Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No: PAD4511 INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION PROJECT PAPER ON A PROPOSED ADDITIONAL CREDIT IN THE AMOUNT OF EUR 32.50 MILLION (US$39.54 MILLION EQUIVALENT) TO THE REPUBLIC OF NIGER FOR THE AGRICULTURAL AND LIVESTOCK TRANSFORMATION PROJECT June 7, 2021 Agriculture and Food Global Practice Western and Central Africa Region This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (Exchange Rate Effective May 31, 2021) Currency Unit = FCFA FCFA 536 = US$1 Euro 0.820 = US$1 FISCAL YEAR January 1 - December 31 Regional Vice President: Ousmane Diagana Country Director: Soukeyna Kane Regional Director: Simeon Kacou Ehui Practice Manager: Chakib Jenane Daniel P. Gerber, Brahim Ould Abdelwedoud, Fatoumata Task Team Leaders: Den Lamari Fadika ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AF Additional Financing APSU Agriculture Policy Support Unit ARAP Abbreviated Resettlement Action Plan CERC Contingent Emergency Response Component COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease CPF Country Partnership Framework ERR Economic Rate of Return ESIA Environmental and Social Impact Assessments ESMF Environmental and Social Management Framework FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FCV Fragility, Conflict, and Violence FM Financial Management GBV Gender-based Violence GDP Gross Domestic Product GEMS Geo-Enabling Initiative for Monitoring and Supervision GHG Greenhouse Gas GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism IBM Integrated Beneficiary Monitoring GRS Grievance Redress Service IDA International Development Association IFC International Finance Corporation IFR Interim Financial Report IPF Investment Project Financing IRM Immediate Response Mechanism ISR Implementation Status Report IT Information Technology MAGEL Ministère de l’Agriculture et de L’Elevage (Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock) M&E Monitoring and Evaluation NBS Nature-based Solutions NCU National Coordination Unit NDC Nationally Determined Contribution NGO Non-governmental Organization PAD Project Appraisal Document PAP Project-affected Person PCU Project Coordination Unit PDO Project Development Objective PFIs Private Financial Institutions PGRC-DU Projet de Gestion des Risques et Catastrophes et de Développement Urbain (Risk and Disaster Management and Urban Development Project) PIM Project Implementation Manual PIMELAN Projet Intégré de Modernisation de l’Élevage et de l’Agriculture au Niger (Niger Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project) PMP Pest Management Plan RAP Resettlement Action Plan RISE Resilient, Inclusive, Sustainable and Efficient RPF Resettlement Policy Framework SME Small and Medium Enterprise SORT Systematic Operations Risk-rating Tool WBG World Bank Group REPUBLIC OF NIGER ADDITIONAL FINANCING TO AGRICULTURAL AND LIVESTOCK TRANSFORMATION PROJECT TABLE OF CONTENTS I. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE FOR ADDITIONAL FINANCING ................................................ 6 II. DESCRIPTION OF ADDITIONAL FINANCING .......................................................................... 12 III. KEY RISKS ........................................................................................................................ 13 IV. APPRAISAL SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 14 V. WORLD BANK GRIEVANCE REDRESS ................................................................................... 20 VI. SUMMARY TABLE OF CHANGES.......................................................................................... 20 VII. DETAILED CHANGE(S)........................................................................................................ 21 VIII. RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND MONITORING .......................................................................... 25 ANNEX 1: NIGER- ADJUSTMENTS TO THE COUNTRY PROGRAM IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19 ............. 41 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) BASIC INFORMATION – PARENT (AGRICULTURAL AND LIVESTOCK TRANSFORMATION PROJECT - P164509) Country Product Line Team Leader(s) Niger IBRD/IDA Daniel P. Gerber Project ID Financing Instrument Resp CC Req CC Practice Area (Lead) P164509 Investment Project SAWA4 AWCW3 (278) Agriculture and Food Financing (10130) Implementing Agency: Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock ADD FIN TBL1 Is this a regionally tagged project? No Bank/IFC Collaboration Joint Level Joint Project - involving co financing with IFC Yes (loan, equity, budget, other) or staffing Expected Original Environmental Approval Date Closing Date Guarantee Current EA Category Assessment Category Expiration Date 20-Jun-2019 22-Dec-2025 Partial Assessment (B) Partial Assessment (B) Financing & Implementation Modalities Parent [ ] Multiphase Programmatic Approach [MPA] [✓] Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) [ ] Series of Projects (SOP) [ ] Fragile State(s) [ ] Performance-Based Conditions (PBCs) [ ] Small State(s) [✓] Financial Intermediaries (FI) [✓] Fragile within a Non-fragile Country [ ] Project-Based Guarantee [ ] Conflict [ ] Deferred Drawdown [ ] Responding to Natural or Man-made disaster [ ] Alternate Procurement Arrangements (APA) [ ] Hands-on Expanded Implementation Support (HEIS) Page 1 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) Development Objective(s) The Project Development Objective (PDO) is “to increase agriculture productivity and access to markets for small and medium farmers and agri-food small and medium enterprises in the Participating Project Regions.” Ratings (from Parent ISR) RATING_DRAFT_YES Implementation 04-Dec-2019 09-Jun-2020 23-Dec-2020 Progress towards achievement of PDO S S S Overall Implementation Progress (IP) S MS MS Overall Safeguards Rating S S S Overall Risk S S S Financial Management S S S Project Management S S S Procurement S S S Monitoring and Evaluation S S S BASIC INFORMATION – ADDITIONAL FINANCING (Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project - P176418) ADDFIN_TABLE Urgent Need or Capacity Project ID Project Name Additional Financing Type Constraints P176418 Additional Financing to Cost Overrun/Financing Gap No Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project Financing instrument Product line Approval Date Investment Project IBRD/IDA 28-Jun-2021 Financing Projected Date of Full Bank/IFC Collaboration Page 2 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) Disbursement 21-Apr-2026 No Is this a regionally tagged project? No Financing & Implementation Modalities Child [ ] Series of Projects (SOP) [✓] Fragile State(s) [ ] Performance-Based Conditions (PBCs) [ ] Small State(s) [ ] Financial Intermediaries (FI) [ ] Fragile within a Non-fragile Country [ ] Project-Based Guarantee [ ] Conflict [ ] Deferred Drawdown [✓] Responding to Natural or Man-made disaster [ ] Alternate Procurement Arrangements (APA) [ ] Hands-on Expanded Implementation Support (HEIS) [✓] Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) Disbursement Summary (from Parent ISR) Net Source of Funds Total Disbursed Remaining Balance Disbursed Commitments IBRD % IDA 100.00 17.50 90.59 16 % Grants % PROJECT FINANCING DATA – ADDITIONAL FINANCING (Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project - P176418) PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY-NewFin1 SUMMARY (Total Financing) Proposed Additional Total Proposed Current Financing Financing Financing Total Project Cost 134.90 39.54 174.44 Page 3 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) Total Financing 134.90 39.54 174.44 of which IBRD/IDA 100.00 39.54 139.54 Financing Gap 0.00 0.00 0.00 DETAILS - Additional Financing NewFinEnh1 World Bank Group Financing International Development Association (IDA) 39.54 IDA Credit 39.54 IDA Resources (in US$, Millions) Credit Amount Grant Amount Guarantee Amount Total Amount Niger 39.54 0.00 0.00 39.54 National PBA 39.54 0.00 0.00 39.54 Total 39.54 0.00 0.00 39.54 COMPLIANCE Policy Does the project depart from the CPF in content or in other significant respects? [ ] Yes [ ✔ ] No Does the project require any other Policy waiver(s)? [ ] Yes [ ✔ ] No INSTITUTIONAL DATA Practice Area (Lead) Agriculture and Food Contributing Practice Areas Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Urban, Resilience and Land Page 4 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) Climate Change and Disaster Screening This operation has been screened for short and long-term climate change and disaster risks PROJECT TEAM Bank Staff Name Role Specialization Unit Team Leader (ADM Daniel P. Gerber Ag Economist SAWA4 Responsible) Brahim Ould Abdelwedoud Team Leader CO-TTL for MRI SAWU1 Fatoumata Den Lamari Team Leader Finance Sector Specialist EAWF1 Fadika Mahamadou Bambo Procurement Specialist (ADM Senior Procurement Specialist EAWRU Sissoko Responsible) Maman Hassane Gabari Procurement Specialist Procurement EAWRU Ahohouindo Mongnihoude Financial Management FM specialist EAWG1 Jean L Gbaguidi Specialist (ADM Responsible) Social Specialist (ADM Senior Social Development Demba Balde SAWS4 Responsible) Specialist Environmental Specialist (ADM Ibrah Hachimou SAWE1 Responsible) Aimee Marie Ange Team Member Senior Agriculture Economist SAWA4 Mpambara Cecile Lorillou Team Member DRM SAWU1 Chakib Jenane Peer Reviewer Lead Agriculture Economist SAWA4 Hadidia Diallo Djimba Team Member Program Assistant AWMNE Juvenal Nzambimana Team Member Senior Operations Officer SAWA4 Rebecca Emilie Anne Team Member FCV Specialist GTFS2 Lacroix Salam Hailou Team Member Program Assistant SAWA4 Taoufiq Bennouna Environmental Specialist Environmental Safeguards SAWE1 Extended Team Name Title Organization Location Page 5 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) I. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE FOR ADDITIONAL FINANCING INTRODUCTION 1. This Project Paper seeks the approval of the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank to approve the proposed Additional Financing (AF) in the amount of Euro 32.5 million (US$39.54 million equivalent) to replenish the financing gap of the Agriculture and Livestock Transformation Project (Projet Intégré de Modernisation de l’Élevage et de l’Agriculture au Niger, PIMELAN Project – P164509), which was created by the activation of the Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) for the Immediate Response Mechanism (IRM) following the unprecedented floods that occurred in Niger in July through October 2020. The proposed AF will also include a restructuring of the parent project. 