmer organizations, NGOs and other development partners to ensure that the process is consultative and participatory as it was during the development of ANR and sub-sectoral policies. Emphasis will be given to effective targeting across all programmes to ensure reaching appropriate beneficiaries, particularly ensuring the inclusion of women, youth and other vulnerable groups. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 25 I V . I NV E ST M E NT PL A N DE SC R I PT I ON A. GNAIP Objectives 92. The Overall Goal of GNAIP is enhanced economic growth and poverty reduction by an increased contribution of the ANR sector to the national economy. Success will be predicated on a sound national macroeconomic framework. 13 93. To meet this goal, the Development Objective of GNAIP is increased food and nutritional security and household incomes, particularly for vulnerable households. This will be achieved through increased production and productivity in the ANR sector, based on sustainable management of natural resources, commercialization and active private/sector participation.. 94. Key performance indicators of GNAIP14 − Increase in agriculture sector growth rate (from 4 percent in 2009 to 8 percent by 2015); will include: − Increase in national household incomes (reduction in number of people below poverty line from 61 percent in 2009 to 44.6 percent in 201515 − Increase in overall national food and nutrition security through increasing sustainable levels of self-sufficiency in food production by 25 percent (from current 50 percent consumption requirements met). ); 16 95. Specific Objectives. The GNAIP has the following six specific objectives, each relating to a GNAIP programme: − Increased food security, income generating capacity and nutritional status of farmer beneficiaries especially women and youth through the use of sustainable land and water management practices; − Improved livelihoods and food security, and reduced poverty of populations that depend on The Gambia’s other shared natural resources (including rangelands, forests, fisheries, parks and wildlife) through sustainable management and use of these resources; − Increased incomes of agricultural value chain actors (including farmers, input suppliers, processors, traders and exporters) resulting from a transformation of the agricultural sector from a traditional subsistence economy to a modern market-oriented commercial sector with well integrated food chains and a viable agro-processing private sector; − Improved national and household food security and adequate nutritional levels including during periods of disaster, with attention to targeting the most vulnerable groups and households in rural and urban communities; 13 Adapted from GNAIP summary briefs and brochures (GOTG/ECOWAS Commission/African Union NEPAD-CAADP). 14 Ibid. Data synthesized from GNAIP summary briefs and brochures. 15 Using six percent growth rate. 16 ANR policy (2010). Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 26 − Increased and sustained agricultural production and productivity growth by introducing improved agricultural practices through people-centred learning processes that enhance and conserve natural resources and the environment, help farmers to adapt to climate change, and increase household incomes; and − GNAIP institutional arrangements are established with adequate capacities of relevant institutions to effectively implement programmes supported by an enabling environment for facilitating well-coordinated successful operations and monitoring of GNAIP. 96. GNAIP recognises the existence and importance of HIV/AIDS and malaria on morbidity and mortality as they affect agricultural labour productivity. In this regard, appropriate measures will be taken to facilitate the intervention of the MOHSW through the GFATM funding facilities to mitigate the negative impact of these pandemics. 97. Investment Plan Approach. Oversight for implementation of the GNAIP investment plan will be led by a Programme Coordination Office (PCO) housed in MOA. The PCO will provide overall GNAIP coordination and guidance for operational management and general supervision of programmes. They will ensure complementarity among interventions, supporting alignment and synergies including building linkages with other sectors and ongoing activities on the ground. The investment plan is built on existing successes with the aim of encouraging development partners to further scale up these and other promising initiatives. Government leadership in managing GNAIP, combined with mainstreaming operations through government structures in collaboration with partners under MOA, will build national ownership and capacity in coordination and implementation. Activities have been prioritized and sequenced with focused results to optimize impacts and sustainability of investments. While emphasis is placed on commercialisation of the agriculture and natural resource sector, cross-cutting themes of national food security and social protection measures that target particularly vulnerable groups including women and youth are core to the investment plan and overall development of the sector. B. Investment Plan Programmes 98. The GNAIP has six programmes which are summarized below. Annex 1 provides an overview including CAADP alignment. Details are presented in Annexes 2-4 (Programme Matrices, Logical Frameworks and Stakeholder Matrices). Pr ogr amme 1: I mpr ovement of A gr icultur al L and and W ater M anagement (USD82.77 M illion) 99. The programme objective is increased food security, income generating capacity and nutritional status of the farmer beneficiaries especially women and youth through the use of sustainable land and water management practice for the cultivation of 25,000 ha17 − Increased and stable rice production through area expansion and production intensification; of land. Specific objectives of the programme include: 17 24,000 ha for rice and 1, 000 ha for vegetables as detailed in Annex 5 Programme 1, Component 1 Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 27 − Increased income generating capacity of vulnerable groups (youth, women and landless), thereby reducing poverty; − On-farm and off-farm employment opportunities created, reducing rural urban drift and/or migration; − Year round availability of vegetables, enhancing the income earning capacity and nutritional status of benefiting communities; and − Increased rice production promoting import substitution and subsequently economizing scarce foreign exchange resources. 100. Programme implementation will be led by MOA under the overall coordination of the GNAIP Programme Steering Committee (PSC). The programme Coordination Office (PCO), which is housed in MOA with Department of Agriculture’s (DOA’s) Service Units and Regional Directorates will oversee and implement the programme at field level. As detailed in Component 3 of this Programme, a range of activities will be undertaken to strengthen performance of MOA and other relevant agencies in technical, methodological and operational areas of service delivery, research and analysis. MOA collaboration with other Government Institutions (especially Department of Water Resources and the Local Government Authorities) and NGOs will be supported to enhance exchange of expertise (knowledge and skills) throughout implementation and to ensure timely technical and operational support. Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation will be used to monitor programme activities during implementation emphasizing beneficiary participation and ownership. 101. GNAIP implementation will adhere to environmental safe guards, and involve relevant international programmes and processes to mitigate and/or adapt to the impact of climate change vis-a-vis agricultural development. Current successful adaptation and mitigation measures will be further deepened, and new strategies will be put in place to attract funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the UN-REDD programme (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). Other global programmes will include the Programme of Work for Protected Areas (POWPA) under the Biodiversity Convention, and Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) in the Copenhagen Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The NAMA will specifically address adaptation, forestry, technology and capacity building activities. Earlier attempts to develop projects though the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) process were not successful due to the relatively low level of production of carbon with potential for sale. This is mainly due to the small sizes of the proposed projects and also the small size of the country and its capacity to produce enough carbon attractive enough for foreign investors. GNAIP implementation will explore innovative ways and means that will attract foreign investors; these could involve the development of a regional carbon market large enough to take advantage of the concept of economies of scale. 102. Implementation of this component will be directly influenced by the effects of climate change given that it will involve pump irrigation for rice farming (drawing water from the River Gambia), and abstraction of water from drilled bore holes in the horticulture sector particularly in the Western part of the country. In addition, improvement and expansion of agricultural land will involve felling of trees in upland areas for both rice and groundnut production, and clearing of vegetation in lowlands and swampy areas some of which are essentially wetlands of both national and international significance protected by international conventions to which Gambia is signatory. The obvious confluence of the two programmes is evident in the need for conservation Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 28 of natural resources and the environment, and adoption of sustainable agro-ecological measures such as soil and water conservation using cover crops as indicated in Programme 5. Clearly the linkage means that cost overlaps and duplication of efforts will be reduced since the activities are mutually re-enforcing. In addition, MOA as executing agency, possible conflicts would be easily avoided. 103. This Programme is comprised of three components: (i) lowland development for rice production; (ii) irrigation for horticulture and upland crops; and (iii) capacity building of support services institutions. 104. Lowland Development for Rice Production: this component is divided into three sub-components: (i) water retention and land improvement; (ii) pump and tidal irrigation; and (iii) seasonally saline tidal swamp improvement. For each intervention area, the programme envisages to increase rice yields from current levels of under 0.8mt/ha to: • 2mt/ha for natural depressions • 2mt/ha for run-off inundated flood plains • 2.5mt/ha for back swamps • 10mt/year /ha for pump irrigated schemes to • 8mt year /ha/ tidal irrigated schemes to • 2mt/ha seasonally saline tidal swamps The component targets 24,000 ha of land under the various lowland ecologies with the aim of expanding rice production, including NERICA, to attain an annual production of 70,000 metric tons of paddy, and facilitate pond aquaculture production to optimize yields per year. Activities in this component aim to improve land and water management and farmer production practices for sustained crop production and productivity growth and include inter alia: − Provision of water control structures (water retention dikes, anti-saline dikes, flood protection dikes, conveyance systems, spillways, bunds and other flow control structures); − Levelling of land for flood irrigation; − Construction and/or provision of means of access to and from the rice fields, especially the seasonally saline flood plains; − Installation of tidal gates and pumping machines and accessories; − Farmer training, provision of initial production support and promotion of farmer organizations; and − Foundation seed production support for each ecology 105. An estimated 24,000 households will be targeted by this component,18 18 On average one ha per household. and include mainly lowland women farmers in all regions. Participation of the youth and the landless farmer will be encouraged through specific targeting measures. Site selection and development will depend on available land that is suitable for proposed interventions, labour availability and arrangements taken at local level to ensure land use security for all users. To promote effective management and sustainability of production schemes, beneficiaries will be supported to organize themselves into groups and register as farmer organizations. Farmers will be trained on on-farm Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 29 organizational management, use of technologies and/or innovations associated with improved crop husbandry, management of production input supply and marketing, and operation and maintenance of infrastructure, equipment and machinery. 