The World Bank Obsolete Pesticides Management Project (P131778) REPORT NO.: RES38052 DOCUMENT OF THE WORLD BANK RESTRUCTURING PAPER ON A PROPOSED PROJECT RESTRUCTURING OF OBSOLETE PESTICIDES MANAGEMENT PROJECT APPROVED ON AUGUST 25, 2015 TO MINISTRY OF ECONOMY AND FINANCE ENVIRONMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES & THE BLUE ECONOMY AFRICA WEST Regional Vice President: Ousmane Diagana Country Director: Coralie Gevers Regional Director: Simeon Kacou Ehui Practice Manager/Manager: Maria Sarraf Task Team Leader(s): Salimata D. Follea The World Bank Obsolete Pesticides Management Project (P131778) I. BASIC DATA Product Information Project ID Financing Instrument P131778 Investment Project Financing Original EA Category Current EA Category Full Assessment (A) Full Assessment (A) Approval Date Current Closing Date 25-Aug-2015 30-Oct-2020 Organizations Borrower Responsible Agency Ministry of Environment, Urban Health and Sustainable Ministry of Economy and Finance Development Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to improve the management of obsolete pesticides and associated wastes in Cote d'Ivoire by the Government and other stakeholders. Summary Status of Financing (US$, Millions) Net Ln/Cr/Tf Approval Signing Effectiveness Closing Commitment Disbursed Undisbursed TF-A0742 25-Aug-2015 20-Oct-2015 19-Jan-2016 30-Oct-2020 7.00 5.88 1.12 Policy Waiver(s) Does this restructuring trigger the need for any policy waiver(s)? No I. SUMMARY OF PROJECT STATUS AND PROPOSED CHANGES The World Bank Obsolete Pesticides Management Project (P131778) 1. The purpose of this short restructuring is to seek your concurrence to extend the closing date of the Obsolete Pesticides Management Project for eight months, from October 30, 2020 to June 30, 2021. This would be the first extension of this Grant. The formal request to extend the Trust Fund was received from the Government of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire on August 6, 2020. 2. Rationale for extension. The implementation of the project was affected by two factors: (i) a six month delay in the annual budget allocation by the Government to the Project for the implementation of the 2020 annual work plan – this delay was due to the setting up of a new budget allocation system at the national level; and (ii) the restrictions of movements due to the COVID19 pandemic which further slowed down project implementation pace. The extension will enable the Project Implementation Unit to finalize the sustainability instruments of the project aiming to prevent new accumulation of obsolete pesticides and associated wastes through: (i) the validation and adoption by the Government of a series of decrees on safe transportation, storage and elimination of pesticides, and management of non-homologated pesticides; and (ii) deployment at the national level, of a web-based Pesticides Storage and Management System (PSMS) which will enable the Ministry of Agriculture and its 29 Regional Directorates to better manage entry of pesticides in the country and take timely actions to prevent accumulation of new obsolete pesticides. 3. The Government has prepared a budgeted work plan and related procurement plan covering the eight-month extension period which are acceptable to the Bank. The work plan and procurement plan are attached in the supporting documents. 4. Project Status. The progress towards achieving the PDO, i.e. to improve the management of obsolete pesticides and associated wastes in Cote d'Ivoire by the Government and other stakeholders, and overall implementation progress have been rated Moderately Satisfactory as a result of the last implementation support mission held in May 2020. The project was approved on October 20, 2015 by the Bank, which is acting as an implementing agency of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). As of August 30, 2020, the Government has disbursed US$5.88 million representing a disbursement rate of 84 percent. The 2019 audit report has been delayed due to the COVID19 pandemic. At the request of the Government, the Bank extended the deadline for the delivery of the audit report from June 30, 2020 to September 30, 2020. 5. The status in achieving the project’s key results is as follows: a. Component 1: Regulatory and Institutional Framework: Under this component, three inter-ministerial decrees have been drafted to strengthen the regulatory and institutional framework for pesticides management: (i) decree on the repression of offenses against pesticides; (ii) decree regulating the transport, storage and disposal of pesticides in Côte d'Ivoire; (iii) decree establishing a procedure for managing seizures of pesticides to prevent new accumulations of obsolete pesticides on the national territory. These have been submitted to the relevant Ministries (Agriculture, Health, Trade and Animal Resources) for inputs and will thereafter be submitted to the General Secretariat of the Government for their validation before their adoption by the Council of Ministers, followed by the Parliament. In addition, the institutional framework was strengthened through the preparation of a national strategy for the management of obsolete pesticides and associated wastes. The strategy will be disseminated at the national level after a national v alidation workshop to be scheduled before year end (with pandemic protection measures enforced). b. Component 2: Management of Obsolete Pesticides and Associated Waste (OPAW): The Government made significant progress through: (i) the inventory of 329 tons of Obsolete Pesticides and Associated Wastes at the national level; (ii) the collection of 250 tons of OPAWs (from Abidjan and Yamoussoukro districts and San-Pedro, Bélier and Marahoué region) and incineration last July. The collection of the remaining 79 tons is underway for incineration by The World Bank Obsolete Pesticides Management Project (P131778) end August 2020; and (iii) development of an automated web-based Pesticide Storage Management System (PSMS). The extension will allow operationalizing the PSMS thereby enabling the Ministry of Agriculture and its 29 Regional Directorates to closely monitor and manage pesticides in the country and take timely actions to prevent further accumulation of OPAWs. c. Component 3: Promotion of Alternatives to Pesticides: The subcomponent supported the promotion of alternatives to chemical pesticides through testing of a biopesticide called Astoun on a cocoa agroforestry farms in Azaguié (southeastern Côte d’Ivoire). The project financed two Ivorian research centers: AISA (Association Ivoirienne des Sciences Agronomiques – Ivorian Association of Agronomic Sciences) and CEA-CCBAD (Centre d’Excellence pour le développement des Biopesticides - Center of Excellence of Biopesticides development). The association of this biopesticide with cocoa agroforestry showed spectacular yields: cocoa production increased from 750 kg per ha to 2 tons per ha during the 2019 campaign, according to the farmers’ cooperative (association Agneby) who applied Astoun in replacement of chemical pesticides in cocoa farms with an average of 50 trees per ha. The extension will enable further monitoring of this test and the possible homologation of this biopesticide in close collaboration with the Agriculture team, should the results be confirmed on a long-term basis. 6. An extension of eight months will enable full completion of the pending activities (assuming the coronavirus pandemic is not prolonged for a longer period), thereby enhancing the potential of achieving the Project Development Objective. 7. No reallocation of grant proceeds is required. In terms of Safeguards, the project remains a category A project (full assessment). II. DETAILED CHANGES LOAN CLOSING DATE(S) Original Revised Proposed Proposed Deadline Ln/Cr/Tf Status Closing Closing(s) Closing for Withdrawal Applications TF-A0742 Effective 30-Oct-2020 30-Jun-2021 30-Oct-2021