PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: Project Name. MULTI-DONOR TRUST FUND TO CORAF/WECARD Region

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1 PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: Project Name MULTI-DONOR TRUST FUND TO CORAF/WECARD Region AFRICA Sector Agricultural extension and research (80%); Vocational training (10%); Tertiary education (5%); Agricultural marketing and trade (5%) Project ID P Recipient CORAF/WECARD Implementing Agency CORAF/WECARD Environment Category [ ] A [X] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined) Date PID Prepared July 6, 2009 Estimated Date of September 15, 2009 Appraisal Authorization Estimated Date of Board NA Approval 1. Key development issues and rationale for Bank involvement Key Development Issues: Agriculture is the single largest economic sector in West and Central Africa. It accounts for 35 percent of GDP, over 15 percent of exports, and 65 percent of employment. The sub-region is home to 320 million people in 22 1 countries; all with low UN Human Development Indices and many among the world s poorest. Poverty remains highest in the rural areas. Food insecurity is a major concern within the sub-region and a chronic situation in the Sahelian zone, where some of the most acute poverty is found. The WDR 2008 argues that Sub-Saharan Africa will only meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with significant growth in the agricultural sector and such growth is dependent upon growth in agricultural productivity. The African Union s New Partnership for Africa s Development (NEPAD) echoes this message in the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) and calls for doubling investments in agricultural research, extension, and education (CAADP Pillar IV) along with policy and institutional reforms designed to make these programs more effective. It also calls for scaling up by a factor of twenty (from US$25 Million to roughly US$500 Million per year) agricultural productivity related programs at the regional level. This message is further elaborated in Pillar IV s Framework for African Agricultural Productivity (FAAP). Along with scaled up investment in other parts of the sector, CAADP calls for these initiatives in order to generate three percent annual agricultural productivity growth and six percent growth in agricultural GDP. Agricultural technology is a core element of CAADP s Pillar IV, which covers agricultural research, technology dissemination and adoption, and significantly impacts on the other three CAADP pillars: land and water management (Pillar I); rural infrastructure and trade-related capacities for improved access to markets Pillar II); and increasing food supply and reducing 1 Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote D Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo

2 hunger (Pillar III). At the request of NEPAD, the Forum for African Agricultural Research (FARA) has developed the Framework for African Agricultural Productivity (FAAP), which provides the guiding principles for implementing CAADP Pillar IV. FARA and its sub-regional research organizations, including the Conseil Ouest et Centre Africain pour la Recherche et le Développement Agricoles/West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development or (CORAF/WECARD) have committed themselves to aligning their programs around FAAP principles. CORAF was established in 1987 as the conference for African and French Agronomic Research Directors. In 1995 it widened its coverage to include English and Portuguese speaking countries of West and Central Africa. CORAF currently serves the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) of 22 countries in West and Central Africa, distributed over three agroecological zones: the Sahelian zone of West Africa, the coastal zone of West Africa; and the Central Africa zone. In the context of the agricultural policies of the sub-region s Regional Economic Communities (RECs), which aim at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of smallholder farms and promoting the agribusiness sector, CORAF/WECARD has been given the mandate to: Promote cooperation, consultation and information exchange between member institutions and partners; Define joint sub-regional and regional research objectives and priorities; Serve as a consultative body for research carried out by regional and international organizations operating at the sub-regional level; Develop and ensure effective implementation of sub-regional research for development programs, aimed at adding value to national programs; Harmonize the activities of the existing research constituents, and facilitate the creation of new regional programs or other operational research units with a regional character. CORAF supports the advancement of a sub-regional agricultural research system that generates scientific knowledge and information appropriate to the needs and demands of the sector across the sub-region. National systems within the sub-region face a number of challenges including lack of capacity to implement technology transfer, effective extension services, and bottlenecks in information systems for innovation. Agricultural innovation systems need to be well coordinated and multidimensional to ensure appropriate allocation of scarce public resources to high-priority issues and areas. This calls for better orchestration of the NARS to facilitate the involvement of a large number of actors, and the efficient implementation of policies, financing, and program execution by the various specialized institutions. In line with policy frameworks at the continental and sub-regional level, CORAF has developed a revised Strategic Plan A five year Medium Term Operational Plan (MTOP) for implementing the first phase of the Strategic Plan has also been developed which follows FAAP principles linking it with CAADP. It supports CAADP s highest level objective by sustainably improving broad-based agricultural productivity, competitiveness and markets. Based on an indepth priority setting exercise, the new Strategic plan identified a new programmatic structure centered on eight programs:

3 Technical Research Livestock, Fisheries and Aquaculture Staple Crops Non-staple Crops Natural Resource Management Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy, Markets, Trade, Institutions and Socio-Economics Efficient Research Delivery Knowledge Management Capacity Strengthening and Coordination Rationale for Bank involvement: IDA is the single most important external supporter of agricultural research and extension technology -- Pillar IV of CAADP in Sub-Saharan Africa. In recent years, IDA has provided leadership in donor coordination and harmonization and has contributed to strengthening African capacity in the area of agricultural innovation. African capacity and ownership is crucial in an environment in which external support is both large and often fragmented. IDA s leadership is evidenced by the recent decision to place the Multi Donor Trust Funds at the Bank for regional organizations: The Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa (ASARECA) and for The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) which has the responsibility of supporting CAADP Pillar IV at the continental level. IDA is recognized as a strong technical as well as financial partner. IDA is actively supporting the agricultural productivity agenda within the sub-region through ongoing operations and planned new operations. The proposed MDTF complements the national level portfolio by providing a regional overlay focused on generating synergies between country programs and allowing for more efficient use of resources for technology generation and dissemination. IDA is also supporting the West African Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) in which CORAF/WECARD plays a coordination role at the subregional level and whose objective (in the first phase of the program) is to generate and disseminate improved technologies in the participating countries top priority areas that are aligned with the region s top priorities as well as developing National Centers of Specialization. The WAAPP is a mechanism for supporting regional objectives and priorities through providing financing directly to the national centers of specialization. The proposed MDTF will complement the WAAPP in that it supports regional objectives and priorities through providing financing directly to CORAF at the regional level to allow it to scale up and improve the effectiveness of the services it offers at that level. 2. Proposed objective(s) The objective of the proposed MDTF is to support implementation of CORAF/WECARD s Medium-Term Operational Plan , which aims to contribute to sustainable improvements in the productivity, competitiveness, and markets of the agricultural systems in

4 West and Central Africa. The MDTF will finance activities between and would be managed by the World Bank. 3. Preliminary description The MDTF is open to multiple donor contributions, therefore offering a coordinated and harmonised approach to investments in agricultural research for development in the CORAF/WECARD sub-region. Contributions from donors to the MDTF are expected to reach about US$58.9 Million for the period The MDTF will finance a portion of CORAF s MTOP for five years through the following three components: Component 1. Research for Development Programs ($48.0m); Component 1.1: Research Sub-Projects. The component will develop and deliver technologies in eight major research programmes and policy options that have been identified in the MTOP as priority for the sub-region. These include: (i) Livestock, Fisheries and Aquaculture; (ii) Staple Crops; (iii) Non-Staple Crops; (iv) Natural Resource Management; (v) Biotechnology and Biosafety; (vi) Policy, Markets, Trade, Institutions, Socio-economics Research; (vii) Knowledge Management; and (viii) Capacity Strengthening. The activities to be funded will be research subprojects endorsed for implementation by CORAF/WECARD s Board of Governors, with the funding channelled through a Competitive Grant Scheme (CGS) and Commissioned Research. Component 1.2: Research Program Support. The component will support the activities of the eight Program Management Units established by CORAF/WECARD as part of its new program structure and whose responsibilities include: (i) planning; (ii) management of sub-grants; (iii) monitoring and evaluation; (iv) capacity development; and (v) knowledge management. Component 2: CORAF/WECARD Governance, Administration and Change Management ($9.0m); Component 2.1 Governance and Administration: The component will support the CORAF/WECARD Secretariat to undertake its core functions; i.e. strengthen the governance and administration of CORAF/WECARD; and improve the physical infrastructure of the headquarters in Dakar. Component 2.2 Change Management: CORAF/WECARD is currently in the process of implementing its change management plan This component will support completion of the change management plan, which focuses on the organisational and institutional changes required to strategically position CORAF/WECARD as a regional leader in agricultural research for development. Component 3. Management, Administration and Supervision of the MDTF (1.8m). This component will be implemented by the World Bank. The component will finance the costs incurred by the World Bank in its management, administration, and supervision of the MDTF. 4. Safeguard policies that might apply The safeguard-screening category of the Trust Fund is S2 and the environmental screening is B. The specific activities to be funded are not yet defined however it is assumed that these may trigger the following safeguard policies: Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01)

5 Pest Management (OP 4.09); and Forests (OP/BP 4.36) CORAF/WECARD has prepared an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF). The ESMF does not allow approval of funding of research projects with any documented adverse environmental and social impact at the regional and national levels. CORAF/WECARD will integrate good practices for Natural Resource Management (NRM) through: (i) the identification of NRM as one of the seven programs supported by CORAF/WECARD s Operational Plan: (ii) the identification of environmental risks and mitigation measures in all proposals submitted for funding: and (iii) review of the implementation of the proposed mitigation measures by the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit. Proposals submitted for funding will be required to include an evaluation of potential environmental impacts, covering both those directly pertaining to the research to be undertaken (e.g., handling of agricultural chemicals), as well as those associated with the application on a larger scale of the results of research. 5. Tentative financing Source: ($m.) Recipient 0 Multi-donors 58.8 Total Contact point Contact: David J. Nielson Title: Lead Agriculture Services Specialist Tel: (202) Fax: Dnielson@worldbank.org