106. Irrigation for Horticulture and Upland Crops: this component aims to bring 1,000 ha of land under year-round crop production to ensure reliable availability of selected vegetables thus improving nutrition and increasing household incomes. During dry seasons, schemes will be used for dry-season seed production to mitigate natural disasters. The system will be implemented on matching grant basis tailored to different target groups (50 percent contribution for commercial farms to zero percent for the vulnerable groups). The four types of systems corresponding to sub-components are as follows: − Cluster Market Africa: borehole, solar power generator for lifting, overhead tank for storage and pressure generation and drip irrigation system for distribution; − Community Village: borehole, solar power generator for lifting, overhead tank for storage and pressure generation and ground reservoir with taps for distribution; − Small-scale Village: shallow open well, small portable solar power generators for lifting and ground reservoir for distribution; and − Small-scale Surface Irrigation: surface and/or shallow open well, low-lift diesel pump for lifting and open channels for distribution. 107. The component targets 64 commercial farmers, 1,440 young farmers and 2,880 women farmers across the six agricultural regions. Each youth will be allocated a quarter hectare and each woman is expected to have an eighth of a hectare. Prior to irrigation schemes construction, the Programme will encourage and support youth and women to organize themselves into small groups according to projected scheme areas with involvement of local Government and farmer organizations in collaboration with Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Women’s Bureau. After construction each group will have the responsibility to allocate parcels of land to its members. For dissemination of the various management and production technologies, each MOA Regional Directorate will be provided with 20 ha (five ha per type/sub-component) for training and demonstration. Site selection will depend on land availability and suitability, labour availability, availability of quality watering source as well as a form of tenure security for beneficiaries. Trainings will emphasize crop husbandry, operation and maintenance of infrastructure and equipment/machinery, and organizational, financial and business management skills. Groups will be supported to manage input supply and marketing activities. 108. Capacity Building of Support Services Institutions: the third component of the Programme aims to enhance capacity of Government service institutions in relevant ministries involved in the implementation of the Programme (particularly Departments of Agriculture and Water Resources) to improve their performance in implementing their core programmes, including sustaining and replicating activities as appropriate. Support will include inter alia professional training and development, provision of machinery/equipment and upgrading facilities and ability to provide relevant and timely climate information and data to enhance effective disaster risk management and generation of hydrological data. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 30 Pr ogr amme 2: I mpr oved M anagement of Other Shar ed R esour ces (USD37.23 M illion) 109. The objective of this programme is the sustainable management and use of natural resources, including rangelands, forests, fisheries, parks and wildlife, and effectively organized transhumance, resulting in improved livelihoods and food security, and reduced poverty of populations that depend on these resources. 110. Programme coordination will be the under the overall responsibility of MOA with strong coordination from the key relevant ministries including MOFEN and MOFWRNAM among others. Implementation of components will be led by respective line Departments, namely Animal Health and Production (MOA), Forestry Department and Department of Parks and Wildlife Management (MOFEN) and Fisheries Department (MOFWRNAM). These will be strengthened through training, building partnerships/networking and provision of equipment to improve capacity in operations and management. Collaboration will be established (or deepened) with various Government agencies such as NEA and Local Authorities, private sector, such as ecotourism operators and local communities. Emphasis will be placed on building synergies and complementarities with other interventions - mostly supported by bilateral and multilateral partners for example JICA and AfDB/BADEA in fisheries, AfDB/IFAD/GEF in PIWAMP, PROGEGBE, GEF/UNEP, FAO, Global Mechanism in forestry and wildlife. Programme sites and beneficiary selection will be based on available reports and needs assessments carried out by the respective technical departments. Policies, strategies, and activities that have potential for changes in land use will require Strategic Environmental Assessment and/or Environmental Impact Assessment as specified in the National Environment Management Act (NEMA, 1994). 111. The Programme comprises four inter-related components: (i) improved management of rangeland and organization of transhumance; (ii) sustainable management of forest resources; (iii) sustainable management of fisheries resources; and (iv) sustainable management of parks and wildlife resources. 112. Management of Rangelands and Organization of Transhumance: the first component is divided into five sub-components: (i) pastoral infrastructure and transhumance; (ii) regulatory and health provision; (iii) disease control and surveillance; (iv) capacity building; and (v) feed resource. Expected outcomes of the component include: (a) enhanced management of pastoral infrastructure and control of transhumance; (b) greater awareness and adherence to harmonized regulatory and health provisions; (c) improved control of prevalent diseases through strengthened disease control and surveillance systems; (d) more effective and efficient institutions and improved performance of human resources; and (e) improved production and management of feed resources. Main activities and outputs include provision of rangeland infrastructure such as watering points; strengthening of control and surveillance capacities including staff and farmer training; awareness raising and capacity building among the livestock rearing communities; building capacity at institutional level in operational and technical work; and enhancement of production and storage capacity of feed resources also including farmer training in improved feed conservation techniques. The targeted beneficiaries will be about 15, 000 smallholders owning livestock and institutions that control transhumance and manage surveillance systems. 113. Sustainable Management of Forest Resources: this component comprises five sub components: (i) management of state, community and private forests; (ii) agro-forestry development; (iii) community-based enterprise development; (iv) institutional strengthening and human resources development; and (v) research and information exchange. The expected outcome Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 31 is that state, community and private forests are sustainably managed and that area under forest cover is increased with improvement in diversity of fauna and flora. Specifically, the component aims to ensure that forest resources are conserved, preserved and exploited in a sustainable manner to combat desertification, build resilience to effects of climate change and improve soil and water management, all of which result in improved livelihoods particularly for those depending on these resources. Adaptation and mitigation measures against climate change are mainstreamed throughout activities, which are expected to result in a number of outcomes. These include inter alia: sustainably managed forests - largely through community-based approaches; increased area under forest cover with improvement in both quality and diversity; increased sources of wood/non wood products; increased participation of communities in sustainable forest management, conservation and maintenance of ecosystem services; a strengthened Department of Forestry (DOF) more efficiently managing the national forest resources; and increased DOF capacity to undertake collaborative research and information exchange with national and international research institutions and provide results relevant for the development of the sector. Improved planning tools and equipment, capacity building and knowledge for line departments and communities, establishment of tree nurseries and development of infrastructure are expected outputs among others. Main beneficiaries of this component include 1,500 communities living in the peripheries of demarcated and gazetted forests, as well as 20 communities that will be engaged in agro-forestry activities. 114. Ensuring Sustainable Management of Fisheries Resources: The objective of this component is sustainable management of fisheries resources in order to contribute to food security and foreign exchange revenues and to build resilience to climate change through adoption of adaptive and mitigation measures. The component comprises five sub-components: (i) management of capture fisheries and particularly avoiding endangered mammalian species and by-catches using appropriate fishing methods; (ii) fisheries infrastructure development; (iii) aquaculture development; (iv) capacity building; and (v) youth participation. Expected outcomes include: enhanced sustainable fish production capacity; reduced post-harvest losses; increased market access and information on fishery products; increased aquaculture production including commercial aquaculture farms to complement national fish production; increased performance of the Fisheries Department providing quality services; increased collaborative research and information exchange among national and international research institutions providing relevant results for the development of the sector; and increased number of Gambian youths participating in the fisheries sector. Main expected outputs include: capacity building and strengthening of fishing communities in “best practices” such as concept of co-management and participatory research; providing operational (including access to finance) and technical support to artisanal fishermen and fish farmers particularly in fish-cum-rice culture; and establishing community fisheries centres and infrastructure. In addition, the Fisheries Department will be strengthened to improve its data information base. The beneficiaries of this component will be the Fisheries Department, and more than 200,000 industrial and artisanal fishermen and young women processors (42% of whom are non-Gambian and well integrated) engaged in the sector. 115. Sustainable Management of Parks and Wildlife Resources: main expected outcomes of this component include: efficient management of National Parks/Protected Areas for the retention of biodiversity; increased stakeholder participation in sustainable park and forest management notably in community and privately managed parks; research undertaken that provides relevant results for sustainable management of endangered species (dolphins, sharks, sea turtles, etc) and development of the sector; conservation and maintenance of ecosystem services Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 32 particularly through ecotourism development; and enhanced institutional capacity and skills of Wildlife Department personnel. This component comprises five sub-components: (i) national parks/protected areas; (ii) community and privately managed parks; (iii) research and capacity building; (iv) ecotourism development; and (v) institutional strengthening and human resources development. 116. Main activities of this component include improvement of physical structures in parks and protected areas as well as information systems, creation of a conducive environment through various measures such as policy formulation and favourable tax incentives for private sector participation in park management, piloting of community managed parks and Public Private Partnerships in park management, capacity building at community and Departmental levels, development of ecotourism and related management structures and infrastructure. Target beneficiaries are the 52 communities living in peripheries of national parks, private sector operators, Department of Parks and Wildlife Management and other relevant institutions involved in the management of biodiversity. Pr ogr amme 3: Development of A gr icultur al C hains and M ar ket Pr omotion (USD89.85M illion) 117. The objective of this programme is the transformation of the agricultural sector from a traditional subsistence economy to a modern market-oriented commercial sector with well integrated food chains and a viable agro-processing private sector, resulting in increased incomes of agricultural value chain actors (including farmers, input suppliers, processors, traders and exporters). The programme aims to reduce imports of cheap food through ensuring availability of quality-standard local products on a sustainable basis. It will strengthen the performance of key value chains by providing stakeholders with quality services to operate at optimal levels (financing, technical and management capacity, information and infrastructure). The programme is expected to boost value-chain stakeholders’ access to markets by improving market analysis and responses so that products meet national, regional and international demand and safety norms. Market opportunities will be developed which includes a range of initiatives and new choice products to targeted markets, and also to promote and expand internal and external trade (e.g. tax incentives, inter-professional associations and traders). This programme contributes to increasing the rate of economic growth while improving economic conditions and food security and nutritional levels of household members, especially women and youth. 