Burkina Faso - Food Security and Nutrition Project

Document of The World Bank FOR OFFiCIALL USE ONLY Reprt No. P-5793-BUR MEMORANDUM AND RECOMMENDATION C4U, OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION TO THE .J.J EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ' zJ LOJ a4 .nON A w . \ PROPOSED CREDIT : 0 0 Z 0 rD OF SDR 5.5 MILLION V 0 .- TO BURKINA FASO FOR A FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION PROJECT JUNE 17, 1992 This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their offical duties. Its conteots may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.  CURRENCY EOUIVALENTS Currency Unit CFA franc (CFAF) US$ 1.00 CFAF 272 CFAF 1 million = US$ 3,676 SYSTEM OF WEIBGTS AND MEASURES METRIC FISCAL YltAR January 1 - December 31 ABREUATIONS BSONG: Bureau de Suivi des ONG (NGO Coordinating Unit in Ministry of Finance and Planning) CNCPCs Comit6 National de Coordination de la Politique C4r6aliare (National Cereals Policy Coordinating Committee) EWSs Early Warning System MOAL: Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock NSAS: National Survey of Agricultural Statistics SPONG: Secretariat Permanent des ONG (an NGO Consortium in Burkina) WFP: World Food Program  FOR OFFICIAL hIiE ONLY BURKINA PASO FOOD SECURITY AND NUITION PROJECT Credit and Project SummarX Borrower: The Government of Burkina Faso Beneficiaries: Food insecure households, and especially women and young children in rural areas in four selected provinces Amount: SDR 5.5 milliWn (USS 7.5 million equivalent) Terms: Standard IDA terms, with a maturity of 40 years On-lendino Terms: Proceeds of the credit would be passed on by Government in grant form to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Financino Plan: IDA USS 7.5 million Government US$ 1.5 million Germany US$ 2.7 million WFP US$ 1.1 million TOTAL US$12.8 million Economic Rate of Return: Not applicable Staff Aonraisal Relport: No. 10615-BUR MaiDs IBRD 23868 This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorizatin. |  MEMORANDUM AND RECONOENDATION OF TIE PRESIDENT OF TRE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION TO TME EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ON A PROPOSED CREDIT TO BURKINA PASO FOR A FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION PROJECT 1. The following memorandum and recommendation on a proposed development credit to Burkina Faso for SDR 5.5 million (US$ 7.5 million equivalent) is submitted for approval. The proposed credit would be on standard IDA terms with 40 years maturity and would help finance the first phase of a long-term program aimed at improving household food security and achieving better nutritional status for children below the age of three. Government will finance $US 1.5 million equivalent or 11.5% of project costs. Germany will finance SUS 2.7 million equivalent, and the World Food Program (WFP) will finance sUS 1.1 million equivalent. 2. Country/Sector Background. Burkina Faso is a landlocked country with a populati(-n of about 9 million. It lies in a transitional zone between the Sudano-Guinean region and the Sahel. With a per capita GDP of about USS 320 in 1990, Burkina Faso is among the poorest countries of the world. Basic social services are relatively undeveloped and social indicators such as life expectancy at birth (47 years) or primary school enrollment (31%) remain among the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Burkina Faso's economy is dominated by agriculture. Agricultural production accounts for about 30% of GDP, generates over 60% of export earnings and employs 90% of the economically active population. Agriculture is predominantly rain-fed. However, water and soil resources are limited and fragile and rainfall is low and irregular. 3. Although the performance of Burkina's agricultural sector over the past decade was impressive for a Sahelian country (6.4% annual growth between 1980 and 1988), this performance reflects relatively favorable rainfall patterns and significant expansion of cultivated area. The remarkable expansion of cultivated area (overall average annual rate of almost 5%) was partly rendered possible by the eradication of onchocerciasis in the more fertile and higher rainfall areas of the South and South-west, as well as extension onto marginal lands in the North and East. In all areas of the country, however, reduction of the fallow period has been observed. 4. Even in years of "normal" rainfall and adequate production, a substantial proportion of the population is chronically food insecure. In 1989, about 4.8 million people were estimated to be vulnerable to food insecurity, of which 2.5 million are exposed to transitory food insecurity. Thirty to 50% of pre-school children suffer from chronic malnutrition, with peaks between January through May. The "hungry season" is still a yearly occurrence in many rural areas. Within households, children are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity and poor nutritional status. Malnutrition rates are the highest for children between 6 months and 3 years of age, and especially those between 1 and 2 years, during which time the child is being weaned. The low incomes of the majority of the population is one of the main factors affecting long- term food security at household level. Equally important, however, is the stability of that income over time. Where rural hwuseholds have been successful in reducing their dependence on drought-prone crop and livestock production, and thereby stabilized their incomes, their access to food markets has increased. 