2. The budget reallocated for the CERC IRM comes from undisbursed and uncommitted resources originally earmarked for activities under Component 1 of the PIMELAN Project. This has created a financing gap in implementing key activities under these components, which are essential for achieving the Project Development Objectives (PDO). To respond to the request from the Government of Niger (GoN) and to support achievement of the PDOs, a replenishment of Euro 32.5 million is being proposed. The proposed AF, together with a parent project restructuring, would change the PDO to measure the activities funded by the IRM-CERC, formalize the reallocation of resources, allow for an update of the Results Framework to capture the impact of the activities funded by the IRM-CERC, reflect the changes in implementation arrangements associated with the IRM-CERC, trigger a new safeguards policy related to dam safety, and facilitate the full implementation of key activities under Component 1. The closing date of the parent project would remain unchanged. Context and background 3. Niger is a low-income, landlocked and fragile country in the Sahel region experiencing a three- fold crisis: security, humanitarian, and more recently health crisis related to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Regional insecurity and violent extremist groups threaten stability, fuel pre-existing tensions and are causing the displacement of population. Among the estimated 22 million population, growing at about 3.8 percent per year, about 280,000 persons are in high-intensity conflict zones, 3.5 million are located in medium-intensity conflict zones, and 6.2 million line in a zone at risk of conflict. The effects of the ongoing civil insecurity continue to affect negatively food security for poorer and displaced households. About 309 security incidents have been reported between January and October 2020, resulting in 968 fatalities according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) dashboard. The regions of Diffa, Tillabery, and Tahoua are the most affected by insecurity and hosted an estimated 223,048 displaced persons in April 2020, compared to 184,634 in April 2019. Furthermore, despite progress made in recent years, poverty remains high in Niger, with two in five individuals (40.8 percent) living below the national poverty line in 2018. This corresponds to an absolute number of 9 million poor individuals, most of whom (95 percent) resides rural areas. 4. Niger is particularly vulnerable to climate shocks with access to natural resources limited due to climate change impacting significantly the Sahel region, high population increase and non-inclusive territorial development policies. Niger has a hot and semi-arid to arid climate and is one of the hottest and driest countries in the world. The country is already experiencing severe droughts and heat waves that result in chronic food insecurity and Niger’s population is highly vulnerable to climate shocks. Climate change impacts include water scarcity, reduction in soil moisture, increased erosion and plant damage, Page 6 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) crop failure and reduced yields, increased incidence of pests and diseases impacting agriculture and livestock breeding, which are important sources of livelihood for the local communities. The country’s vulnerability to climate shock is due to its heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture and limited economic and institutional capacity to respond to climate variability. 5. Moderate levels of flooding are a regular occurrence in Niger with seasonal rains. However, with urbanization that is largely unregulated, a high population growth rate as well as growing extremes in weather patterns due to climate change, floods have become increasingly devastating. This situation is aggravated by the fact that Niger’s resources dedicated to maintenance of water management and related infrastructure are limited, gradually aggravating the problems. The 2020 floods decimated infrastructure that was suffering from much deferred maintenance, leaving urban and rural populations largely unprotected from high waters. 6. Recent flood events have illustrated Niger’s high vulnerability to climate change. According to the Notre Dame GAIN index, Niger is the second most vulnerable country out of 181 ranked countries. Floods are a recurrent natural hazard in Niger and are projected to increase in frequency in the future, especially in the southern part of the country. Niger’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) provided to the United Nations estimate the funds needed for climate change adaptation until 2030 at US$1.607 billion. 1 The 2013 World Bank agriculture sector risk assessment report indicated that Niger’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate dipped into negative territory eight times between 1984 and 2010, and that drought was largely responsible. Mean temperatures in the Sahel are expected to increase by 3-6°C by 2100, while rainfall patterns are projected to become more irregular, with sudden oscillations between very wet and very dry years. As a result, crop and livestock production are both expected to experience significantly increased climatic stresses. 7. The PIMELAN Project was approved by the Board on June 20, 2019 for a total financing of US$134.9 million, of which US$100.0 million equivalent IDA credit, US$6 million equivalent IFC financing and US$28.9 million equivalent financing from participating commercial banks as financial intermediaries [Agricultural Bank (Banque Agricole, BAGRI), Atlantic Bank (Banque Atlantique, BA) and Sahelo-Saharan Bank for Investment and Trade (Banque Sahélo-Saharienne pour l'Investissement et le Commerce, BSIC)] and beneficiaries. The project agreement was signed in January 2020 and became effective on July 29, 2020. The PDO is “to increase agriculture productivity and access to markets for small and medium farmers and agri-food small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the participating project regions”. 8. The project provides capacity building for advisory and support services and financing of investments to help improve productivity and commercialization in the agriculture sector and is composed of four components as follows: i. Improving the quality of agriculture support services and policies (US$42.0 million equivalent fully IDA funded) to increase crop and sedentary livestock systems productivity and improve the safety of food products through: • Strengthening crop and livestock extensions services – by building capacity of the national extension service and advisory service to more effectively play its role in increasing producers’ knowledge and capacities. • Support to veterinary ad phytosanitary services - by increasing the availability of, and access 1 Republic of Niger (2015). «Intended INDC» of Niger. Page 7 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) to, specialized high-quality public and private veterinary and phytosanitary services to producers, and other value-chain actors. • Strengthening the policy, legal, and regulatory framework, and developing mechanisms for preventing and responding to severe crisis and emergencies in the agriculture sector - by supporting the strengthening of the capacity and operation of the Agriculture Policy Support Unit (APSU). ii. Increasing investments in agricultural production, processing, and market access (US$79.9 million equivalent of which US$45.0 million from IDA, US$6.0 million from IFC and US$28.9 from participating banks and beneficiaries) – to increase private investment in agricultural production, processing and market access for various actors in the agri-food sector through: • Developing productive partnerships – to improve market access for producers and SMEs in agri-food value chains selected in accordance with criteria set out in the Project Implementation Manuel (PIM). • Increasing access to finance – by establishing a cost-sharing financing program for the financing of working capital and viable medium and-term investments with matching grants with the systematic involvement of Private Financial Institutions (PFIs). • Providing support to participating financial institutions – by catalyzing the supply of lending from PFI to recipients of matching grants backed by PFI loans. iii. Project coordination (US$13.0 million equivalent fully IDA funded) – to support the National Coordination Unit (NCU) to carry management, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) as well as fiduciary, procurement and safeguards functions related to the project. iv. CERC – To improve the recipient’s capacity to respond promptly and effectively to an eligible crisis or emergency. PIMELAN PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION STATUS 9. The PIMELAN Project has been effective and under implementation since end of July 2020 with progress achieved in a number of activities. The Project Coordination Unit (PCU) is fully operational with regional offices established to support day-to-day implementation at local level. A new annual work plan has also been produced and approved for 2021 and the procurement plan for the first 18 months of project implementation is currently underway. To date, three supervision missions have been conducted but due to COVID-19 related travel limitations, only the first one in November 2019 was face to face while the rest were carried-out via audio-video. 10. The current rating for progress towards the PDO is Satisfactory and for implementation progress is Moderately Satisfactory. The satisfactory rating towards PDO achievement is based on the relatively short period since effectiveness as well as the substantial technical work and agreement on institutional arrangements with a number of actors necessary for achieving the main PDO indicators. For example, support under the veterinary activities have contributed to reaching farmers with animal vaccination services this current vaccination campaign. The Moderately Satisfactory rating towards implementation is based on the relatively slow progress in getting agreements signed and technical studies completed for implementing the grant and credit program under Component 2. As of June 4, 2021, the project has disbursed US$17.50 million (16 percent) including US$12.9 million for the first advance to the Projet de Page 8 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) Gestion des Risques et Catastrophes et de Développement Urbain (Risk and Disaster Management and Urban Development Project, PGRC-DU) for implementing activities of the IRM-CERC. A number of activities have already been contracted out but not yet disbursed. Financial management (FM) is rated Satisfactory based on the timely submission of interim financial reports (IFRs) of acceptable quality. Procurement is rated Moderately Satisfactory in the latest review mainly due to some challenges in uploading the procurement plan in the World Bank’s procurement document management system and updating the various steps in the contracting process. Social and Environmental Safeguards have been satisfactory since the beginning of the project, but few activities have taken place at the field level as of yet. A grievance redress mechanism (GRM) manual has been prepared building on the system that existed for the Community Action Program (Programme d’Action Communautaire, PAC3) and was approved this past month. It is complemented by a communications strategy to ensure that project beneficiaries and communities are well informed about project activities and are aware of the opportunities the project offers. 11. Under Component 1 “Improving the quality of agriculture support services and policies”, the project, in a coordinated manner with other World Bank financed projects, is providing partial financing for the yearly livestock vaccination campaign with the acquisition of vehicles, coolers and materials as well as building vaccination parks and acquiring incinerators for disposal of medical waste. The project has further prepared manuals for phytosanitary control of plant diseases; provided sampling tools, protective clothing for plant protection inspectors; initiated the preparation of productive partnerships; launched the study for identifying the prevailing genome of the foot mouth disease to get the proper vaccine; formally established the agriculture policy unit; and started the design of the livestock and plant protection quarantine station to be established under the project. 