118. Programme implementation will be led by Government in close cooperation with the private sector including traders, farmers and processors. Government will lead efforts in improving necessary infrastructure for commodity chain and agro-industry development, and also facilitate review of regulations, for example safety control of products and trade. In MOA, Department of Agriculture (DOA), Agricultural Engineering Technical Services (AES) and Agri Business Technical Services (ATS), Food Technology Service (FTS), Plant Protection Services (PPS), National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) and National Nutrition Agency (NaNA) among others will have key roles in leading and participating in programme activities. MOTIE, MEPID, MOF, MOFWRNAM and Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW) will also play critical roles in implementation. The private sector will have a vital role in implementation and in ensuring sustainability of interventions. Capacity of private sector stakeholders and Government, such as Departments and agencies of MOA, inter-professional associations, cooperatives, financiers, traders, transporters, etc. will be strengthened, in synergy with Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 33 Programme 5 activities, through training, improved access to information and improved equipment/facilities. 119. The Programme is comprised of three components: (i) development of agriculture and natural resource marketing chains; (ii) strengthening of national operator support services and structures; and (iii) development of markets. 120. Development of Agriculture and Natural Resource Marketing Chains: this first component is comprised of seven sub-components: (i) food crop chain; (ii) groundnut chain; (iii)horticultural chain; (iv) agro-forestry food products chain; (v) short-cycle livestock chain; (vi)dairy products chain; and (vii) fisheries products chain. The expected overall outcome of this component is that value chains are well integrated and operating effectively and that the agro processing private sector is viable. The sub-components below represent key sectors of agricultural production, many of which already demonstrate success and show promise for development and up-scaling. 121. Food Crop Chain: The expected outcome is that the food crop chain is expanded through improved primary and secondary processing to increase value added in incomes of cereals. The programme will improve post-harvest handling, promote new ways of storage, increase availability, accessibility and optimal use of processing machines through training and providing access to credit, and promote production and marketing according to standards. Direct beneficiaries will be rural households countrywide as well as entrepreneurs benefiting from capacity building and access to credit lines. 122. Groundnut Chain: The expected outcome is improved management of groundnut chains (oil and confectionery) and quality assurance of products to meet international standards and increase exports, thereby increasing the income of producers and foreign exchange earnings. Activities will include improving marketing infrastructures, strengthening capacity of stakeholders and supporting quality production (e.g. grading systems, inputs). Cooperative Produce Marketing Societies (CPMS) and industrialists will be direct beneficiaries benefiting from capacity building and operational support. The Government will be an indirect beneficiary of this sub-component, benefiting from increased foreign exchange earnings. 123. Horticulture Chain: The expected outcome is that a market-oriented production of increased quality fresh and processed horticultural products is established and post-harvest losses are reduced. Activities will emphasize improving quality and ensuring regular supplies of vegetables, improving preservation and storage technologies and strengthening capacity to meet commercial quality and sanitary standards. Women in particular, who are primary vegetable producers, will be direct beneficiaries benefiting from capacity building and operational support. 124. Agro-forestry Food Products Chain: The expected outcome is income diversification notably for women and youth through sustainable exploitation of agro-forestry food products. Activities will focus on improving preservation, processing and marketing of agro-forestry food products. This is a highly under-developed sub-sector yet holds significant potential for additional income for rural families. 125. Short-Cycle Livestock Chain: The expected outcome is increased production of small ruminants, pigs and poultry to improve producers’ income and diet. Activities focus on expanding participation in the sub-sector through sensitization, provision of training and promoting Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 34 favourable lines of credit for cooperative and marketing associations. Measures to improve marketing will be implemented (e.g. information system, trade shows, tax incentives). In addition, for poultry, support will be given to improve local production of feed and to gradual regulation of imports as production increases Processing and storage support will also be provided. 126. Dairy Products Chain: The expected outcome is increased local dairy production to meet 25 percent of the national demand. Activities will emphasize increasing milk production through introducing a national artificial insemination programme as follow up to former programmes, promoting private sector operators and cooperatives and the establishment of mini dairies. With DOA, a national market study on dairy demand will be conducted. 127. Fisheries Products Chain: The expected outcome is increased employment generated in the sub-sector, increased foreign exchange earnings, and overall improved diets in the population. Activities include establishing needed infrastructure at landing sites, and equipment for processing to ensure compliance of quality and hygienic methods, training of operators on the CODEX Alimentarius guidelines, and transportation improvements to increase exports regionally and internationally. Main beneficiaries will be both industrial and artisanal fisheries operators (to include tax incentives), particularly women who are primary actors in processing (drying and smoking). 128. Direct beneficiaries of this component will include value chain stakeholders: producers, cooperatives, processors, traders. Women will be especially targeted for capacity building and operational support as they are main actors involved in production and small-scale processing. Youths and especially graduates will also be targeted. Government will be benefiting indirectly from foreign exchange savings (e.g. from reduced poultry imports) and earnings (e.g. groundnuts and horticulture). 129. Strengthening of National Operator Support Services and Structures: this component comprises five sub-components which are presented below: (i) communication network; (ii) financial services; (iii) information services; (iv) training services; and (v) other support services and structures. The expected outcome of this component includes that value chain stakeholders are well supported by developed, suitable services and maintained infrastructure. 130. Communication Network: The expected outcome is to improve and expand communication networks, specifically feeder roads and bridges, river transportation, air-cargo space and telecommunication. Activities will include providing support to increasing, upgrading and maintaining these infrastructures to reduce costs and facilitate transport of products and access to market information. As part of the road network improvement under this sub component, 150km of feeder roads will be upgraded from gravel to tarred, 100km19 131. Financial Services: The expected outcome is that banking services are more accessible and affordable to those involved in value chains (producers and processors). Micro financing services such as loans and credit lines will be better adapted to needs of those working in the ANR sector, and consolidated and expanded with involvement of commercial banks. gravel road will be constructed, 18 bridges constructed and 50km of the sub-regional trunk roads rehabilitated to the desired standard. The main beneficiaries are direct value chain stakeholders. 19 Including Sabi/Wellingara, Fatoto/Gulumbu in URR, Brikamaba/Patta in CRR (South) Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 35 Emphasis is also on implementation of guarantee funds. Main beneficiaries are direct value chain stakeholders. 132. Information Services: The expected outcome is that timely and accurate information and analysis for value chain stakeholders is available and accessible. Activities focus on establishment of a Value Chain and Marketing Information System (VCMS) that addresses private sector’s needs. 133. Training Services: The expected outcome is that agro-processors are well supported and gradually professionalized through improved performance of specialized service providers. Capacities of service providers, such as FTS, will be strengthened to improve skills and better deliver services. An agro-processing center will be established as a main activity to service all value chain stakeholders. 134. Other Support Services and Structures: The expected outcome is improved research on agro-processing technologies, combined with capacities in meeting sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards. Activities include strengthening capacities of key agencies (NARI, PPS, AETS) through provision of training, facility upgrading and materials, as well as improving utilities with emphasis on new forms of energy, and the development of local industrial zones. The sub component also focuses on market promotion, through formation of value chain inter-professional platforms, which will complement related activities in Programme 5, improving linkages between suppliers and buyers (through supply agreements for example) and increasing the number of markets (food and livestock). 135. Direct beneficiaries of this component include Government agencies supporting the private sector and ultimate beneficiaries, who are private-sector stakeholders engaged in agricultural value chains. 136. Development of Markets: The outcome expected from this component is that value chain stakeholders have access to markets with quality products that meet standards and consumer needs. The programme will promote access to improved market information systems for domestic, regional and sub-regional stakeholders and support enforcement of all trade-related ECOWAS protocols by member states. It is comprised of three sub-components: (i) development of domestic markets; (ii) development of intra-regional markets; and (iii) development of international markets. 137. Development of Domestic Markets: The expected outcome is increased information of domestic markets/consumer needs which are met through suitable products. Activities include conducting regular national market surveys on consumer demands and creating awareness of local products, for example by using traditional advertising media and introducing promotion grants to help small and new processors. Enforcement of food safety regulations will also be strengthened through involvement of Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW) and MOA. 138. Development of Regional Markets: The expected outcome is that consumer needs in regional markets are known and ECOWAS trade regulations are enforced (e.g. elimination of informal taxes). Strengthening and consolidating the existing linkages with traditional markets within the sub-region such as Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Mali, Guinea Bissau and Conakry shall be key for this sub-component. In this regard, Gambia will take opportunity of the comparative advantages in the marketing of its fisheries and other agricultural products. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 36 139. Development of International Markets: The expected outcome is that targeted market needs are known and Gambian products are promoted and negotiated through appropriate agreements. Activities include improving market information systems, supporting the active participation of the private sector and The Gambia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (GIEPA) at international trade fares and ensuring adequate national representation and negotiation capacity at WTO and major trading partner fora. In view of the market potentials for horticulture, groundnut and fisheries products in the international markets, especially EU, the programme will facilitate and strengthen linkages of local entrepreneurs with export markets. This will also encourage direct foreign investment in these sub-sectors as a means of consolidating the countries relation with the export market. 