5. Since the early 1970s, successive Governments of Burkina have been most concerned with improving food security. Some important measures taken in the past to increase household food security and nutritional status ares (a) national commission for fighting drought effects (CNLES) which was created in 1983 to monitor and control emergency plans set up to help drought victims to gain access to food, water, health services and  - 2 - equipment; (b) several early warning systems which have been put in place either by the Government or by other agencies; (ci several development funds which have been established by NGOs; (d: xutrition education programs implemented by the Ministry of Health fo: hildren under five years of age; (e) school lunch program run by the Mi stry of Education. Although these activities have produced some impressive local results, the overall impact has been modest. 6. The reasons for these results include: dispersed and unintegrated Early Warning Systems (EWS) based on data of limited reliability; the limited coverage of nutrition educatior programs (which are health center based) and of school lunch programs; isolated, and not well targeted activities supported by development funds; exclusive focus or. cereals balances at the provincial level as indicators of famine vulnerability; lack of a national institutional base or focal point for food security issues. In addition, past Gove;nment cereals price and market interventions tended to increase transaction costs and food prices rather than achieving the stated aim of enhancing the access of the population to food at reasonable prices while maintaining producer incentives. 7. The recently negotiated Agricultural SECAL, by supporting general reforms aimed at liberalizing cereals prices and marketing, and trade in cereals will lead to: improved incentives for cereals production; better functioning of -ereals markets through a greater private sector role in cereals marketing; increased incomes for the rural populations and, thereby, contribute to food security. In its Letter of Agricultural Development Policy, the Government. furthermore, identifies food security as one of the three objectives to be pursued of the Medium-Term Agricultural Adjustment Program. The food security strategy in the program is intended to reduce the chronic lack of food security in particular geographic areas and among certain population groups, and prepare the country better to deal with the consequences of drought (or transitory food insecurity). To these ends, thw Government is committed to: creating the conditions that will lead to supply/demand balance where foodstuff are concerned; reallocating public resources towards programsfor the improvement of food security; achieving better administration of food aid through careful coordination; making the food security information system more effective; and formulating policies that focus on especially disadvantaged groups and/or zones. In terms ot specific measures, the program provides for: enactment of laws/regulations governing the creation of the National Committee for cereals Policy Coordination (CNCPC or Cemit6 National de Coordination de la Politique C6r6aliere) as a national focal point for monitoring cereals policy and measures aimed at improving food security; the Commitee for Food Security Data Coordination; the design and set-up of an efficient emergency management system; and enactment of legislation limiting the role of the national cereals marketing board (OFNACER) to the management of national food security stocks. 8. Prolect Obiectives. The proposed project, which will run concurrently with the Agricultural SECAL, was prepared under the Agricultural Sector Adjustment Program as the investment component of a hybrid operation. During appraisal of the agricultural sector adjustment credit, the Government and IDA decided to separate the food security and nutrition component from the agricultural sector adjustment credit in order to give the Government more time to prepare this operation. The project would extend and deepen the impact of reforms supported by SAL I and the Agricultural SECAL on food security and improved nutrition. The project has two objectives: at the national level, (a) reduce the Government's response time for reacting to national food emergencies, (b) improve the targeting of food security programs to concentrate on low income groups in drought-prone provinces, and (c) provide a data base and logistic frame for rational decision-making on food security and nutritional issues; and at the household level, improve household coping mechanisms by (a) diversifying income sources of the rural poor for  improved food security and nutrition, and (b) improve the efficient use of available household food to achieve better nutritional status for children below the age of three and lactating mothers. 