12. Under Component 2 “Increasing investments in agricultural production, processing and market access”, the study for establishing a financing risk sharing facility with participating banks and IFC has been launched, and consultants supporting preparation of business plans for investments in the agriculture and livestock sector in the project areas have been hired. The loan guarantee manual for participating bank’s, IFC, SAHFI and the local guarantee corporation is under preparation. A communication and dissemination strategy to inform communities for participation in the grant and credit program is underway. In parallel, coordination meetings have been held with the local participating financial institutions and agreements have been signed with Agricultural Bank (Banque Agricole, BAGRI), Atlantic Bank (Banque Atlantique, BA) and Sahelo-Saharan Bank for Investment and Trade (Banque Sahélo- Saharienne pour l'Investissement et le Commerce, BSIC) as main implementation partners. 13. Under Component 3 “Project coordination”, the recruitment of the PCU staff team has been completed and the team is in place at national and regional levels. Various documents for the creation of the project institutional structure and its implementing bodies have been adopted, including the decrees establishing the: (i) NCU and regional units; (ii) Support Unit for Agricultural Policies; (iii) the legal instruments for the establishment of the PCU, including its organization and mandate; and (iv) Steering Committee. The PCU offices were equipped with information technology (IT) and office equipment, including accounting software as well as the implementation management planning software. IRM-CERC ACTIVITIES AND STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION. 14. In response to the severe floods affecting the country, a declaration of state of emergency was issued on September 4, 2020, followed by the request from the GoN to activate an IRM and provide some US$39.54 million equivalent for flood recovery needs to be drawn from the PIMELAN Project. Activities Page 9 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) identified in the IRM program are being implemented by the World Bank financed operation – PGRC-DU 2 that is already intervening in disaster risk management and has prior expertise with the implementation of an IRM 3. The PIMELAN Project solely provides the funding to be able to rapidly intervene and address the crisis. 15. The CERC Component 4 financing the IRM includes the following two main categories of interventions spread over three pillars: i. Direct emergency assistance to flood disaster victims – emergency recovery support is defined as hygiene and non-food commodities, including preventive actions and consumables against COVID-19 to boost recovery and long-term resilience. These actions are implemented taking into account emergency aid from other donors. The project support targets primarily, but not exclusively, the areas of the Niger River: Niamey, Tillabéri and Dosso as well as the areas of the Goulbin Valley in Maradi, the Maggia and the Tarka Valley (Tahoua). • Pillar 1 - Support to affected communities in an amount of some US$5.9 million including: (a) the provision of basic hygiene infrastructure including latrines, wash basins and drinking water points on the sites of temporary housing to the populations that lost their home because of the floods; (b) construction of classrooms made of mobile pre-fabricated structures; (c) household kits including blankets, basic utensils and other common household items; and (d) basic sanitary packages to prevent COVID-19 infections in close quarters. ii. Economic recovery - support for productive activities and the protection of crop and livestock lands from climate related disasters as well as the rehabilitation of production tools (irrigated perimeters, household garden sites, etc.). The choice of investments in the productive sectors will facilitate restarting production and recovery, which will have a positive effect on other components of the economy (marketing, consumption, etc.). • Pillar 2 - Support to recovery amounting to US$3.34 million including: (a) information campaigns to educate and inform on basic sanitary and hygiene measures and on climate related risks of living in flood plains; and (b) support to subsistence farming with agricultural inputs such as climate-resilience-improved seeds for cereals and horticulture as well as recapitalization of livestock lost to the floods and necessary feed. For people to understand the role of flood plains and the risks they represent will help them being prepared to move rapidly in case of increasingly irregular heavy rain patterns caused by a changing climate. • Pillar 3 - Studies and works for rehabilitation of infrastructure damaged by the floods amounting to US$29.2 million. Specifically the following activities will be financed: (a) feasibility and safeguards studies, and detailed designs and works for climate-resilient infrastructure as well as drinking points and wells in or near Niamey and Maradi; (b) complementary design studies and design verification for irrigation infrastructure for reprofiling of drainage canals and field level infrastructure and rehabilitation of dykes protecting dwellings from flooding including works; (c) feasibility, safeguards studies and works for strengthening dykes in Lamorde, Saga, Goudel, Saga-Gamkale, Kirkissoy-Sagua and Kirkissoy gard ditch; (d) feasibility, safeguards studies and work for river bank 2 Projet de Gestion des Risques et Catastrophes et de développement Urbain (P145268) 3 Including the IRM to address the negative impact of the El Niño-related flooding in 2016. Page 10 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) protection on the Goulbi Maradi, (Duplex Maradi Kolia, Tibiri Korin Garin Daoure and Tibiri Korin Kawkaye); and (e) nature-based solutions including soil conservation, water retention and erosion mitigation with small retentions infrastructure made from stacked stone and terracing of basin slopes, etc. These designs and works will improve resilience of populations in two ways: (i) by rehabilitating structures that are expected to protect people and property from future floods; and (ii) with improved management of land draining into the river which will reduce the swell of the river and reduce flooding. 16. Since the IRM-CERC activation on October 13, 2020, emergency activities have had a slow onset due to: (i) longer than expected time to obtain the list of beneficiaries for the relocation, distribution plan, supply of agricultural inputs, and disaster relief assistance to affected populations; (ii) delays in finalizing the screening activities for each site to be rehabilitated under the project in accordance with the safeguards procedures; (iii) movement restrictions due to COVID-19; and (iv) local, regional, legislative and presidential elections held between December 2020 (just two months after the CERC activation) and February 2021. 17. To accelerate the implementation of the IRM, a remote supervision mission was conducted in December 2020, and the PGRC-DU PIU hired additional staff including two safeguards specialist, to support the PIU in the implementation of rehabilitation activities. Weekly meetings with the PIU are conducted to ensure swift implementation of the remaining activities and an accelerated pace of the IRM- CERC implementation. The elements towards Pillar 1, emergency assistance such as distribution of household kits has been completed in the regions of Tillaberi, Tahoua, Agadez and Diffa in May, and is still on-going in the rest of the country as well as the distribution of hygiene packages. Resettlement and installation of affected people on land provided by the Government in prefabricated temporary housing is planned for the end of June as latrines and hydraulic infrastructures are now in place. The installation of health facilities and temporary classrooms will be finalized by August. Activities under Pillar 2 involving recovery support such as seeds distribution to farmers who lost their crops (rice, sorghum, Niebé) are underway, and technical specs and logistics for cattle replacement have been completed for distribution in June 2021. This had been slightly delayed to ensure that committees for sanitary, veterinary, and quality control in each distribution location are in place. Activities under Pillar 3 related to designs and feasibility studies and rehabilitation works are underway and will be completed before end of October 2021. Technical pre-feasibility studies and terms of reference for rehabilitation of the most critical works have been conducted and prefinanced under the PGRC-DU ahead of the release of the project advance of US$12.9 million that occurred on February 19, 2021. In its request for the activation of the IRM, the Government of Niger requested an extension of the closing date of the PGRC-DU to October 30, 2022 that is currently being processed by the World Bank to continue supporting the implementation of the IRM. RATIONALE AND JUSTIFICATION FOR ADDITIONAL FINANCING 18. The agriculture sector in Niger represents about 40 percent of GDP and occupies nearly 90 percent of the active population. The performance of the sector is highly variable from one year to another because of its high exposure to agronomic, climatic, and more recently security as well as COVID-19 risks. The exposure to these risks is accentuated by the low level of capital investment in the sector and the lack of resources to apply technology to help improve productivity and resilience in the face of disruption in production cycles. The shocks that follow agricultural and livestock crises have a strong impact on household incomes, on the national budget, and on the growth rate of the overall Nigerien economy. Page 11 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) 19. In July 2020, heavy downpours representing 150 percent above-average accumulated precipitation hit all the regions of Niger. Aggravated by environmental degradation and the silting of rivers and streams, these exceptional conditions led to significant riverine flooding and localized flash floods, particularly in the southern regions. This situation affected over 632,000 people in all regions of the country, resulting in 80 fatalities and the destruction of farm dwellings, rural infrastructure such as irrigated fields, roads and drinking water points in Niamey but also in the departments of Agadez, Dosso, Maradi, Tahoua and Tillabéri. The floods caused damages amounting to an estimated US$261.7 million affecting in particular agriculture and livestock subsectors, with damage and losses estimated to be US$68.2 million. Housing was also heavily hit. Additional less severe and slower flooding events occurred in December 2020 and January 2021, due to the Niger River flooding phenomenon called “Crue Guinéenne”. These further compounded the effects of the crisis. The floods damaged protective infrastructure along riverbanks and led to flooding of streets and homes in numerous urban neighborhoods requiring the temporary relocation of people needing minimal temporary sanitary installations and basic survival kits.4 20. The reallocation of US$39.54 million to the CERC (Component 4) left the PIMELAN Project with a large financing gap. The proposed AF will fill the gap and provide the replenishment of resources to the original project as agreed with the Government of Niger. The AF will allow the PIMELAN Project to meet the revised PDO as described below. II. DESCRIPTION OF ADDITIONAL FINANCING 21. The AF will replenish Component 1 and ensure the continued implementation of the PIMELAN Project to help build the capacity at the level of public institutions and of small and medium farmers and processors of the private sector to improve agricultural productivity and reduce chronic food insecurity that regularly plagues Niger. This capacity building support will also help reduce the longer-term impact of the disruptions in the sector resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and other natural disasters and build a stronger basis for economic recovery benefitting rural areas where poverty is most widespread. As such, Components 1, 2 and 3 of the PIMELAN Project remain unchanged. 