140. Direct beneficiaries include Government agencies and the value chain stakeholders. Ultimate beneficiaries include the national population, who would benefit from an expected eight percent growth rate of the economy. Pr ogr amme 4: National F ood and Nutr itional Secur ity (NF NS) (USD45.13 M illion) 141. The objective of the NFNS programme is improved national and household food security and adequate nutritional levels, including during periods of disaster, with attention to targeting the most vulnerable groups and households of rural and urban communities. NFNS builds on existing food and nutrition, early warning and disaster management initiatives by expanding and strengthening interventions and coordination. NFNS aims to build national capacity to monitor food security and malnutrition to improve response systems to hunger and malnutrition. Improved Food Security and Nutrition Information Systems (FSNIS) will result in more effective targeting to identify those most in need, particularly asset-poor vulnerable groups especially during disaster-risk periods. NFNS aligns fully with principles of the right to food and CAADP Pillar 3’s Framework for Food Security (FAFS),20 142. NFNS will be implemented through a range of partnerships, most of which will fall under overall coordination of the inter-ministerial Food Security Working Group (FSWG) of the Office of the Vice President, Chaired by the Vice President. The FSWG, relatively dormant at present, will be revitalized and strengthened to assume its responsibilities in leading national food security and nutrition efforts. The inter-agency Food Security Task Force (FSTF), the operational arm of the FSWG, will also be a lead implementing partner, with a role to oversee technical aspects and implementation of NFNS activities. The membership of the multi-disciplinary working group (MWG) on early warning systems, housed in Department of Water Resources (DWR) of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MOFW) will be a key actor and expanded to include a range of partners working in FSNIS (e.g. Planning Services and other MOA Services, National Nutrition Agency (NaNA), National Environment Agency (NEA), Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW), WFP, UNICEF). The MWG will be a lead implementing partner in coordinating and carrying out NFNS activities regarding information systems. Technical and operational support is envisaged to improve their performance. The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MOBSE) in partnership with WFP, UNICEF, MOA, NaNA and NGOs will be lead actors implementing immediate-term social protection activities, notably the Food for Education (FFE) programme, whilst longer-term policy issues will include MOHSW, MOTIE and which presents a sequenced plan of action to ensure availability and equitable access to food for all people at all times with attention on the chronically hungry and most poor. 20 CAADP: Pillar III Framework for African Food Security (FAFS). March 2009. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 37 MOA. Support to national disaster management preparedness, response and mitigation will be implemented in partnership with the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) and its decentralized committees, in complement with ongoing initiatives (e.g. WFP, Japan). NFNS is comprised of two components: (i) national food security; and (ii) disaster risk management. 143. National Food and Nutrition Security: this component is comprised of three sub components: (i) food security sector institutions; (ii) food security and nutrition information system (FSNIS); and (iii) social protection for vulnerable groups. 144. Food Security Sector Institutions: The expected outcome is revitalized and improved institutional and operational performance of coordinating bodies responsible for overseeing national food security and nutrition. Activities and outputs include improving FSWG and FSTF capacities in coordination and operations to better inform and oversee food security (FS) policy and programmes. Memberships and mandates will be reviewed and sharpened, and strategic plans of action developed that include immediate and long-term objectives. It is expected that FSWG continues to: focus on mainstreaming FS priorities across sectors; work to mobilise resources for the sector; and serve as the national FS focal point building partnerships and sharing lessons at regional and global levels. FSTF will complement this work, focusing on technical and operational matters such as FSNIS, disaster risk preparedness, food supply and production, commercialisation and trade. Activities will be undertaken mostly at central levels, however support will be provided for country-wide sensitization as well as selective regional and global forum. Direct beneficiaries of this sub-component include members of the FSWG and FSTF, estimated at around 40 line ministries and counterparts. Indirect beneficiaries include partner government ministries and agencies.21 Ultimate (indirect) beneficiaries of this sub-component are communities in urban and rural areas, particularly including vulnerable, food insecure households (estimated at about 15 percent of the population) and persons malnourished (estimated at 30 percent of the population).22 145. Food Security and Nutrition Information System (FSNIS): the expected outcome includes a strengthened national FSNIS providing comprehensive, accurate, timely and widely disseminated information leading to better understanding, analysis and response to underlying causes of food and nutritional insecurity, and vulnerability, particularly among urban and rural poor. This should contribute to improved decision-making of policy and programmatic interventions in reducing hunger, malnutrition and poverty. The MWG on early warning systems led by DWR will be expanded and strengthened to provide a more comprehensive and better coordinated FS information system. 23 21 MOA, NDMA, NaNA, MOH, MOSW, MOBSE. Activities will be implemented sequentially, based on needs assessments with focus on: harmonizing information-sharing and coordination; technical capacity building combined with operational and infrastructural support; improving tools and methodologies for data collection, analysis, storage and dissemination; and supporting information dissemination and end-user utilisation. A majority of activities will be implemented at central level, however some trainings/sensitization, infrastructural and operational support will also be implemented in rural areas country-wide. Direct beneficiaries include government departments who provide and directly use FSNIS (e.g. DWR and Planning Services in DOA) 22 Food Security through Commercialisation of Agriculture Project (FAO-Italian Trust Fund 2009). 23 Including for example data on food availability and access, crop production, domestic market information, household consumption, dietary diversity, nutrition, income, coping strategies, and risks. WFP’s Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping and Early Warning will also be integrated. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 38 among others. Indirect beneficiaries include decision-makers in the FS and nutrition sectors, and ultimately rural and urban populations. 146. Social Protection for Vulnerable Groups: The expected outcome of this sub component is reduced individual and household risk to food insecurity and malnutrition supported through improved livelihoods and targeting (see paragraph 21 for ongoing activities in the health sector). Immediate-term activities build on ongoing initiatives while promoting new ones, including surveillance survey to determine locations of vulnerable groups. The ongoing Government-sponsored FFE programme24 147. Disaster Risk Management component is comprised of two sub-components: (i) institutional support to disaster preparedness, response and mitigation; and (ii) operational support to disaster preparedness, mitigation, response. supported by WFP and other partners (UNICEF, NaNA) will be expanded, and its institutionalization in MOBSE programmes will be promoted to ensure sustainability. To increase and improve household food consumption and dietary diversity, community-based nutritional training and supplementary feeding will be implemented to address micronutrient deficiencies targeting the most vulnerable groups. This will be implemented through partnerships with village health clinics. Household and school vegetable gardens will be supported at community level, implemented in partnerships (NaNA, FAO, MOBSE and NGOs). In the longer-term, an enabling environment for social protection will be promoted through formulation of a national social protection policy and action plan. Activities of other programmes are integral to improved household nutrition and food security and contribute to the social protection agenda (e.g. horticulture and small livestock production, agro-processing, promotion of domestic and regional trade). Activities of this sub-component will be implemented country-wide, emphasizing rural areas. Geographic, self-targeting and community-based targeting based on vulnerability and risk analysis criteria will be used to identify locations and numbers of beneficiaries for each activity, with consideration to gender, youth, and household vulnerabilities. For FFE, the existing targeting approach will be the starting point for location and beneficiary selection. Supplementary feeding and nutrition package support will be guided by a combination of existing targeting mechanisms (MOHSW), institutional targeting (clinics, health centres), and community-based targeting. 148. Institutional Support to Disaster Preparedness, Response and Mitigation: The expected outcome of the sub-component is strengthened organizational and coordination effectiveness of National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), the country’s main disaster management institution. NDMA capacity will be enhanced to carry out its core functions in guiding national disaster preparedness, response and mitigation. Activities will be implemented through a sequenced approach starting with increasing NDMA performance through training and materials support (in complement with support from other partners, e.g. WFP, Japan).25 24 WFP is currently providing meals for around 176,000 primary school children in more than 500 schools in vulnerable rural and urban areas. Most of NDMA capacity building activities in this sub-component will be implemented at central level in parallel with decentralized activities supported in Sub-component 2 below. Direct beneficiaries of this sub-component include NDMA staff. Indirect beneficiaries include high-level National Disaster Management Governing Council members (8), members of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Management (24 members) and policy-makers. 25 A needs assessment will be conducted to determine specific training and operational assistance required in alignment with the NDMA annual workplan 2010-2011. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 39 149. Operational Support to Disaster Preparedness, Response and Mitigation: This sub component links to and directly complements above, with an expected outcome of enhanced decentralized country-wide disaster management operations to build community and household resilience and broaden coping strategies to disasters and risk. Activities focus in the immediate on strengthening Disaster Management Committees (DMCs) at local levels, followed by gradual capacity building to develop disaster contingency plans and carry out preparedness interventions. Activities also support sensitization campaigns and establishment of disaster platforms country wide. Once DMC capacity is attained to plan, manage and coordinate initiatives, more medium term interventions would be supported including infrastructure for storage and initial restocking of emergency cereal/seed and non-food reserves, as well as village cereal banks (rehabilitation and construction).26 Pr ogr amme 5: Sustainable F ar m Development (USD18.66 M illion) Augmenting the Disaster Management Fund (DMF), used for public infrastructures and emergency, is also included in this sub-component and would be targeted mostly for medium and longer term disaster risk management initiatives. The NDMA and RDMCs (7) will be main beneficiaries from sub-component activities, as well as members of local Disaster Management Platforms countrywide (around 70 planned). 