9. Proiect Descriptiqn. The project has five rrincipal components: (i) Institution Building and Strenat,ieninc fUSS 1.8 millions: would provide assistance to; the Permanent Secretariat of a proposed National Coordinating Committee to Coordinate the Cereals Plan (CNCPC) which will be within the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MOAL); the Household Food Security Unit (MOAL); BSONG (the Government's NGO coordinating unit); and SPONG (an NGO umbrella organization) to plan, implement and monitor food security interventions; (ii) Establishinq an Inteorated Early Warnina System (USS 1.4 million): would provide assistance for integrating various existing EWSs within MOAL and to implement the National Survey of Agricultural Statistics (NSAS). Funding will be provided for workshops, the preparation and implementation of a plan for system integration, and the printing and distribution of monthly EWS bulletins. Support to the NSAS will improve the reliability of agricultural statistics at the provincial level, and enable the collection of information on farming activities, including rural household incomes, needed to assess fanine vulnerability; (iii) Labor Intensive fFood/Cash- for-Work) Programs (USS 4.9 million): would provide for: technical assistance and incremental staffing to MOAL's Secretariat of the WFP to strengthen its monitoring and evaluation of labor intensive food-for-w,-ck programs. Complementary funding for food/cash-for-wcrk program will be provided under this component with co-financing from Germany and the World Food Program; (iv) Household Food Security Interventions (USS 3.4 millionl: would finance income generating activities (directed primarily at women's groups) in the four selected provinces. Within this context, support will be provided to a pre-qualified group of NGOs who will assist the beneficiary groups to identify feasible activities, prepare dossiers for funding requests, and monitor the execution of the activities; (v) Nutrition Information, Education. and Communications Campaign (USS 1.4 million): will support (a) a Beneficiary Assessment, (b) a rapid assessment of training needs of NGOs and agricultural extension workers responsible for women's activities in the provinces, (c) nutrition education message development, (d) training of agricultural extension workers and NGO agents in nutrition education, and (e) a multi-media nutrition education campaign. The project, to be implemented over a six- year period, would provide financing for civil works, vehicles, equipment and supplies, consultants' services, training, studies and incremental operating costs. The total cost of the project is estimated at US$12.8 million, with a foreign exchange component of US$5.1 million (40%). A breakdown of costs and the financing plan are shown in Schedule A. Amounts and methods of procurement and disbursements are shown in Schedule B. A timetable of key project processing events and the status of Bank Group operations in Burkina Faso are given in Schedules C and D respectively. A map and the Staff Appraisal Report, No. 10615-BUR, dated April 27, 1992 are also attached. 10. Project Implementation. The administrative set-up of the project has been designed taking into account the decentralized nature cf Burkina's administration, the need to ensure effective grassroots participation in project identification, preparation, and implementation and the nature and tasks of institutions (NGOs, Village Associations, provincial administration and the central services of the MOAL) involved in the project. Three institutional levels will be involved in project implementation: (a) village level, (b) provincial level, and (c) national level. At the villaae level, a Village Association would be the primary channel of communication with the project on labor intensive works; while the Women's Village Group (or Beneficiary Group) would be the primary unit to which assistance would be provided for household income generating activities. Both the Village Associations and the Beneficiary Groups would be assisted by local NGOs, who would be trained by the project in subproject identification, preparation, presentation and accounting, as  well as nutrition education. At the -rovincial lev_l, a full-time provincial coordinator would be provided in each of the four provinces. The main role of the provincial coordinators would be coordinating extension services to Village Associations and Beneficiary Groups, vetting subproject proposals and managing the provincial project budget. The provincial coordinator would also monitor project implementation, act as liaison between beneficiaries and the national level, and periodically review procedures to identify bottlenecks in sub-project preparation and implementation. At the national level, the MOAL would have overall responsibility for project implementation. Rather than using an especially established implementation unit, the project has been designed to be implemented through the management structure of the MOAL, although a full-time Project Coordinator (the head of the Household Food security Unit), who would report to the Minister, would be appointed. The Project Coordinator would supervise the work of the provincial coordinators and coordinate project actions carried out by the MOAL field staff, local NGOs and Village Associations or Beneficiary Groups. 