40817 Findings G In oo fo d br Pr ief ac tic e Africa Region · Number 139 · August 2007 Findings Infobriefs reports on Good Practice in ongoing operational, economic and sector work carried out by the World Bank and its member governments in the Africa Region. It is published monthly by the Knowledge and Learning Center on behalf of the Region. The views expressed in Findings are those of the author/s and should not be attributed to the World Bank Group. Senegal: Agricultural Services and Producer Organizations Project This project ( Programmes des Services Agricoles et appui aux Organisations Paysannes – PSAOP ) was the first phase of a 3-phase Adaptable Program Loan. US$31.8 million financed the first phase running from 2000-2005. The development objective of the program was the substantial increase of smallholder agricultural productivity, production and incomes through technological change. The objective of the first phase was to set in place institutional reforms to achieve autonomy and accountability of public agencies and empower producer organizations. Impact on the ground · The Institut Senegalais de Recherches Agricoles - the Senegalese Agricultural Research Institute – ISRA, and the Institut de Iechnologie Alimentaire - the Food Technology Institute – ITA , have improved their scientific and managerial capacities and a competitive funding mechanism - Fonds National de Recherche Agronomique et Agro-alimentaire – National Fund for Agricultural and Agro-food Research – FNRAA - is fully operational for the selection and funding of research programs. · This financing is accessible, beyond the traditional research centers, to various institutions such as the University of Dakar ( 4 projects financed ), SODEFITEX – the Cotton Company ( 2 projects ), the Veterinarian University ( 1 project ), the Geomantic laboratory ( 1 project ), etc. · Also, eligibility criteria have successfully promoted partnership among research institutions: though all projects were required to involve a minimum of 2 institutions, most had at least 3 partners. · Producer organizations ( POs ) participation has been encouraged at all stages of the process – applied research and research/development proposals were endorsed by POs. · Since its creation in 2000, FNRAA has received 92 proposals and has financed 30 programs for a total of CFAF 1.7 billion (US$3.4 million). Based on first results, other donors such as the African Development Bank and the European Union have participated in and expressed their interest in contributing to the fund. · The ISRA has been reorganized and consolidated in 5 regional research centers. Also, scientific partnerships have been established at the national, regional and international levels. Twenty-six MoUs and 15 collaborative projects have been signed with partners from the private sector, the international research community, development projects and regional agencies. The ITA has also developed similar strategic partnerships with private firms, World Vision, UNIDO, FAO, etc. The “Good Practice Infobrief” series is edited by P.C. Mohan, mail stop J-8-811, Knowledge and Learning Center, World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington D.C., 20433. Tel. (202) 473-4114; e-mail: pmohan@worldbank.org · ITA has developed and demonstrated 17 new technologies to users; 50 training modules benefiting approximately 700 private entrepreneurs were organized to demonstrate innovative technologies in the field of post-harvest operations for fruits and vegetables, meat, milk, fish produce and cereals. · The Agence Nationale de Conseil Agricole et Rural – the National Agency for Agricultural and Rural Counsel – ANCAR, is being used by the PSAOP to carry out extension using demand-driven technical messages. Stat participation in ANCAR has been reduced and the private sector becomes the majority shareholder with POs holding 38& and private agribusiness enterprises 13 percent. · ANCR has assisted POs and communities through 2,817 contracts for a total cost of CFAF 365 million, including a producer participation of CFAF 131 million (13%). · The financing mechanism dedicated to POs – Fonds de Services Ruraux Regis par le Demande – Demand-driven Rural Services Funds –FSRRD - has been successfully implemented by the private association ASPRODEB – Agence Senegalaise pour la Promotion de Developpement a la Base – the Senegalese Agency for the Promotion of Grassroots Development. · At the local level, 152 CLCOPS – Cadre Local de Concertation des organizations de Producteurs – Producer Organizations Local Council – have been set up as compared to the objective of 142. These cover 67 percent of the rural communities and represent almost 50,000 producers. By project closure, the FSRRD has financed 1,235 projects (against an initial objective of 852) for a total amount of CFAF 885 million. In the 11 regions, regional POs have accessed the fund through 49 projects for a value of CFAF 104 million. All these projects have benefited approximately 62,000 producers. · The CLCOPS have now been acknowledged by public services, programs and local governments as their entry- point for dialogue and collaboration with producers and their organizations. · Field surveys indicate that on average, in a village, 70% of female producers are members of a PO, against 53% for males. In the 152 rural communities that benefited from the PO component, 20% of CLCOPs have a woman president. · The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Livestock have disengaged from production and marketing activities and have refocused on their core functions of policy formulation and monitoring and evaluation. Lessons Learned · While an APL proved to be the right instrument, the first phase should be at least 4-5 years. · Adequate support must be provided through transition – technical assistance, institutional reinforcement and capacity-building. · The design of M&E indicators is a critical aspect – these should be well-defined, limited in number, focused on specific issues, easy to monitor and clearly useful for beneficiary institutions to measure progress towards project objectives. · Institutional reforms and the development of sustainable new relationships (clients/service providers) can really gain momentum if producers are empowered. This requires POs to be supported through financial resources and technical assistance. · Demand-driven services become efficient and accountable only thanks to producer empowerment and active producer participation at all stages of the project cycle is key to successful project implementation and beyond. Upstream participation by producers resulted in their being fully on board during implementation and without antagonism from other partners. · The FNRAA, ANCAR and CLCOP experiences demonstrated that multi-stakeholder decision-making mecha- nisms can be efficient in allocating funds and that they foster dialogue, partnership and collaboration amongst institutions. · Asking local institutions such as the FNRAA secretariat, ANCAR, etc. to be fully responsible for their respective components as implementing agencies can be more efficient than having a temporary Project Implementa- tion Unit. However, public services should be responsible, in the absence of a PIU, for ensuring coordination amongst components. · In order to get economic results and measurable impacts, demand-driven funds should not be restricted to soft investments but should allow for physical investments and equipment. These funds should also create space for innovation, help to disseminate technologies and demonstrate techniques in rural areas. This Infobrief was excerpted from Implementation Completion Report no. 35062. For more information, please e-mail Renato Nardello : rnardello@worldbank.org Persons accessing the Bank’s external and internal website can get more information on Agriculture and Rural Development by clicking on Topics.