150. The objective of the Programme is to achieve increased and sustained agricultural production and productivity growth by introducing agricultural practices through people-centred learning processes that enhance and conserve local natural resources and the environment, and help smallholder farmers to adapt to climate change. This is expected to lead to increased smallholder household incomes, farmer self-reliance and capacity to enhance their quality of life. This Programme will include assistance to: improve farming practices and increase range of crop production, adopt agro-ecological measures such as soil and water conservation using cover crops, improve land-use suitability classification systems in parallel with securing land tenure (particularly for vulnerable groups such as women and youth), and build rural institutions, including Government rural development agencies and producer groups. 151. Implementation of this Programme will be led by MOA under the overall coordination of the GNAIP PSC. The PCO housed in MOA will work through the Department of Agriculture (DOA) Service Units and Regional Directorates to implement programme activities at field level. Implementation will involve public support services, local NGOs, producer organizations and village communities and the private sector. The scope of programme activities will be countrywide, and remain flexible to adapt to varying contexts and responses from different communities. It is estimated that about 6,000 farmers (including aquaculturists) will be trained directly by the Programme, with another 60,000 farmers who will gain indirect benefits largely from farmer-to farmer sharing and informal learning channels. A total of about 66,000 households or 46 percent of the population involved in agriculture are estimated to benefit from this Programme. 152. The Programme is comprised of three components: (i) sustainable farm management; (ii) land use suitability and land tenure security; and (iii) capacity building of support services and farmer organizations. 26 Based on a needs assessment and in complement with other funding/projects (World Bank, Japan etc.). Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 40 153. Sustainable Farm Management: This first component is comprised of three sub components: (i) farmer field schools; (ii) watershed conservation; and (iii) research and development. 154. Farmer Field Schools (FFS): The expected outcome is enhanced smallholder farm productivity on a sustainable basis through the use of productivity enhancing technologies such as fertilizer, improved seeds and IPPM through the private sector. The FFS approach, based on participatory interactive and continuous learning, will be the main model used for farmer demonstrations and adoption. Farmers will be trained in: (i) improved soil fertility and land husbandry, addressing the totality of the farm household livelihood system with the aim of improving productivity and sustainability of its natural resource-base and land-use activities; (ii) conservation agriculture, aiming to restore, sustain and enhance agricultural production through integrated management of soil, water and biological resources combined with cost effective external inputs as required; and (iii) Integrated Plant and Pest Management (IPPM), combining analysis of production-related problems with appropriate responses (e.g. integrated pest management, plant nutrient management). Activities will include inter alia: development of training curriculum, sensitization and organization of farmers into learning groups, establishment of FFS, training/equipping extension workers/facilitators and farmer group leaders, training sessions for farmers and aquaculturists, and monitoring and evaluation. Extension workers and NGOs are expected to implement much of the sub-component activities. The extension services and training unit will be supported to tailor their training programmes to the needs of specific groups, such as men and women farmers. The sub-component will include mechanisms for securing resources to farmers (loan or grant). Coverage will be countrywide, estimated at 6,000 farmers trained. 155. Watershed conservation: This sub-component concerns watershed conservation on public lands to control runoff and erosion in the upper reaches of the watersheds. The expected outcome is the prevention of wind and runoff erosion on cropping systems through participatory and demand-driven approaches that promote already developed measures at farm level, such as wind breaks, contour bunds, contour grassed strips, gully plugs. Activities include: organizing and training farmers on erosion control and agro-forestry techniques, construction and stabilisation of contour bunds and production and planting of tree species, vetiver and elephant grass along farm boundaries and marginal lands. 156. Farming systems research and development: This sub-component links directly with above two sub-components, with the expected outcome of ensuring continuous flows of information on sustainable farm management and research results on best practices notably to FFS participants. Support will be provided to NARI to undertake the new concept of research such as IAR4D and PVS studies targeting appropriate technologies and crop varieties along with the best crop husbandry practices for agro-ecological zones with emphasis on those most relevant for women. NARI will train agricultural extension workers, NGO staff and farmer beneficiaries on improved crop husbandry methods, including development of audio-visual extension materials for publication and distribution to these field workers and to farmer organizations. Ongoing efforts in research between NARI and sub regional research centres such as ARC, IITA, ITC, CORAF, FARA and CRODT will be strengthened. In this regard, updating of the Research Master Plan will be relevant with support particularly from WAAPP of FARA. 157. Production and yield targets: Much emphasis will be placed on productivity of crops and livestock. This will not only optimize the use of the available land, but will also go a long Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 41 way in protecting the environment. Production and yield targets for upland crops are provided in the table below: Table1: Production and yield targets for selected upland crops Crops27 Area 2009 Yield (mt/ha) Target Yield ( mt/ha) Production (mt) Millet 90,000 0.894 1.4 126,000 Maize 50,000 0.871 1.6 80,000 Sorghum 16,000 0.832 1.0 16,000 Groundnuts 100,000 0.978 1.2 120,000 Upland rice 70,000 0.890 2.5 175,000 158. Land Use Suitability and Land Tenure Security: the second component of this Programme comprises two sub-components: (i) land suitability classification; and (ii) land tenure. 159. Land suitability classification: The expected outcome is the efficient use of land based on parameters of land suitability for irrigation, crops, grazing, forest countrywide. Activities of this component include: conducting a land resource survey countrywide, classifying lands according to their characteristics and capability, and developing guidelines for sustainable land use by category/classification. 160. Land tenure: The expected outcome is that land tenure is secured, notably for women, youth and commercial farmers. Activities will include: (i) undertaking a study to identify and analyze major constraints to land tenure security for producers (particularly women and youth) and to development of commercial farming; (ii) identifying conditions required to strengthen tenure security especially for the most vulnerable groups; (iii) identifying measures and steps for improvement of the national land policy through participatory processes; (iv) sensitizing and engaging all land users, notably youth, women and commercial farmers in the land tenure policy review process; and (v) supporting women and youth in particular, in eventually securing land rights. 161. This component will have nationwide coverage. Activities will benefit directly relevant Government agencies namely MOLG&L, MOA, MOFEN and MOFWRNAM and provide vital benefits to farmers and all land users countrywide. 162. Capacity-building of Farmers Organizations and Support Services: This component is comprised of two sub-components: (i) capacity building of farmer organizations; and (ii) capacity building of support services. 163. Capacity building of farmer organizations: The outcome of this sub-component is that community-based farmer groups and organizations are effectively supporting their members in planning, implementing and monitoring farm development activities. Activities under this sub component include: supporting the formation of farmer groups and organizations at local levels; training apex bodies of farmer organizations, including in organizational management and partnership building; and organizing exchange visits between farmer organizations, including in the region. These activities complement activities supporting producer groups in Programme 3. 27 For the lowland rice production targets, refer to para 102 above Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 42 164. Capacity-building of support services: The expected outcome is that main agricultural and environment-related support services are working effectively to analyze, implement, sustain and replicate development efforts. Key institutions will include DOA, DWR and NEA. Staff training to improve knowledge and skills and provision of machinery/equipment and facilitate operations will be undertaken. Focus areas of training will include production and conservation as well as environmental issues, such as environmental assessments of sectoral policies, environmental impact assessments, management of agricultural pesticides and agrochemicals (including for example formulation and residue analysis of pesticides and horticultural produce). 165. Beneficiaries of this component include two farmer organizations at national level, 12 at regional level and 60 at district and local levels (including existing and newly established farmer organizations). Institutions noted above that provide main support services will also directly benefit. Pr ogr amme 6: G NA I P C oor dination, M onitor ing and E valuation (USD8.91 M illion) 166. The objective of this programme is that GNAIP programmes are effectively implemented with adequate funding, supported by an enabling environment for facilitating well coordinated successful operations and monitoring in order to achieve expected results. Implementation of this programme covers the totality of GNAIP implementation with nationwide coverage. Programme 6 has four components: (i) Institutional Arrangement and Coordination; (ii) Financing Mechanisms; (iii) Monitoring and Evaluation; and (iv) Implementation Capacity Building. Each of these is described below. 167. Institutional Arrangement and Coordination: The expected outcome is that all GNAIP programmes are efficiently and effectively supervised and coordinated to ensure achievement of expected results. Main activities include establishing the structures and operating systems necessary for GNAIP implementation. These include: establishing the GNAIP steering committee and accompanying management and coordination structures; and setting up planning, budgeting and reporting systems as well as financial management systems and procurement and audit systems. The implementation of GNAIP as shown by the organogram will be mainly participatory using the existing decentralized organizational structures for cost effectiveness. The decision making process is not necessarily vertical; implementation of decisions can be made at village level without much interference from the top. 168. Main institutions involved in implementing this component - and the overall GNAIP include: the National Council of Ministers (NCM), the Programme Steering Committee (PSC), the Programme Coordination Office (PCO) and Regional, District, Ward and Village Committees (see Figure 3 for organogram of GNAIP institutional arrangement). The roles of each of these bodies are briefly described below (For details see Annex 4 - Stakeholder Matrix of Programme 6). 