11. troiect SustAinabil$tv. Support to the Permanent Secretariat of the CNCPC and the Household Food Security Unit would permanently strengthen the institutional capacity of the MOAL to implement and monitor food security projects. Establishing an Integrated EWS and upgrading the anAlytical capabilities of staff of the EWS Unit should similarly be sustainable in the longer-term. In the area of assistance to poor households to enable them to diversify their sources of income, project design provides for the establishment of Second Generation Special Accounts (SGSAs) in each of the four provinces. After disbursements from the proposed project ceases, support to household income generating activities would continue with funds reconstituted by beneficiaries of project assistance. Donors (such as the European Community) have expressed some interest in eventually providing funding for similar operations, should tVis pilot operation prove successful. 12. Lessong Learned froM Pevious IDA Sector Involvoeumt. The design and implementation arrangements for components aimed at reducing chronic food insecurity were based on lessons learned from a similar Bank- supported food security projects Republic of Cameroons Food Security Project (Report No. 9048-CM). The main lessons are discussed in Annex XII of the SAR (Report No. 10615-BUR) and are summarized as: (1) the need for simplification of subproject categories to be financed and the necessity to start on a pilot basis; (2) the importance of decentralization of decision making, procurement and disbursement to reduce the length of time between reception of stbproject proposal and start of subproject implementatlon, and (3) the central role that NGOs--provided they are well organized and maintain good relations with P-overnment, as is the case in Burkina Faso--could play in poverty alleviation. 13. However, food security is a cross-sectoral concept. As such, there are many actions that contribute to food security and improved nutrition. Among these, macroeconomic reforms to enhance the efficiency of resource use and improve the prospects of economic growths and sector specific policies (especially in agriculture, education, and health) to increase productivity, employment and incomes must be considered as necessary preconditions. More sharply defined food security programs invariably involve specific measures to cope with transitory food insecurity. Such programs also require a cross-sectoral approach: measures to cope with transitory food security touches many different sectors including meteorology, crop production, animal production, health, education and demography. The number institutions required could also be significantly large: a minimum of one well functionxng integrated Early Warning System unit, a number data gathering and analysis units, a unit(s) involved with emergency preparedness and the management of food aid. 14. In this operation, it has been possible to reduce the number of necessary measures to deal with transitory food insecurity as, within  - 5 - the Agricultural Sector Adjustment Program and with other donor assistance, adequate provisions are made for Emergency Preparedness. These include the maintenance and management of a national food security stock, support to agencies which handle the logistic of emergency food distribution, and provisions for the management and coordination of food aid. 15. BRtiMnae fog IDA &ivol eN_t. If a serious effort to alleviate poverty and ameliorate the social impact of adjustment is to be carried forward in Burkina Faso, efforts to reduce widespread food insecurity and malnutrition would have to be actively promoted. First, Bank-supported reforms under the ongoing SAL I and the proposed Agricultural SSCAL would help enhance food security of some vulnerable groups, but would not, on their own, be sufficient or have a significant short-term impact. Second, major reductions in food insecurity and malnutrition would promote key sectoral goals supported by the Bank in health, education, and agriculture. Third, any effort that is likely to have a significant and long-lasting impact on food security and nutrition in Burkina would require resources beyond what the Government of Burkina could mobilize. Fourth, the Bank is uniquely positioned to work with the full array of ministries (agriculture, finance and planning, and health), donors, and NGOs that would be involved in implementation. Finally, the Bank, through its seminal economic and sector work on food security in Burkina Faso, has acquired the necessary expertise which would be invaluable fez the design of a project which is likely to succeed. With SAL I and the proposed Agricultural SECAL, this project would complete the requirements for the three-prorged strategy recommended in the Bank's reports building the capacity of local institutions for improved food security management; economic policy reforms to enhance incomes and sustain access to food supplies; retargeting public finance and government expenditures to priority sectors as health, education, and agriculture. 