Senegal - Agricultural Services Project

Report No. PIC1860 Project Name Senegal-Agricultural Services Project (@) Region Africa Sector Agriculture Project ID SNPA2367 Borrower Government of Senegal Implementing Agency Ministry of Agriculture Senegalese Institute of Research (ISRA) B.P. 3120 Dakar, Senegal Contact: Dr. Habib Lee Director General Tel: (221) 32.24.22 Fax: (221) 32.24.27 Mr. Mamadou Sonko Programme National de Vulgarisation Agricole (PNVA) B.P. 10428 Dakar, Senegal Tel: (221) 24.71.79; 24.41.31 Fax: (221) .28.16 Date PID Preparation March 27, 1995 Project Appraisal Date October 1, 1995 Projected Board Date June 30, 1998 Country and Sector Background 1. Senegal has a population of 7.8 million with a growth rate of 2.9 percent per year. At independence in 1960, Senegal inherited a relatively well-developed economy. Performance was satisfactory until 1966 when Senegal benefited from guaranteed prices for its main agricultural export crops but deteriorated significantly between 1967 and 1974 when this advantage was lost. Recently, inflation remained below what was targeted and there are indications of an economic recovery in several sectors where the devaluation had a favorable impact. 2. Annual fluctuations and rainfall are considerable and agriculture is subject to recurrent periods of severe droughts. Most of Senegal+s population (60 percent) derive income from agriculture which contributes only about 20 percent of the GDP. Per capita income in 1993 amounted to US$707. The Agricultural Services Project became effective on July 6, 1990 and aimed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the public institutions responsible for extension and research. This operation is part of the Bank+s +Agricultural Services Initiative+ for Sub-Saharan countries that seek to strengthen the core public sector institutions necessary for technology development and transfer in agriculture. Project Objectives  3. The project is the second phase of an agricultural services program. Its objectives are: (a) to expand and increase the rate of development and adoption of agricultural technology and (b) to stimulate the development of new technical extension recommendations that will enable farmers, especially smallholders, to increase their productivity and income. At the same time, this second operation would combine the strengthening of several core public functions in support of agricultural development into one subsectoral investment program. The program would be prepared primarily by a Senegalese task force. It would be implemented within the institutional framework of the Ministry of Agriculture and ISRA without separate project units, and the use of long-term expatriate technical assistance would be kept to a minimum. A flexible design would allow for annual reviews and adjustments, and other donors would be associated as much as possible. Project Description 4. The project would include five components: (i) extension; (ii) research; (iii) animal health; (iv) women in development; and (v) functional literacy training. On the extension aspect, the project would fortify managerial gains made under the first project, increase direct contact with farmers with special emphasis on women farmers, improve the relevance of extension information and technologies, upgrade the skills of staff and farmers, introduce innovations into the extension system on a pilot basis, and strengthen monitoring through +client consultation techniques+. On the research side, the project will regionalize research, devise means to allow farmers to participate directly in on-farm research, and strengthen the collaboration between research, extension, and farmers. On animal health, a clearer definition of the responsibilities between the public and private sectors in the provision of animal health services would be needed. With regards to women in development, the project would design measures to ensure that women farmers have equal access to public agricultural services and that their specific concerns are taken into account. The functional literacy training will be determined based on the results of a review of the ongoing functional literacy component under the Agricultural Services Project. Project Costs and Financing 5. Project costs are estimated at US$45.0 million, of which IDA will finance US$40.5 million. Government contribution is expected to be about 10 percent. Possibility of cofinancing will be discussed. Project Implementation 6. The proposed operation will emphasize maximum involvement of the major stakeholders in designing improvements over the first phase. Regarding the extension component, the Ministry of Agriculture, together with the Ministry of Finance and Bank support, will carry out an operational evaluation of the results of the first phase (1990-1994), which are expected by April 1995. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture will carry out an adoption and diffusion study and attempt to quantify the results of the first phase. With respect to the research component, the recently carried out mid-term review will define - 2-  the further preparation requirements. For the animal health and women in development components, a preparation mission is expected to take place in April 1995. Within the Bank, a multi-disciplinary team will work on this operation. The documentation for this operation would be similar to the one currently developed for the Agricultural Services Program in Guinea. Project Sustainability 7. The Bank is committed to support the agricultural services initiative in Sub-saharan Africa for an initial period of fifteen years. The proposed funding for five years will be the second tranche in support of this commitment. To improve chances of long-term sustainability and support from the Government, the incremental annual cost of extension services will be limited to the equivalent of less than US$10 per farm family per annum and the investments in research and animal health would be tailored to the country