169. The NCM will be created and responsible for national high-level coordination of GNAIP namely at policy level, including decision-making on key matters. Membership will comprise MOA, MOFWRNAM, MOFEN, MOF, MOBSE, and MEPID and be chaired by the President of The Gambia. The Council will meet every four months to discuss GNAIP issues and Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 43 reports submitted by the PSC. It is responsible for closely collaborating with the Chair of the PSC, which is held by the PS of MOA.28 Figure 3: Organogram of GNAIP Institutional Arrangements 28 Its terms of reference (TOR) will be developed by donor representatives and the representatives of MOA, MOFWR, and MOFEN. NCM PSC N at io na l L ev el R eg io na l L ev el M&E Unit PS-DOA PCO (Supported by ANR Working Group) PSUs RSCs RDCs D is tr ic t / W ar d/ V ill ag e L ev el DDCs WDCs VDCs Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 44 Acronyms DDC: District Development Committee DOA: Department of Agriculture M&E: Monitoring and Evaluation NCM: National Council of Ministers PCO: Programme Coordination Office PS: Planning Service PSC: Programme Steering Committee PSU: Programme Support Unit RDC: Regional Development Committee RSC: Regional Steering Committee VDC: Village Development Committee WDC: Ward Development Committee hierarchical or supervisory function cooperating function supportive function steering/coordination responsibilities implementation responsibilities (supported by implementing partners/ service providers) Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 45 170. The PSC will be multidisciplinary and serve as a technical guide to orient and inform the NCM, advising and reporting directly to it. PSC will be responsible for supervision, harmonization of programmes and general management of GNAIP, ensuring that potential synergies and complementarities are fully exploited. Members will review key reports (monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually) including programme progress and technical reports, set up national thematic groups and task forces and support sensitization, communication and capacity building initiatives. PSC will appoint senior staff of the PCO. It will meet at least quarterly and hold ad-hoc meetings as necessary. Composition includes: MOA (Chairman), the PCO (Secretary), MEPID, MOTRIE, MOF, MOLG&L, MOFWRNAM, MOFEN, MOBSE, MOHSW, Women’s Bureau/MOA, Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (TANGO), DOA/MOA, NARI/MOA, Gambia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (GIEPA), Farmers Platform, Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) (also see Regional PSCs below). 171. The PCO, supported by the ANR-Working Group which meets at least quarterly, will work under the direct supervision of the PSC and serve as the technical arm of GNAIP, overseeing the planning, implementation, coordination and progress at a programmatic level.29 Staff will include a Programme Coordinator (PC)30 172. Programme Support Units (PSUs): are units responsible for implementation of given programmes and projects under specific funding agreements (e.g. donors, NGOs, foundations). They will work integrally with PCO and other projects under their relevant technical GNAIP programme and collaborate with other GNAIP programmes as appropriate. PSUs of a given project/programme will be coordinated and oriented on technical matters by PCO staff and PSC, and maintain direct reporting lines to PCO as well as Regional PSCs (see below). All relevant bodies at central and decentralized levels will be informed of progress made by PSUs through PCO communication channels. , supported by a Financial Controller, Administrator, Procurement Officer and support staff. Field Directors (likely one for each programme) will be attached to PCO to support and manage technical aspects of the programmes. The PC and senior staff will be responsible for quality and coordination of programmes, liaising closely with implementing programme support units and institutions to monitor execution of programme activities. 173. At regional, district, ward and village levels, GNAIP programmes will be implemented through existing decentralized structures such as the Regional Development Committees, District Development Committees, Ward Development Committees as well as Village Development Committees. At Regional level, Regional PSCs (RPSC) will be established as a sub-committee of the existing Regional Development Committees to coordinate and manage GNAIP implementation at grassroots levels to ensure effective and timely delivery of results. It is expected that RPSCs will improve GNAIP coordination and progress at regional levels. Regional Agricultural Directorates, already members of Regional Development Committees, are expected to play key roles in RPSCs. Mainstreaming GNAIP through existing structures will build their capacity, notably to coordinate and harmonize activities at their respective levels, and reinforce sustainability of interventions. Decentralized committees, including RPSCs, will meet monthly if possible, to review progress at regional, district, ward and village levels and also to ensure information flow notably to PCO. 29 The former Central Project Coordination Central Unit (CPCU) will be integrated into the PCO. 30 Requiring approval by the PSC and NCM. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 46 174. Financing Mechanism: The expected outcome of the second component is that adequate financial resources (sourced internally and externally) made available to implement GNAIP through timely and efficient funding mechanisms. Outputs include: (i) links with VISACA Apex established; (ii) possibilities explored of establishing an Agricultural Development Fund (ADF); (iii) incentives provided for private sector investments in the agricultural sector; (iv) financial resources from Rural Micro-Finance Institutions (RFIs) mainstreamed in the VISACA Apex facility; and (v) mechanism established to ensure commercial banks put a certain percentage of their profit before taxes into their own special fund (once established). A number of funding mechanisms have been identified for possible financing, including domestic and international sources and include: − Microfinance Institutions (MFIs): The VISACA Apex has been recently established with potential to have a consolidated apex fund facility providing investment funds for agriculture and natural resources sectors. Some projects under MOA have funding facilities which could be transferred to this fund. Other contributions could come from MOA grant aid accounts31 and project credit lines administered by the Social Development Fund (SDF) (estimated to be over USD 3.7 million earmarked for disbursement by RFIs including VISACAs).32 − Public-Private Partnership: Government has provided some incentives for private sector involvement in the ANR sector. These incentives will continue under GNAIP and include: exemption from customs duty on approved capital equipment, machinery, appliances, furniture and fittings as well as approved quantity of semi-finished products, spare parts and raw materials. Exemptions from sales tax on relevant imported goods, turnover tax, preferential treatment in the allocation of land are other possible incentives for investing in agriculture and natural resources. Such financial resources could be consolidated to constitute a VISACA Apex financing facility. These credit lines are currently under the custody of MOF. Financial resources such as this credit line source may later be used as seed money to establish an Agricultural Development Bank (ADB). Since the best part of the funds available to this category of microfinance institutions are provided by donors and at no cost to beneficiaries, it would be possible to make it accessible to farmers at a lower rate than commercial interest rates. This combined with other recommended policy measures suggested could bring the overall interest rates for agricultural credit particularly for smallholder farmers down to a single digit. − Private Sector33 31 Including the Japanese Grant Aid Account for inputs and rice for underprivileged farmers; the Italian Trust Fund Account; and the BADEA Input Facility Account mainly for fertilizer all amounting to about USD 2 million. : The private sector is expected to make significant contribution towards financing the GNAIP as a result of the above mentioned 32 SDF also manages close to USD 1 million of the now closed Peri-urban Smallholder Improvement Project (PSIP) credit funds. 33 Kanilai Farms, Radville Farm, Al-Kharafi, Gambia Horticultural Enterprise (GHE), Kombo Farms, Sangol Farms, Rui Chicken, Moggi Farms, Moukhtar Holdings, International Pelican Sea Food, Atlantic Sea Food, Rosamond Trade and Kendaka Fisheries) Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 47 Public Private Partnership incentives. In addition to the current investment programmes by the private sector amounting to about USD20 Million (See annex 6-financing gaps for details), the private sector is expected to invest additional USD25Million during the five year implementation phase of the GNAIP. This brings the total private sector contribution to USD45 Million equivalent to 15 percent of the overall envelope. − Commercial Banks: Commercial banks have large savings with considerable profits, but few offer loans in the agricultural sector due to high risks and lack of acceptable collaterals/securities. Favourable policies could promote their contributing to agricultural development and fulfilling a socioeconomic development role. For example, a policy could encourage placing 5 to 10 percent profit before tax into a newly created Fund that would provide financing to GNAIP programmes at relatively lower rates of interest. This idea has worked in the sub-region (e.g. Ghana). The Central Bank of The Gambia could be a lead stakeholder in facilitating the formulation of this type of policy and scheme and in ensuring financial institutions’ compliance. − ECOWAS Solidarity Fund: This fund is meant to provide financial resources to help support the fight against poverty in member states and strengthen the regional economic and political integration. A Solidarity Fund has been established to provide initial seed money to commence priority activities of national investment programmes. This funding mechanism will be explored for possible financing of GNAIP. − Other Donor Funds: Government proposes establishing a mechanism to channel and manage development funds for implementation of GNAIP, namely through basket funding. This approach aligns with Government’s vision and policy of aid coordination. A substantial proportion of total funds needed for the implementation of GNAIP programmes will be solicited from donor partners. Mechanisms however will necessarily remain reasonably flexible, taking into account specifications of different donor organizations. In recognition of the substantial contribution expected from donors, MOA in 2009 formally appointed the National Office of FAO, as coordinator for resource mobilization for financing of the GNAIP. 175. GNAIP Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E): The expected outcome of this third component is that timely and accurate information for progress monitoring, decision making, impact evaluation and financial management is available and used. A central M&E system would be established in the Planning Services/DOA of MOA, built upon existing M&E systems in projects and service units of DOA. The unit will be strengthened in staffing, office equipment, furniture and mobility for field work. Main outputs of this component include: (i) results-based M&E system established and operational; and (ii) intermittent evaluations carried out. The M&E system will be user-friendly, results-based with emphasis on participatory M&E (PM&E) and designed for lesson learning. Databases would be built upon two broad mechanisms: Management Information System (MIS) and Geographical Information System (GIS). The GIS would be the key tool used to capture, store, analyze, manage and present data referenced to specific locations. Collecting baseline surveys will be vital to monitoring all initiatives under the responsibility of the Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 48 M&E unit in DOA. Main steps in setting up the M&E system include: (i) establishing a comprehensive M&E system able to coordinate and integrate divers M&E data, including a reporting system which allows for comparability of indicators and results; (ii) ensuring coordinated baselines and household surveys; (iii) establishing and systematically carrying out periodic evaluations (including PM&E), impact assessments reviews and reflection/lesson learning events; and (iv) reporting regularly. The monitoring system will be aligned with the ECOWAS M&E system using the ReSAKSS to facilitate evidence-based decision making and will use the indicators as provided in Annexes 3 and 5. In addition, periodic programme auditing, continuous dialogue, peer review and mutual accountability of partners will be integral to the M&E system. 176. Implementation Capacity Building: The expected outcome of this component is key partners of GNAIP, including implementing institutions and private sector, effectively carry out their functions for the smooth implementation of GNAIP programmes. Expected outputs of this component include: capacity of relevant Government institutions including Local Government Authorities is enhanced; and capacity of private sector partners and other partner civil society organizations (CSOs) is strengthened. Activities include undertaking a range of capacity development initiatives based on initial needs assessment, such as long and short course training, technical backstopping, mentoring, exchanges, and organizing networking tours to enable beneficiaries to acquire skills, knowledge and experience. Technical assistance will also be sought to improve technical quality of programme implementation. In addition to human capacity, institutional capacity will be improved through provision of tools, equipment and financial resources. C. Costs and Financing 177. Total programme costs over the five-year period (2011-2015) are estimated at USD 296.7 million, including contingencies of which three percent will be expected beneficiary contributions. Summary costs by programme/component are given in Table 2 below. Details are provided in Annex 5. 