22. PDO and results framework: The PDO will be revised to capture the impact of the activities funded by the IRM-CERC. The proposed revised PDO is: “to increase agriculture productivity and access to markets for small and medium farmers and agri-food SMEs in the participating project regions, and to provide immediate and effective response to an eligible crisis or emergency”. The project’s Results Framework will be updated by introducing PDO level and intermediate indicators to reflect the results of the activities carried out under the IRM-CERC. 23. Modification of the Results Framework: The following changes to the results framework were undertaken to reflect these changes (see Section VIII): (i) At PDO level, a new results indicator was added to measure the impact of the IRM activities “People harmed by floods protected and served by water management infrastructure (percentage); and (ii) at the Intermediate level, three indicators are added: (i) Emergency kits distributed (number); (ii) Drinking water wells rehabilitated (number);and (iii) Length of dyke and riverbank rehabilitated (meter). 4Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2020). The Niger 2020 floods. Urgent call for assistance. http://www.fao.org/3/cb1499en/cb1499en.pdf Page 12 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) 24. Change of Implementing Agency: As reflected in the request from the Government of Niger requesting the IRM support, the PGRC-DU has been named responsible for the implementation of the IRM-CERC activities including fiduciary, safeguards and procurement responsibilities. The Government will cause the PIU of the PGRC-DU to implement all IRM-CERC activities in line with the terms of the IRM- CERC approval. National supervision and M&E will be carried out by government missions and the Technical Directorates of the ministries in charge of the targeted activities. At the regional level, supervision will be provided by the Regional Flood Management Committees, chaired by the Governors. The implementation and permanent monitoring will be ensured by the decentralized technical services at the regional, departmental and municipal levels. 25. Changes to components and cost: The AF increases IDA funding under the project by US$39.54 million which represents the amount requested at the time of the declaration of the IRM and activation of the CERC. The decision was made to take resources solely from the PIMELAN Project under Component 1 “Improving the quality of agriculture support services and policies” as there were no disbursement restrictions needing lifting related to the activities under that component and responsiveness was of the essence. The AF now replenishes that amount back to Component 1 to be able to meet the PDO. 26. Reallocations between disbursement categories: The activation of the CERC results in the reallocation of US$39.54 million from Category 1 originally amounting to US$72.00 million to Category 6 that had been established as a zero component at project inception. The proposed AF will replenish Category 1 back to the original amount. No other changes are made. III. KEY RISKS 27. The PIMELAN Project’s overall risk rating with the CERC-IRM activated remains Substantial. 28. While political risks have subsided somewhat with successful and peaceful elections, governance risks remain high in part due to the challenges in providing security across the territory, due to instability in Mali and Chad, and ongoing attacks in Nigeria all of which affect border trade and flows of refugees. Within the first three months of effectiveness, the PCU will prepare a security assessment that will allow for the development of a security plan for implementation. 29. Macro-economic risks remain substantial especially with COVID-19 adding another layer on an already fragile economy posing even greater challenges to the budget and public debt. The economic headwinds could affect participating banks willingness to lend which is a crucial component of the PIMELAN Project. Effective communication with participating banks and beneficiaries and a grant program will help establishing basic trust that should mitigate these impacts. 30. Sector Strategies and Policies risks are moderate mainly because the project is supporting a policy unit and the Agriculture related institutions will support a policy unit that would study particular problems associated to policy or regulations 31. Technical design of the project is rated substantial mainly because of the coordination challenges it entails between the PCU and PIU and the concerned ministries responsible for implementation. The two implementation teams will prepare a joint manual after project approval clearly defining roles and responsibilities between them. Page 13 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) 32. Fiduciary risks remain substantial due to the country’s overall fiduciary environment that is characterized by structural weakness in procurement and FM. Although this risk has been mitigated by a hiring process through a third-party human resources firm to find the best fiduciary candidates it is partially also justified through IRM-CERC implementation by another PIU. 33. Stakeholder risks remain substantial mainly due to the multiple stakeholders at national, regional and local levels. Risks to IRM-CERC are amplified by the necessity of the PIMELAN PCU and PGRC-DU PIU needing to coordinate supervision and agree on reporting channels and mechanisms. 34. Other risks related to security and safety raised in the original project have not changed since project implementation begun. 35. The disaster risk screening reflects growing climate related risks resulting in natural disasters. Emergency consumables are unaffected, however agricultural inputs need to be provided that are drought resistant and adapted for the territory and infrastructure rehabilitation, within the realm of the possible, will be “built back better” without significant design alterations but ensuring that upstream measures are also taken to minimize erosion and siltation during heavy rains. IV. APPRAISAL SUMMARY A. Economic and Financial Analysis 36. As the AF is covering a financing gap, the original economic analysis of the project remains valid. The proposed AF is replenishing the resources used for immediate needs in terms of goods, equipment and services needed to support the rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure related to – among others – urban roads and sidewalks, water supply and sanitation, agriculture and rural development. For the needs-based emergency recovery activities, the investments will continue to be refined during implementation and the supporting economic analysis will have to rely on limited data and information to quantify costs and benefits. 37. By supporting emergency assistance to restore the basic temporary housing, access to basic sanitation and school facilities, the project is preventing further welfare losses in the affected areas. Rehabilitation of key public infrastructure for rural development, local transport, water and sanitation, will likely include local roads, water supply and pumping stations and farming as well as irrigation facilities. As the activities to be financed under this component have not been entirely identified and feasibility studies are in preparation, the data was not available for a full economic analysis. The team used as proxy a sample of countries that had similar projects implemented as reference to approximate the economic rate of return (ERR). 5 Table 1: Reference of ERR for potential activities to be financed under the AF Rehabilitation/reconstruction of secondary roads 35% Palestine Rehabilitation of transmission/distribution system 39% Zamabia Water pipe connection 62% Moldova Rehabilitation works of rural infrastructure 14% Madagascar 5 PAD 88406 Bosnia & Herzegovina Flood Emergency Recovery Project Page 14 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) B. Technical 38. The implementation of the IRM-CERC does not involve particular technical challenges, and reconstruction will be based on the build back better principle. All specifications for goods and kits are evaluated with a concern to include resilience in the definition of technical specifications. The emergency assistance to victims is managed by the Ministry of Humanitarian Action and Disaster Management as well as the Ministry of National Education. All project activities are based on commodities or readily available goods or technologies. Emergency kits and goods are derived from a list that was developed by the Ministry of Emergency that provided the quantities and the technical specifications in consultations with the other ministries of which facilities or structures were affected by the floods. 39. Because much of the efforts are focused on rehabilitation or reconstruction of existing systems, uncertainties with regards to the design parameters are limited. Many of the project activities do not require a full design but are based on standard technical specifications. For more complex activities, consultants are contracted to prepare designs and supervise implementation. In the design and rehabilitation or reconstruction of project-funded infrastructure, particular care will be put in improving resilience of the infrastructure to future flooding as well as improved construction and efficiency standards (“build back better” concept). The project will not involve new facilities nor significant expansion of existing systems. 40. Activities in the Agriculture and Rural Development sector are expected to focus largely on providing agricultural goods to affected areas and restoring rural infrastructure assets such as irrigation infrastructure and bridges, drainage schemes etc. It is expected that the bulk of the resources made available under the agricultural component would be to support procurement of inputs (seeds, seedlings, fertilizers, fodder) which are traded as commodities based on uniform standards and thus relatively simple to specify and procure in bulk with seed companies and traders. Distribution will be handled in coordination with Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Ministere de L’Agriculture et de l”Elevage, MAGEL) and the PIMELAN Project team using usual channels verified against clearly established beneficiary lists. C. Implementation of the CERC-IRM 41. The PIMELAN Project is being implemented in line with the Legal Agreement, PIM and project appraisal document (PAD) of the parent project. The resources provided under this AF are solely for the purpose of replenishing the financing gap in Component 1 resulting from triggering the CERC-IRM. 42. The CERC-IRM Activities are managed by the IRM Steering Committee as stipulated in Article 3 of Order No. 0144 / PM of September 9, 2020 on the creation, composition, powers and functioning of the IRM’s Steering Committee (IRM). The coordination of the IRM-CERC activities implementation is ensured at the national level by the Ministry of Humanitarian Action and Disaster Management, as vice-chairman and Secretariat of the IRM Steering Committee in tandem with the PGRC-DU (P145268). National supervision and M&E will be carried out by government missions and the Technical Directorates of the ministries in charge of the targeted activities. At the regional level, supervision will be provided by the Regional Flood Management Committees, chaired by the Governors. The implementation and permanent monitoring will be ensured by the decentralized technical services at the