16. Aoreed Actions. The Government has agreed to the following actionss (a) as conditions of effectiveness: (i) publication of decrees establishing the CNCPC, its Permanent Secretariat and the Household Food Security Unit (HHFSU); (ii) Government's signature of a project management contract with a non-governmental agency (FASO BAARA) as Executing Agency for labor intensive food/cash-for-work programs and amendment of the Agency's current Procedures Manual to reflect the rural focus of the project; (iii) Government issuance of a Procedures Manual, acceptable to IDA, setting forth the procedures governing the preselection of NGOs and their activities under the project; (iv) recruitment of technical assistants and other higher level staff required for the EWS Unit; (v) completion of a baseline survey of Passore; (bi as a covenantt a joint mid-term review would be undertaken no later than September 30, 1995 and that its operational conclusions would be promptly implemented. 17. Navi.rornastal Ahsects. The overall environmental impact of the project is expected to be neutral to positive. The environmental classification is C. Components such as the integrated early warning system and the food security institution building will increase the information available to the Government on drought-prone provinces, and could potentially be beneficial to the environment. Public works to be financed under the project will be small and scattered and their impact on the environment is expected to be marginal. However, to eliminate risks to the environment, the environmental evaluation criteria developed under the Durkina Faso National Environmental Action Plan will be applied in the evaluation of all activities of the labor intensive program. 18. ProeraM Obiective Categories. Food insecurity and malnutrition are serious problems in Burkina. To some extent, the causes of these problems derive from inadequately performing EWS and emergency preparedness. For the most part, however, poverty and poor child-weaning practices are the major causes. The project would contribute significantly to poverty alleviation and enhanced food security and  - 6 - improved nutritional status for the rural poor by: targeting food security programs to concentrate on low income groups (especially women) in drought-prone provinces, increasing and diversifying the sources of income of the rural poor and enabling the Government to design, implement, and monitor programs to improve the food security and nutritional status of the most disadvantaged groups. 19. Project Banefits. The proposed operation would provide assistance to poor groups in four of the most vulnerable provinces through promoting income generattng activities. By increasing and diversifying the sources of income of poor groups, their dependence on crop production in drought-prone provinces will be considerably reduced. Nutrition education activities supported by the project should also significantly contribute to behavioral change and adoption of better child-feeding practices. 20. Through assistance provided in part by the proposed project, the Government, for the first time, will establish a national focal point (the Secretariat of the CNCPC) for food security issues. Moreover, the Household Food Security Unit, to be supported by the proposed project, will enable the Government to design, implement, and monitor programs to improve the food security and nutritional status of the most disadvantaged groups and, especially, of children below age 3. Furthermore, the capacity of the Government to deal with emergencies (Emergency Preparedness) will be significantly strengthened through support to the establishment of an integrated early warning system. Finally, improved collaboration between NGOs and the Government in promoting community-based development will reinforce the peop'le oriented approach of this operation. 21. Risks. The main risk is a possible delay in implementation due to the newness of the Permanent Secretariat as an administrative structure. This risk is mitigated by the fact that the proposal to create the Secretariat was the result of a long preparatory phase and has strong commitment by the Government. The phasing of income generating activities, building on the established experience of FASO BAARA, and intensive project supervision and annual program and budget reviews should also reduce this risk. Furthermore, within the current context of Burkina, there is a lot that the proposed project can build on: as a result of significant sector work already accomplished on food security the dimensions and causes of the food insecurity problem are much better known. Second, rural communities are much better organized and local initiatives to deal with environmental degradation are widespread. Third, NOos are very active in Burkina and have acquired considerable experience providing assistance to village communities and managing resources which are channeled through them by the donor community. 22. RecoM_endation. I am satisfied that the proposed credit would comply with the Articles of Agreement of the Association and recommend that the Executive Directors approve the proposed credit. Lewis T. Preston President Attachments Washington, D. C. June 3, 1992  Sghedtule A BURKINA FAS0 FOOD 5SCURITY AND NUTRITION PROJECT astimated Project Costs and Financina Plan: Sumary of Project Cost