178. Existing projects and programmes implemented by Government or outside the Government that will directly support GNAIP have been identified and their contribution to GNAIP during the period 2011-2015 estimated (see Annex 6)34 . The estimated financing gap over the five-year period amounts to USD 201 million (see Table 3). Cost of GNAIP Monitoring and Evaluation will be incremental to those of ongoing and planned projects and programmes to take advantage of the synergies amongst them. 34 Relevant projects/programmes which have not yet started but for which funding has been secured are yet to be included. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 49 Table 2: Estimated GNAIP Costs by Programme and Component Programme Costs (USD million) % of Component Total 1. Improvement of Agricultural Land and Water Management 82.77 29.3 (i) Lowland Development for Rice Production 59.52 (ii) Irrigation for Horticulture and Upland Crops 16.36 (iii) Support Services Capacity Building 6.89 2. Improved Management of Other Shared Resources 37.23 13.2 (i) Improved Management of Rangelands and Organisation of Transhumance 3.24 (ii) Sustainable Management of Forest Resources 6.24 (iii) Sustainable Management of Fisheries Resources 26.80 (iv) Sustainable Management of Parks and Wildlife Resources 0.95 3. Development of Agricultural Chains and Market Promotion 89.85 31.8 (i) Development of Agricultural Marketing Chains 47.29 (ii) Strengthening of National Operator Support Services and Structures 41.24 (iii) Development of Domestic, Intra-regional and Extra-regional Markets 1.33 4. National Food and Nutrition Security 45.13 16.0 (i) National Food Security 24.61 (ii) Disaster Risk Management 20.52 5. Sustainable Farm Development 18.66 6.6 (i) Sustainable Farm Management 6.33 (ii) Land Use Suitability and Land Tenure Security 3.61 (iii) Capacity Building of Support Services and Farmer Organizations 8.72 6. GNAIP Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation 8.91 3.2 (i) Institutional Arrangement and Coordination 6.14 (ii) Financing Mechanism 0.54 (iii) Monitoring and Evaluation 1.35 (iv) Implementation Capacity Building 0.89 Total Base Costs 282.55 100.0 Physical and Price Contingencies 14.13 5.0 Total Costs 296.68 105.0 For detailed activities and timelines refer to cost tables in Annex 5. 179. The following sources of financing have been identified for the GNAIP: (i) Government Budget (with an expected increase of ANR Sector budget to 10 percent of total budget by 2015); (ii) the Beneficiaries; (iii) Micro- Finance Institutions (MFIs) including Village Savings and Credit Associations (VISACAs); (iv) Commercial Banks, which would be encouraged to contribute through favourable policies; (v) GOTG grant aid accounts; (vi) Other Non-Bank Financing Institutions; (vii) Private Sectors; and (viii) Development Partners. The contribution expected from each of the different sources is indicated in Table 4. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 50 Table 3: Estimated GNAIP Financing Gap (USD million) 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Total Estimated GNAIP Costs 82.06 58.94 62.92 52.23 40.43 296.68 Projects and Programmes /a Funds available for GNAIP financing MOA 22.29 16.45 14.21 1.08 0.00 54.12 Other Ministries 7.80 7.74 0.60 0.60 0.60 17.34 Outside Government (NGO) 2.29 1.08 0.29 0.29 0.29 4.25 Private Sector 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00 20.00 Total 35.37 28.77 19.10 6.47 5.89 95.72 Estimated Financing Gap 46.68 30.16 43.82 45.76 34.53 200.96 \a Source: MOA/MOF/NEA/MOFEN/MOFWRNAM. Table 4: Identified sources of financing for the implementation of the GNAIP Sources of Funds Estimated Contribution USD million35 Percentage Amount Available USD36 Expected Contribution towards Funding Gap USD Million million Percentage Contribution towards financing funding Gap Beneficiaries 8.90 3 2.16 6.74 3 MFIs (VISACAs, SDF) 14.83 5 4.93 9.9 5 Commercial Banks 14.83 5 - 14.83 7 GOTG 20.77 7 4.33 16.44 8 Other NBFIs37 29.67 10 - 29.67 15 Private Sector 45.00 15 20.00 25 12 Development Partners 162.68 55 64.30 98.38 49 TOTAL 296.68 100 95.72 200.96 100 V . B E NE F I T S A ND B E NE F I C I A R I E S B enefits 180. Overall, the GNAIP will reduce poverty, improve national and household food security and thereby improve livelihoods of the population38 181. Economic and Social Benefits. The main economic and social benefits expected from the GNAIP programmes include: (i) increased incomes resulting from increased productivity, production and reduced production risk in the ANR sector; (ii) improved national and household food security, food intake and raised levels of nutrition, particularly for infants and People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) due to increased food production, nutritional support and reduced post-harvest losses; (iii) improved access to agricultural inputs, services, research and . Major economic, social, environmental and institutional benefits are described below: 35 Based on contributions of various actors to existing interventions in the ANR sector. 36 Based on existing interventions that contribute directly to the GNAIP. 37 Non-Bank Financing Institutions (NBFIs) include: NACCUG, and GAWFA 38 See Section IV. A. GNAIP Objectives and Annex 3 Logical Frameworks. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 51 extension support, markets and market information; (iv) reduced transaction costs - notably for transport due to rehabilitation of feeder roads; (v) enhanced access to rural financial services; (vi) increased market/business opportunities and returns from smallholders’ activities and investments in agriculture - such as value added/agro-processing and agribusiness - and organizing economies of scale - leading to increased incomes; (vii) improved livelihoods notably for youth, women and deprived groups and their increased inclusion and influence and leadership roles in socio-economic development; (viii) increased revenues from on and off-farm employment notably for youth due to increased production, diversification, agro-processing and marketing opportunities; and (ix) foreign exchange savings through increased national production leading to reductions of imports (notably for rice), with the likelihood of reducing consumer prices and improving availability of food commodities of better quality. Increased output, income and employment in rural areas will result in increased demand for goods and services, which is expected to generate additional income and employment effects, and increase government tax revenues. Detailed financial and economic analyses will be prepared in the course of specific project/programme design under the CAADP Programmes to quantify these benefits and ensure that the proposed interventions are financially viable and economically sound. 182. Environmental Benefits. GNAIP is expected to result in a number of environmental benefits which will also have direct economic impact, including: (i) improved sediment retention and flood control; (ii) improved soil fertility and reduced erosion; (iii) improved access to water; (iv) increased carbon sequestration; and (v) positive environmental outcomes expected from sustainable agro-based enterprises such as more energy-efficient production and safer disposal of agro-industrial waste. 183. Institutional Benefits. Institutional benefits expected from the GNAIP include: (i) Producer and marketing groups are effectively functioning and increasingly self-reliant, with established market linkages. This derives from improved understanding and information of markets, management and business planning capacity, bargaining power and networking; (ii) Central and decentralized government agencies are effectively planning, coordinating and monitoring development interventions in the ANR sector; (iii) Regional/District/Ward/Village Development Committees are able to better plan, monitor, evaluate economic development and link with other stakeholders/potential partners; (iv) Local governments and communities are sustainably managing their infrastructure investments; and (v) Private sector operators are sustainably managing their enterprises and/or provide relevant quality services that are demanded by smallholder producers and processors. B eneficiar ies 184. The primary beneficiaries are the population that depends on the ANR sector for their livelihoods and the private sector operators engaged in the sector. Other beneficiaries include government and non-government institutions that are critical for the development of the sector and consumers. Farmer organisations developed under the various programmes will be supported to take active part in the development of every stage of value chain. In this regard the need for establishment of agricultural input dealers’ network between the private sector and the farmer organisations will be vigorously pursued. Through the proposed trainings under the various programmes, the beneficiary organisations will also be strengthened to serve as out-growers for processing and export companies. The type and estimated number of beneficiaries by GNAIP Programme and Component is presented in the programmes. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 52 185. Programme 1: Improvement of Agricultural Land and Water Management – (i) Lowland Development for Rice Production: About 24,000 households,39 186. Programme 2: Improved Management of the Other Shared Resources – (i) Management of Rangelands and Organization of Transhumance: About 15,000 smallholders owning livestock will benefit from improved range infrastructure, appropriate transhumance rules and regulations and effective animal disease control mechanisms; (ii) Sustainable Management of Forest Resources: Around 1,500 communities living in the peripheries of demarcated and gazetted forests will indirectly benefit from the positive environmental effects of sustainable forest management while 20 communities engaged in agro-forestry activities and forest-based enterprises will benefit directly; (iii) Ensuring Sustainable Management of Fisheries Resources: It is estimated that over 200,000 industrial and artisanal fishermen and women processors engaged in the sector will benefit from improved regulations, fisheries infrastructures and capacity building. Household engaged in small- and medium-scale peri-urban and rural aquaculture as well as large-scale commercial aquaculture farmers will also benefit; (iv) Sustainable Management of Parks and Wildlife Resources: 52 communities living in peripheries of national parks and private sector operators will benefit from opportunities from community-managed parks and/or Public Private Partnerships. Another group of beneficiaries are relevant institutions engaged in planning, coordination, management, monitoring as well as research activities under the various components of this Programme. These will benefit from capacity building and operational support. mainly lowland women farmers in all regions, will benefit from investments in land and water development, including irrigation, as well as from capacity building in organizational management, technical aspects and marketing. The youth and the landless farmers will also be targeted by specific measures; (ii) Irrigation for Horticulture and Upland Crops: it is envisaged that 32 commercial farmers, 3, 000 young farmers and 6, 000 women farmers across the six agricultural regions will benefit from irrigation facilities and capacity building; (iii) Capacity Building of Support Services Institutions: main beneficiaries will be Government service institutions in relevant ministries involved in the implementation of the Programme (particularly Departments of Agriculture and Water Resources). 187. Programme 3: Development of Agricultural Chains and Market Promotion – (i) Development of Agricultural Marketing Chains (including food crops, groundnut, horticulture, agro-forestry food products, short-cycle livestock, dairy products and fisheries products): Stakeholders engaged in the above value chains (producers, cooperatives, processors, traders) will benefit from capacity building and operational support, in particular women as they are main actors involved in production and small-scale processing. Youths and especially graduates will also be targeted. Government will be benefiting indirectly from foreign exchange savings (e.g. from reduced poultry imports) and earnings (e.g. groundnuts and horticulture); (ii) Strengthening of National Operator Support Services and Structures: Direct beneficiaries of this component include Government agencies supporting the private sector and ultimate beneficiaries, who are private-sector stakeholders engaged in agricultural value chains; (iii) Development of Domestic, Intra-regional and Extra-regional Markets: Direct beneficiaries include Government agencies and the value chain stakeholders. Ultimate beneficiaries include the national population, who would benefit from an expected eight percent growth rate of the economy. 