regional, departmental and municipal levels. A short-term external evaluation as well as the application of Geo-Enabling Initiative for Monitoring and Supervision (GEMS) on intervention sites will make it possible to assess the overall Page 15 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) performance of the operation in order to highlight its immediate effects. It will be carried out at the end of the implementation of the Emergency Response and Implementation Plan. 43. The PGRC-DU has significant experience with the implementation of crisis interventions and has implemented an IRM in 2017. It has experienced personnel who have expertise with both emergency support and the reconstruction works resulting from a disaster. The PGRC-DU’s competence in executing such activities is reflected in the World Bank’s internal memorandum activating the IRM-CERC. The PIMELAN PCU is recently established but has been benefitting from experience with the implementation of the PAC3 project, it is fully staffed and has regional offices that are functioning in each of the intervention regions. D. Financial Management 44. FM arrangements under the AF will be the same as those under the parent project. The PIMELAN PCU will continue to be responsible for implementing Components 1, 2 and 3. The PGRC-DU PIU anchored at the Cabinet of the Prime Minister with the support of the Ministry of Humanitarian Action and Disaster Management, remains responsible for implementing Component 4 CERC. FM procedures will be in accordance with the World Bank Directive on the FM Manual for World Bank Investment Project Financing (IPF) operations effective from March 1, 2010, issued February 4, 2015 and revised February 10, 2017 and the World Bank Guidance Reference Material on FM in World Bank IPF operations Issued and Effective February 24, 2015 and revised February 28, 2017. 45. The PIMELAN PCU will continue to maintain the FM system and will be responsible of the overall reporting of the project. The semi-annual unaudited IFRs will be submitted to the World Bank within 45 days from the end of each semester in accordance with the format agreed. The financial statements will be audited annually in accordance with the terms of reference agreed with the World Bank and will be due not later than six months after the end of each fiscal year. There are no overdue IFRs nor overdue audit reports under the two projects. 46. Project FM procedures are detailed in the PIM. The operations under CERC are detailed in the IRM procedures manual revised in September 2020. Overall, the FM arrangements under the PIMELAN Project and PGRC-DU are deemed to be functioning and adequate for the parent project and the AF. E. Procurement 47. Procurement under the proposed project will be carried out in accordance with World Bank procedures: (i) the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers, dated November 2020; and (ii) “Guidelines on Preventing and Combating Fraud and Corruption in Projects Financed by IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants,” dated October 15, 2006 (revised January 2011 and as of July 1, 2016); and (iii) other provisions stipulated in the Financing Agreements, using the Standard Procurement Documents (SPDs) accompanying the Regulations. 48. For the implementation of this response plan under CERC-IRM, a procurement plan has been drawn up and agreed upon in the World Bank’s procurement document management system. The plan includes: (i) a brief description of the goods, works, services other than consultancy services and non- consultancy services; (ii) the methods proposed for procurement in accordance with the procurement section of the Project Implementation Manual; (iii) the procedures and the applicable limits for the Page 16 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) examination of the World Bank; (iv) the estimated time for contract signing / purchase; and (v) the time of completion of the activity. F. Environmental and Social Safeguards 49. The IRM-CERC activities are financed by the US$39.54 million equivalent from the parent project. The AF will replenish the PIMELAN Project to implement the activities initially planned and will not finance the IRM CERC activities. Activities financed under the AF are those defined in the parent project and all safeguard documentation prepared for the parent project remains applicable. A new policy on Dam Safety (OP/BP 4.37) is being triggered because in some cases irrigation infrastructure may include intakes from the river and related dykes and embankments. The project will not finance new dams or rely on the performance of an existing dam or a dam under construction. It may only finance some water retention structures for excess water during the rainy season. 50. All safeguards documents developed for the parent project are applicable to the AF. An Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) has been prepared and site specific Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) are being prepared based on the scope of the activities to be implemented on each site. The PIMELAN Project also developed a Pest Management Plan (PMP) to minimize potential adverse impacts on human health and the environment and to advance ecologically based Integrated Pest Management (IPM). 51. Since land acquisition leading to involuntary resettlement and/or restrictions of access to resources and livelihoods is anticipated, a Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) was prepared to provide clear guidance on minimizing land acquisition and related physical or economic displacement; compensating Project-affected Persons (PAPs); rehabilitating livelihoods; addressing grievances; and implementing the RPF through location-specific Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs). 52. The ESMF 6, the PMP 7 and the RPF 8 for the parent project which were reviewed and disclosed publicly in-country and at the World Bank website in April 2019 (under the parent project P164509). RAPs or Abbreviated Resettlement Action Plan (ARAP) are prepared to cover the various investment locations. They will be reviewed and cleared by the World Bank and disclosed publicly in-country and at the World Bank website. Because the aforementioned land acquisition will be related to the supported private investments, the Government will ensure that any land acquisition is conducted according to the RPF. Likewise, IFC due diligence will apply. 53. A new GRM manual has been prepared building on the system that existed for the PAC3 and was approved this past month. It is complemented by a communications strategy to ensure that project beneficiaries and communities are well informed about project activities and are aware of the opportunities the project offers. Committees in charge of the GRM have been sensitized, organized, and trained to implement the system. 6 https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents- reports/documentdetail/439601554801557570/cadre-de-gestion-environnementale-et-sociale 7 https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents- reports/documentdetail/163441554793728507/plan-de-gestion-des-pestes 8 https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents- reports/documentdetail/350261554803103698/cadre-de-politique-de-r%c3%a9installation-des-populations Page 17 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) 54. With regard to the management of environmental and social risks under the IRM-CERC, the performance of the first activities implemented under the PGRC-DU was rated "Moderately Satisfactory" in the last Implementation Status and Results Report (ISR, February 1, 2021) due to: (i) the delays in recruiting a new environmental and social safeguards specialist at the level of the PIU; (ii) the non- accessibility of the GRM in all the sites hosting works of the PGRC-DU; and (iii) weaknesses in the consultations and information with stakeholders. The December 2020 supervision mission noted the progress on the environmental screenings of the activities financed by the project, the stakeholders training on environmental and social safeguards procedures, as well as the relevance of the note elaborated by the PGRC-DU PIU on the specific management of COVID-19 for construction firms and supervision activities. In response to the responsibility for implementing the IRM-CERC, the PGRC-DU (P145268) has reviewed and updated the required safeguards instruments (ESMF and RPF) to take into account activities specific to the IRM-CERC. These updated documents have been disclosed in the World Bank safeguards website external website on June 7, 2021. The additional environmental and social safeguards specialists have been hired to focus on IRM-CERC implementation and GRM mechanism specific for the IRM emergency activities beyond the original PGRC-DU intervention sites is active. It has also been emphasized that the safeguards specialists of both the PGRC-DU and PIMELAN closely cooperate to ensure an adequate attention to safeguards issues. 55. The project will be implemented in six regions: three fragile regions (Diffa, Tillabéri, and Tahoua) where an open approach reflective of local circumstances will be used, and three non-fragile regions (Agadez, Niamey, and Zinder) where activities will be more focused on financing business plans for profitable production, processing, and marketing systems. Cross-cutting capacity-building activities at the central level and support for policy and regulatory reforms will be national in nature. Veterinary services will also be provided nationwide. As far as extension and advisory services are concerned, the training and capacity building activities funded by the project as part of its priorities will be accessible to services from all regions of the country. However, as far as investments are concerned, they will be limited to services working on production systems in specifically project-targeted areas. Missions to Tillabery, Tahoua, Diffa have to be done under escort. In these sensitive and fragile areas, World Bank supervision missions will be organized under specific protocols defined by World Bank security officers. Three months after effectiveness, the AF will finalize a security assessment that will allow the elaboration of a security action plan that will be implemented during the project. 56. As already is the case under the PIMELAN the project will seek to foster active engagement of the citizenry under the AF. The communications strategy was developed for that purpose so as to ensure that the project is pro-active in its consultations of communities. The tools for this to take place are (i) consultations that ensure that beneficiaries’ views and decisions are reflected in the various project interventions; (ii) the promotion of Integrated Beneficiary Monitoring (IBM) to build ownership of the community in project activities; and (iii) a GRM that is responsive to complaints. G. Gender 57. The additional funding will allow the full implementation of the PIMELAN as it was designed including the elements which focus on the gender gaps that are particularly pronounced in Niger. The gap in access to financing and productive resources is addressed through targeted activities to ensure uptake including sensitization and preferential access in grants. As such, the project is presently working on implementing its gender strategy that sets up the differential access to project activities. The methods used to overcome the particular constraints women face in matching agricultural production and value addition are fine-tuned; . Specialized training on the management of small enterprises and SMEs provided Page 18 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) under Component 2 as well as the tailored support to female-led SMEs in accessing financial services is ongoing. The success of these activities will continue to be monitored through the indicators on productivity and matching grants. 