Fillable Printable General format for ISFP Summary Project Proposal to the European Commission

General format for ISFP Summary Project Proposal to the European Commission

DRAFT

ISFP Summary Project Proposal to the European Commission

ISFP PROJECT PROPOSAL

Country:Mauritania

Agency:FoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUnitedNations

(FAO)

Project Title:Emergencyassistancetovulnerablefarmersandbreeders

affectedbyclimaticeventsandsoaringfoodpricesin

Mauritania

Sector:Agriculture and Livelihoods

Objective:Improve sustainable food security and agricultural production

of vulnerable farmers affected by soaring food prices

Beneficiaries:377 000 smallhoders

Implementing Partner(s):MinistryofAgriculture&Livestock,NationalCentrefor

AgriculturalResearch(CNARADA),andnon-governmental

organizations (NGOs)

Project Duration:January 2009 to March 2010 (15 months)

Funds Requested: USD 18 172 702

Needs Assessment

Food security in Mauritania is heavily dependent on imports. National agricultural production

onlypartiallysatisfiestheinternaldemandforfood,particularlyforcereals (estimatedtobe

about 430 000 tonnes).Inthebest-casescenario,nationalproductionsatisfiesabout

30 percentofthepopulation’sneeds,whiletheremaining70 percentisassuredby

commercial imports and food aid.

InMauritaniathefoodpricecrisisandoutbreakofanimaldiseases(PestedesPetits

Ruminants,Sheep/goatpox,brucellosisandRiftValleyFever)severelyaffectedthefood

securityofpoorfarmersandbreeders,whoresortedtoconsumingtheirseedstocks. There

isanurgentneedtoprovideseedsandveterinarymedicinestoenablevulnerablefarmers

andbreederstoresumetheirfarmingactivitiesandrebuildtheirseedstocks.Supportto

breeders isalso essentialto diversifythe beneficiaries’ diet andreduce theirdependence on

importedcereals.Trainingisalsoessentialtopromotetheuseofappropriateagricultural

practices and increased productivity.

TheGovernmentofMauritaniahasdevelopedaSpecialPlanofAction(PSI)toassist

vulnerablefarmersinovercomingthecurrentsituation.Inparticular,thePSIaimsat

reducingtheeffectsofsoaringfoodpricesandreinforcingfoodsecurity.Forthemedium

term,theGovernmentofMauritaniaaimsatachievingcerealself-sufficiency(riceand

traditional cereals) by 2012.

TheinitiativeofFAOonSoaringFoodPrices(ISFP)isdesigned toassistcountriesin

increasingfoodsupplies,and iscomplementarytothePSIofMauritania.Withinthis

framework,thisprojectisdesignedtoprovideemergencyassistancetovulnerablefarmers

and breedersaffected by climaticevents andsoaring food prices. These climaticevents had

the incidence of major livestock diseases.

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Asaresult of soaringfoodpriceson theinternationalanddomestic markets,thereisanew

additionaldemandforlocalproduction. FAO’sInitiativeonSoaringFoodPrices isdesigned

toassistcountriesinincreasingfoodsupplies.InMauritania oneofthelimitingfactorsto

increasing productivity is the lack of access to seeds and outbreak of animal diseases.

Theimportsofwheatheavilyaffectthenationalbudgetandnationalcerealself-sufficiency.

Soaringfoodpricesandrecurrentanimaldiseaseshaveaggravatedthissituationand

increasedthefooddeficitofthecountry.Testsconductedbetween1977and2007with

seedsofatotalof60selectedvarietiesofwheatfromSyria

andMoroccohavegiven

promising results and indicated a good potential for growing wheat in Mauritania.

This project would aim at increasing the production and productivity of crops and livestock.

Expected impact, outcome and outputs

The project would address the following areas:

a. Emergency assistance to vulnerable farmers and breeders affected by drought and

soaring food prices in Mauritania

This component will enhance food security of about60 000 households. The increasein the

nationalproductionofcerealswillallowtoreducedependenceonfoodaid(currently

Mauritania imports over two thirds of its needs of cereals).

As outcomes,this componentwould assistin the productionof cereals,vegetable cropsand

livestock. In particular:

Enhancement of food security

Increase of household incomes

Selected beneficiaries will have received the inputs needed in a timely manner

Animal health will be improved

Selectedbeneficiarieswillhavereceivedthetrainingneededtoimprovetheir

productivity

Agricultural production will be increased

More food will be available in communities and local markets

Theoutputswillbethedeliveryofseedsandveterinarydrugstoabout60 000smallholder

households.

b. Production of traditional seeds for food security

Thiscomponentwillbenefitto300farmerassociationsforseedproductionand300 000

smallholders belonging to 36 Departments (Moughataa’s).