39 With an average farm size of one ha per household. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 53 188. Programme 4: National Food and Nutritional Security – (i) National Food Security: Ultimate beneficiaries are communities in urban and rural areas, particularly including vulnerable, food insecure households (around 15 percent of the population) and persons malnourished (estimated at 30 percent of the population). Furthermore, members of the FSWG and FSTF, estimated at about 4 line ministries, 16 counterparts, government departments and NGOs who provide and directly use FSNIS, as well as decision-makers in the FS and nutrition sectors would benefit; (ii) Disaster Risk Management: Main beneficiaries include NDMA and RDMCs (7), members of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Management (24 members), local Disaster Management Platforms countrywide (around 70 planned) as well as high-level National Disaster Management Governing Council members (8) and policy-makers. 189. Programme 5: Sustainable Farm Development – (i) Sustainable Farm Management: It is estimated a total of about 66,000 households or 46 percent of the population involved in agriculture will benefit from improved technologies and watershed conservation; (ii) Land Use Suitability and Land Tenure Security: Activities will benefit directly relevant Government agencies namely MOLG&L, MOA, MOFEN and MOFWRNAM and provide vital benefits to farmers and all land users countrywide; (iii) Capacity Building of Support Services and Farmer Organizations: Beneficiaries of this component include two farmers organizations at national level, 12 at regional level and 60 at district and local levels. Institutions that provide main support services will also directly benefit. 190. Programme 6: GNAIP Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation – This Programme is a precondition for effective implementation of the Technical Programmes 1-5. Consequently, main beneficiaries are key implementing partners of GNAIP, including relevant Government institutions, private sector partners and other partner civil society organizations (CSOs) who will benefit from capacity building and operational support. V I . R I SK S A ND SUST A I NA B I L I T Y R isk A nalysis 191. Overall, the risks related to the implementation of the GNAIP programmes can be regarded as low to moderate as: (a) the programmes will be implemented through existing structures and experienced partners; and (b) most interventions are based on proven approaches and/or focus on areas of intervention that are/were successfully supported by ongoing or past programmes and projects. However, a number of risks have been identified that could potentially limit meeting programme objectives. These relate to: (i) socio-political and economic environment; (ii) commitment by Government and development partners; (iii) governance; (iv) capacity of Government institutions and implementing partners/service providers; (v) private sector interests; (vi) access to finance and markets; (vii) impact of climate change; and (viii) gender, youth and vulnerability aspects. Annex 7 provides the details, including mitigation measures incorporated in programme design and risk rating before and after mitigation. Sustainability 192. The sustainability of the GNAIP processes and benefits is facilitated through several mechanisms: Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 54 • GNAIP coordination and management structures will work directly through existing Government entities including decentralized structures at regional, ward and village level which will be strengthened. This will ensure coordination among interventions at all levels and minimize the operational costs and bureaucratic procedures compared to creating new parallel structures. Mainstreaming GNAIP through existing structures will build national ownership and capacity, notably to coordinate and harmonize activities at the respective levels, and reinforce sustainability of interventions. • High attention will be given to ensuring active engagement of national stakeholders at all levels in planning, implementation and monitoring of GNAIP programmes, including notably Government, private sector, farmer organizations, NGOs and other development partners. Emphasis will be given to effective targeting across all programmes to ensure reaching appropriate beneficiaries, particularly ensuring inclusion women, youth and other vulnerable groups. • While Government will mainly have a coordinating and supervising function, the GNAIP programmes will be primarily implemented by private sector stakeholders which will be strengthened to ensure sustainability of interventions (including small-scale producers and processors, commercial farmers, agro-processors, inter professional associations, cooperatives, financiers, traders, transporters as well as input suppliers and service providers). Specifically, to promote effective management and sustainability of production, processing and marketing activities, beneficiaries will be supported to organize themselves into groups and register as farmer organizations which will be self-governed and self-financed. I nnovative F eatur es 193. The GNAIP programmes are primarily based on interventions and approaches that have proven successful under ongoing or past programmes and projects in the country. However, the GNAIP design is characterized by a number of features that can be considered innovative in the context of The Gambia, but which have been successfully implemented in other countries of the sub-region. Major innovative features include: • Social protection and safety net: Programme 4 which supports the formulation of a social protection policy and action plan and its coverage gives much greater national emphasis to food and nutrition security and improving livelihoods/incomes through well-targeted approaches. There are important inequities among regions in the country and this programme would minimize this problem as well as boost livelihoods of the vulnerable. • Building a sound food and nutrition information system (FSNIS): At present, The Gambia does not have such a system which is core to ensuring effective implementation of the above policy/action plan and consequently national food and nutrition security. The existing MWG will be expanded and strengthened and a comprehensive food security and early warning system for the country established. • Producer organization (PO) support: Although limited assistance has been provided to date – GNAIP is proposing focused attention for a critical mass with a catalytic effect. Focus will be on technical support of groups (new and existing) – Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 55 e.g. gardens, agro-processing – as well as organizational and institutional apex body strengthening. The innovation in The Gambia context is putting focus on PO as main players and drivers of rural development and growth. This is particularly critical for value chain development. • Community-based approaches to natural resource management: Local communities will be supported and given responsibility for managing their forest resources and related community-based enterprises in a sustainable way. Furthermore, GNAIP will pilot the management of parks by communities and establish Public Private Sector Partnerships in park management and ecotourism. • Developing value chains in new niche markets: Programme 3 will identify and exploit opportunities in niche markets in the region and abroad by developing value chains for high-value commodities (fruits, vegetables, sesame). • Climate change adaptation and mitigation measures are key features of the GNAIP and mainstreamed throughout the programmes. This includes developing irrigation; promoting sustainable management of land, water and other natural resources; strengthening of early warning systems; and raising awareness which will all build resilience of the population to effects of climate change. • New financial mechanisms for smallholders: Under Programme 6 a number of proposals are made which are highly innovative, including the VISACA mechanisms, the various funding channels (e.g. ADF, Solidarity Fund, possible commercial bank windows). • Overall institutional arrangements/inter-ministerial collaboration: The proposed implementation arrangements are innovations for The Gambia as they represent a complete new way of doing business. However, these will also be challenges as they require commitment by all government agencies and development partners to collaborate in a well coordinated manner. V I I . I SSUE S A ND NE X T ST E PS I ssues to be addr essed 194. A number of technical and operational issues will require further consideration in preparing the set up and implementation procedures for GNAIP programmes and activities. The following issues should be given particular attention: • Cost Benefit Analysis will be carried out to ensure that the right sub-sectors are targeted with optimal impacts on the beneficiaries. This will take into account the social development dimensions in the selection of priorities; • Prioritizing and sequencing of activities to ensure logical linkages within and among programmes following agreed decisions among key stakeholders of priority interventions. Workplans of the overall GNAIP, individual programmes, and more specifically, projects and components which are periodically updated will be vital to effective implementation; Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 56 • Effective targeting measures to achieve expected outcomes. Strategies for targeting should be developed during design and implemented at appropriate levels (e.g. component, activity) tailored to specific interventions. Modalities for targeting should include: diverse approaches (e.g. geographic, community-based, self-targeting); well-defined criteria; be participatory-based giving adequate attention to issues of equity, pro-poor interventions and gender and youth mainstreaming; and include periodic monitoring to confirm reaching intended target groups and adjust accordingly; • Coordinated donor mechanisms to optimize donor involvement in supporting GNAIP programmes. The absence of an operational donor thematic group on the ANR sector limits effectiveness of donor coordination and support to GNAIP. GNAIP could provide an entry point to encourage donors active in the sector to organize and increase collaboration in providing a harmonized approach in support of ANR in The Gambia; • Commitment to collaboration and engagement among stakeholders, in particular sectoral Ministries and civil society namely private sector. Focused attention on promoting interest and involvement of various stakeholders is vital to achieving GNAIP outcomes. Specific measures will be required to detail and demonstrate to expected partners the value and benefits of GNAIP; and • Sustained policy reform processes are essential to reaching GNAIP objectives. A number of core GNAIP objectives depend on an existing favourable enabling environment. GNAIP will provide support for continuous assessment and reform of all sub-sectoral policies and legislations that will encourage growth and competitiveness within the ANR sector. These policies will include land tenure, trade, growth and competitiveness of MSMEs (Micro-Small-Medium Enterprises), social protection, food security, among other policies. Policy reform is an issue of high-level political importance that requires active Government commitment, technical grounding and wide consultation and national participation. These issues are complex and would be managed with attention. Next Steps40 1. Validation of the GNAIP by all relevant stakeholders and circulation of final document (including to CAADP/ECOWAS and development partners) – September 2010; 2. Commence detailed work planning for establishment of GNAIP institutional arrangements – e.g. National Council of Ministers, GNAIP Steering Committee, and Programme Coordination Office (PCO) – early October 2010; 3. Set-up PCO - including staffing and operational requirements to initiate activities (including systems for financial management and M&E) – early to mid-November 2010; 4. Organize business meetings with development partners for commitments to GNAIP – early December 2010 and early January 2011; 40 Dates are tentative indications. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 57 5. Develop detailed workplans for overall GNAIP coordination and for each programme, including alignment of existing projects/programmes – starting from late November 2010; 6. Implementation combined with systematic M&E activities starting with baselines as required – starting January 2011. Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan (GNAIP) 58 BIBLIOGRAPHY Department of State for Agriculture (2007). The Agricultural and Natural Resource Policy. Department of State for Agriculture (2007). The National Agricultural Survey 2007. Department of Planning. Department of State for Forestry and Environment (2003). Bio-diversity/Wildlife Policy. Department of Parks and Wildlife. 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