58. The IRM-CERC interventions have been designed considering that women and girls are particularly vulnerable during the occurrence of a disaster when suffering disruptions to housing, and lacking access to basic services. Hence, specific needs of women have been taken into account when providing basic non-food items survival kits to the displaced population which included specific supplies for women, such as feminine products or diapers for infants. In addition, despite being emergency temporary settings, privacy standards that consider women’s physical safety and needs have been respected on the temporary relocation site, with separate areas for women such as separate toilets. In determining rehabilitation of infrastructure special consultations will be undertaken with women and women groups to ensure that their design preference, location and accessibility are adequately taken in to account. A GBV assessment followed by a GBV action plan will be elaborated three months after effectiveness. H. Climate change 59. The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) accounting for the project remains unchanged from the calculation done for appraisal. In addition, the activities under the AF -financed CERC are expected to have a substantial climate adaptation impact. First, the entire CERC-IRM is a disaster response to an extreme climate related flooding event in and of itself. Second, under Economic recovery, the agricultural inputs will focus on sourcing seeds that are adapted to the changing climate and environment to optimize the chances of successful crops (improved varieties/drought and flood resistant seeds), while irrigation rehabilitation will ensure more reliable secure crops from season to season. In addition, information campaigns on climate risks will be rolled out among the populations exposed most to flood hazards, to enhance household-level adaptation. Similarly, the studies and works for rehabilitation of infrastructure damaged by the floods will be done in accordance to the build back better concept thus reducing future flood risks and hazards to livelihoods of affected households. Technical studies for the long-term climate- resilient rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure for reprofiling of drainage canals and field level infrastructure and rehabilitation of dykes will include nature-based solutions (NBS) for flood risk mitigation. These measures will help reduce Niger’s high vulnerability to climate change (see above). 60. The AF’s objectives are closely aligned with the World Bank’s 2025 Climate Change Targets, as implementation of the project components are expected to lower the current risks and vulnerabilities posed by climate change. The project will help support the COVID-19 response and recovery and aligns with the Resilient, Inclusive, Sustainable and Efficient (RISE) framework recently developed by the World Bank which aims to help mitigate the economic and human impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The project provides an opportunity for Building Back Better through investing in resilience; based on the World Bank’s experience in post-crisis engagement worldwide, rebuilding infrastructure and restoring services exactly as they were prior to a crisis often re-creates similar vulnerabilities that existed earlier. The recovery period offers an opportunity to address and rectify these weaknesses with the objective to ensure a sustainable recovery. 9 9 Hallegatte, S., Rentschler, J., & Walsh, B. (2018). Building back better: achieving resilience through stronger, faster, and more inclusive post-disaster reconstruction. World Bank. Page 19 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) V. WORLD BANK GRIEVANCE REDRESS 61. Communities and individuals who believe that they are adversely affected by a World Bank (WB) supported project may submit complaints to existing project-level grievance redress mechanisms or the WB’s Grievance Redress Service (GRS). The GRS ensures that complaints received are promptly reviewed in order to address project-related concerns. Project affected communities and individuals may submit their complaint to the WB’s independent Inspection Panel which determines whether harm occurred, or could occur, as a result of WB non-compliance with its policies and procedures. Complaints may be submitted at any time after concerns have been brought directly to the World Bank's attention, and Bank Management has been given an opportunity to respond. For information on how to submit complaints to the World Bank’s corporate Grievance Redress Service (GRS), please visit http://www.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/products-and-services/grievance-redress-service. For information on how to submit complaints to the World Bank Inspection Panel, please visit www.inspectionpanel.org. VI. SUMMARY TABLE OF CHANGES Changed Not Changed Implementing Agency ✔ Project's Development Objectives ✔ Results Framework ✔ Components and Cost ✔ Reallocation between Disbursement Categories ✔ Safeguard Policies Triggered ✔ Loan Closing Date(s) ✔ Cancellations Proposed ✔ Disbursements Arrangements ✔ EA category ✔ Legal Covenants ✔ Institutional Arrangements ✔ Financial Management ✔ Procurement ✔ Page 20 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) Implementation Schedule ✔ Other Change(s) ✔ VII. DETAILED CHANGE(S) IMPLEMENTING AGENCY Implementing Agency Name Type Action Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Line No Change Ministry/Ministerial Department National Coordination Unit of the PIMELAN NGO/CBO New Unite de mise en oeuvre du PGRCDU Country/Regional New Organization PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE Current PDO The Project Development Objective (PDO) is “to increase agriculture productivity and access to markets for small and medium farmers and agri-food small and medium enterprises in the Participating Project Regions.” Proposed New PDO to increase agriculture productivity and access to markets for small and medium farmers and agri-food small and medium enterprises in the participating project regions, and to provide immediate and effective response to an eligible crisis or emergency. COMPONENTS Current Component Name Current Cost Action Proposed Component Proposed Cost (US$, (US$, millions) Name millions) Component 1: Improving 42.00 No Change Component 1: 42.00 the quality of agriculture Improving the quality of support services and policies agriculture support services and policies Component 2: Increasing 45.00 Revised Component 2: 79.90 investments in agricultural Increasing investments production, processing, and in agricultural market access production, processing, Page 21 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) and market access Component 3: Project 13.00 No Change Component 3: Project 13.00 coordination coordination Component 4: Contingent 0.00 Revised Component 4: 39.54 Emergency Response Contingent Emergency Component Response Component TOTAL 100.00 174.44 REALLOCATION BETWEEN DISBURSEMENT CATEGORIES Financing % Current Allocation Actuals + Committed Proposed Allocation (Type Total) Current Proposed REALLOCATION NEW IDA-64580-001 | Currency: EUR iLap Category Sequence No: 1 Current Expenditure Category: G,W,N/CS,OC,TNexc p2.2b,c,2.3b,ci,4 58,872,000.00 1,531,293.22 26,372,000.00 100.00 100.00 iLap Category Sequence No: 2 Current Expenditure Category: GRNTS 4 WORK CAP. & INVEST pt 2.2b 5,352,000.00 0.00 5,352,000.00 100.00 100.00 iLap Category Sequence No: 3 Current Expenditure Category: GRNTS BACKED BY PFI LOANS pt 2.2c 19,624,000.00 0.00 19,624,000.00 100.00 100.00 iLap Category Sequence No: 4 Current Expenditure Category: FUNDING FOR FIRST LOSS ACC. pt 2.3b 2,676,000.00 0.00 2,676,000.00 100.00 100.00 iLap Category Sequence No: 5 Current Expenditure Category: FUND FOR LOC. RSK-SHRING pt 2.3ci 2,676,000.00 0.00 2,676,000.00 100.00 100.00 iLap Category Sequence No: 6 Current Expenditure Category: EMERGENCY EXP. under CERC 0.00 0.00 32,500,000.00 0.00 100.00 Page 22 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) Total 89,200,000.00 1,815,524.24 89,200,000.00 Expected Disbursements (in US$) DISBURSTBL Fiscal Year Annual Cumulative 2019 0.00 0.00 2020 0.00 0.00 2021 17,540,000.00 17,540,000.00 2022 30,000,000.00 47,540,000.00 2023 27,000,000.00 74,540,000.00 2024 25,000,000.00 99,540,000.00 2025 22,000,000.00 121,540,000.00 2026 18,000,000.00 139,540,000.00 SYSTEMATIC OPERATIONS RISK-RATING TOOL (SORT) Risk Category Latest ISR Rating Current Rating Political and Governance  High  High Macroeconomic  Substantial  Substantial Sector Strategies and Policies  Moderate  Moderate Technical Design of Project or Program  Substantial  Substantial Institutional Capacity for Implementation and  Moderate  Moderate Sustainability Fiduciary  Substantial  Substantial Environment and Social  Moderate  Moderate Stakeholders  Substantial  Substantial Other  Substantial  Substantial Overall  Substantial  Substantial Safguard_Table COMPLIANCE Change in Safeguard Policies Triggered Page 23 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) Yes Safeguard Policies Triggered Current Proposed Environmental Assessment OP/BP Yes Yes 4.01 Performance Standards for Private No No Sector Activities OP/BP 4.03 Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 No No Forests OP/BP 4.36 No No Pest Management OP 4.09 Yes Yes Physical Cultural Resources OP/BP Yes Yes 4.11 Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 No No Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12 Yes Yes Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 No Yes Projects on International Waterways Yes Yes OP/BP 7.50 Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP 7.60 No No LEGAL COVENANTS2 LEGAL COVENANTS – Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) Sections and Description Three months after effectiveness, the AF will finalize a security assessment that will allow the elaboration of a security action plan that will be implemented during the project A GBV Assessment followed by a GBV action plan will be elaborated 3 months after effectiveness. Conditions Page 24 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) VIII. RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND MONITORING Results Framework COUNTRY: Niger Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project Project Development Objective(s) to increase agriculture productivity and access to markets for small and medium farmers and agri-food small and medium enterprises in the participating project regions, and to provide immediate and effective response to an eligible crisis or emergency. Project Development Objective Indicators by Objectives/ Outcomes RESULT _FRAM E_ TBL_PDO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 To increase agriculture productivity Increase yield of peppers produced by targeted 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 beneficiaries (Percentage) by female beneficiaries 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 (Percentage) by youth beneficiaries (under 35 years) 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 (Percentage) Increase yield of cowpeas produced by targeted 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 beneficiaries (Percentage) by female beneficiaries 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 (Percentage) by youth beneficiaries (under 35 years) 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 (Percentage) Page 25 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) RESULT _FRAM E_ TBL_PDO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 