The outcomes will be:

The quality and productivity of the crops concerned will increase

The availability of seed to farming communities will increase

The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD) and International Centre for

Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)

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Cerealproductionwillincreaseandmorefoodwillbeavailabletothecommunities

and local markets

Dependence on food imports will be reduced

The outputs will be:

The delivery of basic seed to 300 farmer associations and about 300 000

smallholders

Farmers will be trained in seed multiplication

c. Improving households’ food availability through the evaluation and promotion of

improved and adapted wheat varieties

Thiscomponentwillbenefittoabout7 000households.Thisprojectwillvalidatethe

promising results obtainedinthe past,inview oftheexpansionof the cultivation ofwheatat

nationallevel.Inthelongtermthiswouldreducethedependenceofthecountryonthe

importation of cereals.

Its outcomes will be:

Validation of potential for growing wheat in Mauritania.

Selected beneficiaries will receive the inputs needed in a timely manner.

Increased anddiversified wheat productionunder theproject will allowthe expansion

ofthecultivatedareasintheregionsconsidered,andwillreducethecountry’s

dependency on imports. This will also alleviate the effects of soaring food prices.

Outputs:

Basic seed of selected varieties was distributed to about 7 000 farmers

Seed was multiplicated

Farmers were trained on participatory variety testing

Public health improvement

Proposed Activities

a.Thiscomponentwouldassistin improvingfoodsecurityandagriculturalproduction

through the following activities:

Provision of high-quality seeds of rice, maize, sorghum, millet and vegetables; and

Provisionofveterinarymedicines(surveillanceformajoranimalsdiseases,

vaccination/treatmentagainstanimalsdiseases).Tworoundofvaccinationwillbe

carried out during the time frame of the project and one round of sero-

monitoring/surveillancetoassesstheprevalenceformajordiseasesandsero-

conversion after vaccination. It understood that 60-75%of the sheep(8 300 000) and

goat (12 000 000) population will be vaccinated during the time frame of the project.

Restocking/conservation of meat

Create of awareness for animal health issues.

InputswillbechosenamongthoserecommendedbytheGovernmentandadaptedto

local farming systems and agro-ecological zones.

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2. Provision oftraining tofarmerson good practicesforagriculturalproduction,

conservation,processingandmarketingandanimaldiseasesrecognition/

treatment/vaccination,

TheseactivitieswouldbecomplementarytotheongoingprojectsTCP/MAU/3105and

GCP/GLO/216/SPA.

b. This component would assist in the development of seed production through the following

activities:

procurement of basic seeds;

training of farmers in seed multiplication using quality assurance schemes;

multiplication of traditional seeds by farmer associations;

promotion and training on seed stock management systems by farmer associations;

support to farmers in seed conditioning and marketing.

c.Thiscomponentwouldassistinassessingthepotentialforproducingwheatthroughthe

following activities:

procurement of basic seed of selected varieties from agricultural research centres;

multiplication of seeds using quality assurance schemes;

training of selected farmers on participatory variety testing;

cultivationofatotalof250 hectaresofwheatunderrain-fed,damandirrigated

conditions by selected farmers;

creating awareness on the results and best wheat agricultural practices;

creating awareness on the use of by-products; and

implementation of a seed multiplication scheme for selected wheat varieties.

Linkages with existing and proposed programming

Within the framework of ISFP, FAO is currently supporting to the Government of Mauritania to

assistpoorfarmersthroughtheprovisionofagriculturalinputs(seeds)tohelpthemto

resume and increase production during the 2008 growing season. Two projects are currently

inprogress-theTCP/MAU/3105andtheGCP/GLO/216/SPA-insixagriculturalregions

(Wilaya) suffering from climatic events and soaring food prices. These projects are reducing

the vulnerability of these populations and are fighting hunger. Seeds of local traditional crops

have been distributed and the crops are being cultivated.

The projects proposed will build on and expand the assistance currently provided.

Implementation strategy

This project would be executedby the Emergency Coordination Unitof FAO, in collaboration

withtheDirectionof Agriculture (DA)oftheMinistryof Agriculture andLivestock(MAE),and

with the regional Delegations (offices) of MAE at regional level and Departmental Services of

MAE at departmental level, as technical partners.

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Theidentificationofbeneficiaryfarmerswillbeconductedinaparticipativewaybythe

RegionalDevelopmentCommittee(alsoincludingNGOs,SPOs,etc.),FAOandDA/MAEon

the basis of criteria of vulnerability and agricultural potential.

A possibleimplementationconstraintcouldbethevolatilepoliticalsituation,thatledtothe

recentcoup d’état,newgovernmentand possiblesocialunrest. Also, possiblereshuffling of

the staff of Ministries could slow down the activities of the project.

FINANCIAL SUMMARY

Budget ItemsUSD

Staff costs

1 486 834

Input costs

13 700 000

Contracts

350 000

Administration costs

1 447 000

Indirect programme support costs, including TSS (7%)

1 188 868

Total

18 172 702