Increase yield of onions produced by targeted 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 beneficiaries (Percentage) by female beneficiaries 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 (Percentage) by youth beneficiaries (under 35 years) 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 (Percentage) Increase yield of cattle meat produced by targeted 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 beneficiaries (Percentage) by female beneficiaries 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 (Percentage) by youth beneficiaries (under 35 years) 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 (Percentage) Increase yield of eggs produced by targeted 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 beneficiaries (Percentage) by female beneficiaries 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 (Percentage) by youth beneficiaries (under 35 years) 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 (Percentage) To increase access to markets for small and medium farmers and agri-food SMEs Increase in the value of marketed agricultural 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 commodities by project beneficiaries (Percentage) Page 26 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) RESULT _FRAM E_ TBL_PDO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 by female beneficiaries 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 (Percentage) by youth beneficiaries (under 35 years) 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 (Percentage) Percentage of people harmed by floods served by IRM-CERC (Action: This Objective is New) Percentage of people harmed by floods protected and served by water 0.00 30.00 management infrastructure and emergency support (Percentage) Rationale: Action: This indicator is New Count beneficiaries from rehabilitation of water management works (flood protection, irrigation, drinking water and sanitation PDO Table SPACE Intermediate Results Indicators by Components RESULT _FRAM E_ TBL_ IO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 Component 1: Improving the quality of agriculture support services and policies Farmers reached with agricultural assets or 0.00 0.00 1,000.00 3,000.00 5,500.00 8,000.00 10,000.00 services (CRI, Number) Farmers reached with agricultural assets or 0.00 0.00 300.00 1,000.00 1,650.00 2,400.00 3,000.00 Page 27 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) RESULT _FRAM E_ TBL_ IO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 services - Female (CRI, Number) Farmers reached with agricultural assets or 0.00 0.00 300.00 1,000.00 1,650.00 2,400.00 3,000.00 services - Youth (under 35 years) (Number) Number of sectoral policies (crops and/or livestock) 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 3.00 5.00 6.00 developed as a result of the project (Number) Beneficiary satisfaction rate with services provided by 0.00 70.00 85.00 the project (Percentage) Beneficiary satisfaction rate with services provided by the project 0.00 70.00 85.00 – Female (Percentage) Beneficiary satisfaction rate with services 0.00 70.00 85.00 provided by the project – Youth (Percentage) Decrease in time between request from declaration of crises to government and 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 20.00 35.00 50.00 making funds available to respond to an eligible crisis (Percentage) Component 2: Support to private agriculture investments and to agriculture finance Number of matching grants accounts opened as a result 0.00 0.00 250.00 500.00 1,500.00 2,500.00 3,500.00 of the project grants Page 28 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) RESULT _FRAM E_ TBL_ IO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 (Number) by female (Number) 0.00 0.00 125.00 225.00 675.00 1,125.00 1,575.00 by youth (Number) 0.00 0.00 125.00 225.00 675.00 1,125.00 1,575.00 Number of loans for starting or expanding an agriculture business as a 0.00 0.00 25.00 50.00 150.00 300.00 500.00 result of the project (Number) by female (Number) 0.00 0.00 10.00 15.00 45.00 90.00 150.00 by youth (Number) 0.00 0.00 10.00 15.00 45.00 90.00 150.00 Total amount of loans for starting or expanding an agriculture business as a 0.00 0.00 2,000,000.00 5,000,000.00 10,000,000.00 17,000,000.00 23,000,000.00 result of the project (Amount(USD)) by female (Amount(USD)) 0.00 0.00 500,000.00 1,500,000.00 3,000,000.00 5,100,000.00 6,900,000.00 by youth (Amount(USD)) 0.00 0.00 500,000.00 1,500,000.00 3,000,000.00 5,100,000.00 6,900,000.00 Percentage of financed business plans that have met their loan repayment 0.00 85.00 90.00 schedule (Percentage) Number of farmers/entrepreneurs who 0.00 0.00 100.00 500.00 1,500.00 3,000.00 4,500.00 have benefitted from the Page 29 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) RESULT _FRAM E_ TBL_ IO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 productive partnership program (Number) Component 3: Project coordination Percentage of grievances addressed within 2 weeks 0.00 30.00 90.00 90.00 90.00 90.00 90.00 (Percentage) Component 4: Contingent Emergency Response (Action: This Component is New) Number of Emergency kits distributed (Number) 0.00 14,000.00 Action: This indicator is New Drinking water wells 0.00 300.00 400.00 rehabilitated (Number) Rationale: Action: This indicator is Reestablish safe drinking water points New Length of dyke and riverbank rehabilitation 0.00 5,000.00 18,600.00 (Meter(m)) Action: This indicator is New IO Table SPACE Page 30 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) Monitoring & Evaluation Plan: PDO Indicators Mapped Methodology for Data Responsibility for Data Indicator Name Definition/Description Frequency Datasource Collection Collection Yearly crop surveys administrated with NCU progress representative sample of Increase yield of peppers produced by Yearly NCU report targeted project targeted beneficiaries beneficiaries and control group Yearly crop surveys administrated with NCU progress representative sample of Yearly NCU by female beneficiaries reports targeted project beneficiaries and control group Yearly crop surveys administrated with NCU progress representative sample of by youth beneficiaries (under 35 Yearly NCU reports targeted project years) beneficiaries and control group Yearly crop surveys administrated with NCU progress representative sample of Increase yield of cowpeas produced by Yearly NCU reports targeted project targeted beneficiaries beneficiaries and control group Page 31 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) Yearly crop surveys administrated with NCU progress representative sample of Yearly NCU by female beneficiaries reports targeted project beneficiaries and control group Yearly crop surveys administrated with NCU progress representative sample of by youth beneficiaries (under 35 Yearly NCU reports targeted project years) beneficiaries and control group Yearly crop surveys administrated with NCU progress representative sample of Increase yield of onions produced by Yearly NCU reports targeted project targeted beneficiaries beneficiaries and control group Yearly crop surveys administrated with NCU progress representative sample of Yearly NCU by female beneficiaries reports targeted project beneficiaries and control group Yearly crop surveys NCU progress by youth beneficiaries (under 35 Yearly administrated with NCU reports years) representative sample of targeted project Page 32 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) beneficiaries and control group Yearly animal surveys administrated with NCU progress representative sample of Increase yield of cattle meat produced by Yearly NCU report targeted project targeted beneficiaries beneficiaries and control group Yearly animal surveys administrated with NCU progress representative sample of Yearly NCU by female beneficiaries reports targeted project beneficiaries and control group Yearly animal surveys administrated with NCU progress representative sample of by youth beneficiaries (under 35 Yearly NCU reports targeted project years) beneficiaries and control group Yearly animal surveys administrated with NCU progress representative sample of Increase yield of eggs produced by Yearly NCU reports targeted project targeted beneficiaries beneficiaries and control group Page 33 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) Yearly animal surveys administrated with NCU progress representative sample of Yearly NCU by female beneficiaries reports targeted project beneficiaries and control group Yearly animal surveys administrated with NCU progress representative sample of by youth beneficiaries (under 35 Yearly NCU reports targeted project years) beneficiaries and control group Yearly survey of Increase in the value of marketed NCU progress representative sample of Yearly NCU agricultural commodities by project reports project beneficiaries and beneficiaries control group Yearly survey of NCU progress representative sample of Yearly NCU by female beneficiaries reports project beneficiaries and control group Yearly survey of NCU progress representative sample of by youth beneficiaries (under 35 Yearly NCU reports project beneficiaries and years) control group Percentage of people harmed by floods Indicator to measure Every six Beneficiary lists and PGRCDU PMU PGRCDU PMU protected and served by water percentage of harmed month technical studies management infrastructure and people rehabilitated and Page 34 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) emergency support benefiting from functional infrastructure ME PDO Table SPACE Monitoring & Evaluation Plan: Intermediate Results Indicators Mapped Methodology for Data Responsibility for Data Indicator Name Definition/Description Frequency Datasource Collection Collection This indicator measures the number of farmers who were provided with agricultural assets or services as a result of World Bank project support. "Agriculture" or "Agricultural" includes: crops, livestock, capture fisheries, aquaculture, Grant approval records agroforestry, timber, and and incremental NCU progress Farmers reached with agricultural assets non-timber forest Yearly advisory services NCU reports or services products. Assets include delivery statistics against property, biological assets, planned programming. and farm and processing equipment. Biological assets may include animal agriculture breeds (e.g., livestock, fisheries) and genetic material of livestock, crops, trees, and shrubs (including fiber and fuel crops). Services include research, extension, Page 35 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) training, education, ICTs, inputs (e.g., fertilizers, pesticides, labor), production-related services (e.g., soil testing, animal health/veterinary services), phyto-sanitary and food safety services, agricultural marketing support services (e.g., price monitoring, export promotion), access to farm and post-harvest machinery and storage facilities, employment, irrigation and drainage, and finance. Farmers are people engaged in agricultural activities or members of an agriculture- related business (disaggregated by men and women) targeted by the project. Grant approval records and incremental NCU progress Farmers reached with agricultural Yearly advisory services NCU reports assets or services - Female delivery statistics against planned programming Farmers reached with agricultural NCU progress Grant approval records Yearly NCU assets or services - Youth (under 35 reports and incremental years) advisory services Page 36 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) delivery statistics against planned programming Notice of policy Number of sectoral policies (crops and/or Yearly MAGEL development and NCU livestock) developed as a result of the enforcement project At mid- Survey of a term and NCU progress representative sample of Beneficiary satisfaction rate with services at the end NCU reports project beneficiaries and provided by the project of the control group project Survey of a At mid- representative sample of Beneficiary satisfaction rate with term and NCU progress female project NCU services provided by the project – end of the reports beneficiaries and control Female project group Survey of a At mid- representative sample of Beneficiary satisfaction rate with term and NCU progress young project NCU services provided by the project – end of the reports beneficiaries and control Youth project group Response time will be measured in case of Decrease in time between request from NCU progress actual crisis. If there is declaration of crises to government and Yearly NCU reports no crisis, sumilations will making funds available to respond to an be done to provide an eligible crisis estimate response time. Page 37 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) Surveys and interviews NCU progress Number of matching grants accounts Yearly at partner financial NCU reports opened as a result of the project grants institutions Surveys and interviews NCU progress Yearly at partner financial NCU by female reports institutions Surveys and interviews NCU progress Yearly at partner financial NCU by youth reports institutions Yearly survey of project Number of loans for starting or expanding NCU progress Yearly beneficiaries and control NCU an agriculture business as a result of the reports group project Yearly survey of project NCU progress Yearly beneficiaries and control NCU by female reports group Yearly survey of project NCU progress Yearly beneficiaries and control NCU by youth reports group Yearly survey of project Total amount of loans for starting or NCU progress Yearly beneficiaries and control NCU expanding an agriculture business as a reports group result of the project Yearly survey of project NCU progress Yearly beneficiaries and control NCU by female reports group Page 38 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) Yearly survey of project NCU progress Yearly beneficiaries and control NCU by youth reports group At mid- Partner Percentage of financed business plans term and Surveys and interviews Financial NCU that have met their loan repayment at project at PFIs Institutions schedule closure Surveys and interviews Number of farmers/entrepreneurs who NCU progress Yearly at partner financial NCU have benefitted from the productive reports institutions partnership program Records of NCU records all received Percentage of grievances addressed bi-annually NCU grievance grievance within 2 weeks Distribution lists cross Numbe rof emergency kits quarterly PGRCDU PIU referenced with PGRC-DU PIU Number of Emergency kits distributed distributed against list of beneficiaries beneficiaries List of points with GEO- Reception by Drinking water points quarterly referencing, responsible agency of PGRCDU - PIU Drinking water wells rehabilitated rehabilitated pictures of completed works work sites Feasibility Every 6 studies and Review of construction Length of dyke and riverbank PGRC-DU PIU months construction reports and GEMs rehabilitation reports Page 39 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) ME IO Table SPACE Page 40 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) Annex 1: Niger- Adjustments to the country program in response to COVID-19 1. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the development trajectory of an economy suffering from persistent security challenges and cumulative crises. The health impact of COVID-19 in Niger has not been as severe as expected given relatively low number of cases - total 5,322 confirmed cases and 192 deaths. The pandemic, however, has adversely impacted the Nigerien economy and household incomes and posed serious risk to economic growth and poverty reduction, setting back some of the modest gains of recent years. Growth is expected to decline less than 1 percent in 2020 from 5.8 percent in 2019, and total revenues are set to decline by 10 percent while spending increases by 1.6 percent of GDP, of which 0.8 percent of GDP is directly attributable to fighting the pandemic. GDP per capita is estimated to have decreased by around 3 percent in 2020 and would only return to 2019 levels in 2022. The final review of the three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program was approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board on Oct. 26, 2020 and negotiations for a new ECF are expected to take place over the next few weeks now that the new Government is in place. 2. The COVID-19 pandemic and related economic downturn is having an adverse effect on progress made in poverty reduction. Micro-macro simulations suggest that the international poverty rate has increased by at least 1.6 percentage points in 2020 (about 375,000 new poor) due to the COVID-19 -19. Beyond the monetary dimension, the COVID-19 crisis is expected to have long-lasting negative effects on education, heath, and food security. Beyond the monetary dimension, the COVID-19 crisis is also expected to have lasting effects on the non-monetary dimensions of well-being, such as education, health, and food security. 3. The Government was swift to announce containment measures and prepare an emergency response plan to curb the impact of the pandemic. At the onset of the pandemic, and the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Niger on March 19, 2020, the Government took quick measures to contain the spread of the disease, including closing airports, borders, banning travel to and from Niamey, closing schools and recreational areas, and instituting social-distancing measures. Subsequently, the Government presented its COVID-19 Preparation and Response Plan to development partners on March 27, 2020. The Plan estimated costs of about US$2.2 billion (CFAF 1.296 billion) to prepare for and respond to the sanitary, social, and economic impacts of the pandemic. World Bank Group (WBG) Response and Adjustment to the Country Program 4. Remaining within the broad parameters of the Niger CPF, the WBG program was adjusted to support the GoN’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. These adjustments align with the priorities of the WBG Approach Paper “Saving Lives, Scaling-up Impact and Getting Back on Track”. The World Bank rapidly deployed and re-purposed IDA resources in the FY20-21 pipeline and active portfolio and leveraged trust fund resources to support the country’s COVID-19 Preparation and Response Plan. More specifically the following adjustments to the program were introduced: • Saving lives: mobilizing US$7.8 million under the Regional Epidemic and Diseases Surveillance in West Africa (REDISSE) to support initial health sector activities in partnership with UNICEF; preparing a US$13.9-million COVID-19 Emergency Support Project approved on April 15, 2020; and mobilizing US$5.5 Page 41 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) million from the Global Pandemic Fund to strengthen the health system, laboratories, community engagement and training for health workers (in partnership with World Health Organization (WHO)). • Saving livelihoods and protecting the poor: The World Bank revised reform measures under the Fostering Inclusive Growth Development Policy Operation (DPO2) (P173113) to ensure social protection for 30,000 households and mitigate the impact of other measures on basic services (US$250 million, approved on August 6, 2020). The World Bank reallocated US$46 million under the Adaptive Safety Nets 2 Project to scale up cash transfers to poor and vulnerable households in urban and rural areas; and provide support for weather-related shocks. The program is implemented in partnership with WFP and UNICEF among others. • Under the Climate Smart Agriculture Project (P153420), US$20 million was reallocated to support the agriculture campaign and mitigate food insecurity, including to finance critical inputs for farmers, livestock, irrigation and sustainable land management. • Additional resources were made available under other projects in agriculture, education, water and sanitation, electricity services, public administration and local development to maintain critical public services and support the recovery. 5. In December 2020, the GoN requested World Bank support to help finance their COVID-19 vaccination program. The Government’s goal is to vaccinate 47.78 percent of the population (11 million persons) this year. The total estimated cost is US$136 million towards which the Government has included US$7.4 million in the 2021 budget, leaving a gap of US$128.6 million. The World Bank will provide support to the immediate financing needs of the Government’s COVID-19 vaccination program by mobilizing some US$28 million from IDA financing through an AF to the Emergency Response Project (P173846) which is expected to be approved in June 2021. This World Bank financing will supplement support from COVAX facility, which will cover vaccine for 20 percent of the population. 6. While Niger has received far fewer COVID-19 vaccine doses than they initially requested to reach a vaccination objective of 43% of the population, the country is confronted with high vaccination hesitancy and low up-take. As of May 11, 2021, Niger has received 775,000 doses of vaccines, including 350,000 doses of Astrazeneca from the Covax initiative, 400,000 doses of Sinopharm from China, and 25,000 doses of Astrazeneca from India. Some 85,600 people have received their first dose of the vaccine, and 5,948 the second dose. Nearly 50 percent of people interviewed in the high frequency phone survey say they are either concerned about the safety or the effectiveness of the vaccine, and 20 percent will not get vaccinated even though the vaccine is free. As a result, the vaccination campaign is off to a slow start, with diminishing support even among the authorities due to the low uptake. It is technically possible for WBG staff and adult dependents to be vaccinated today. The UN clinic has 1,500 doses and is expected to receive an additional 1,500. 7. The World Bank is adapting its portfolio supervision efforts to ensure timely implementation and results despite COVID-19 disruptions. COVID-19 restrictions have compounded access challenges in remote or conflict-affected zones due to security issues. World Bank teams have adapted supervision approaches, utilizing technology and alternative means to continue interface with the clients and monitoring of project activities. PIU have also strengthened and adapted their telecommuting and Page 42 of 43 The World Bank Niger, Additional Financing to Agricultural and Livestock Transformation Project (P176418) teleconferencing equipment and facilities to promote social distancing in offices and to work virtually where possible. Selectivity, Complementarity, Partnerships 8. The World Bank’s response is closely coordinated with the IMF, UN, AfDB and other development partners. The World Bank has closely coordinated its health and social protection response with UN specialized agencies. In addition, the World Bank and UNDP jointly financed the Government’s e- governance efforts to connect ministers and key ministry staff and thereby, support the virtual public administration. Further coordination with the United Nations and other partners is being pursued and complementarity is being explored to effectively and efficiently support Government’s efforts to purchase and successfully deploy the COVID-19 vaccines in Niger. The World Bank also continues to re-purpose the existing portfolio and adjust the pipeline in line with COVID-19 and FCV priorities. Page 43 of 43