Workshop on Implementation of IFAD Projects in Africa

1. ATELIER SUR L’EXECUTION DES PROJETS FIDA EN AFRIQUE DE L’OUEST ET DUCENTREBamako : 8- 11 Mars 2005 WORKSHOP ON IMPLEMENTATION OF IFAD PROJECTS IN WESTERN AND CENTRAL AFRICABamako : 8- 11 March 2005

2. Cotonou Action Plan: Lessons learned and results achieved REVIEW • Objectives: identification and implementation of priority activities to improve the impact and effectiveness of the IFAD portfolio in Western and Central Africa • Process: formulation of an action plan during a regional workshop on project implementation, held in Cotonou, November 2002 • 21 performance indicators selected from different fields (project administration, knowledge management, impact, etc.)

3. Strong Points and Weak Points Strong Points • Préparation participative focalisée sur un nombre limité et réaliste d’activités prioritaires. Weak points • certain objectives and indicators not specific enough, or hard to achieve • implementation monitoring carried out only at IFAD level without regularly informing partners in the sub-region • other action plans prepared (rural finance, gender) but not yet incorporated into the sub-regional action plan

4. Results – Overall picture GENERALLY SATISFACTORY EXECUTION OF THE COTONOU ACTION PLAN • a large number of the Cotonou Action Plan recommendations have been implemented (partially or fully) or have begun to be implemented • recommendations not implemented concern mainly those whose initial objectives were not specific, were overly ambitious or were impossible to achieve

5. Poor skills of coordination teams Inadequate and inappropriate training Poor quality reports(withdrawal applications an DAO) capacity-building programme approved by the Executive Board in April 2005, to boost IFAD project teams’ skills Weaknesses in project implementation

6. Staff instability Differentiated salary grid text prepared for incorporation into loan agreements harmonization of salaries and studies carried out in Burkina Faso, Chad, the Congo, Guinea, Mali and Senegal) Unsatisfactory working conditions of project staff

7. Between IFAD projects within a given country At the National level At the Sub- regional level Launching of FIDAFRIQUE Lack of information and communication

8. Lack of communication and poor synergy between IFAD grants and loans preparation of PADS II (West African Rice Development Association [WARDA]) and PRONAF II (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture [IITA]) with the participation of IFAD project staff preparation of Yam II with good participation of IFAD project staff IFAD project directors more fully involved in implementation of grant-financed activities communication and synergy between research grants and investment project loans

9. Ineffective M&E Systems inappropriate reference studies translation of the M&E guide into French training needs to be taken into account in the preparation of the M&E grant establishment of the results and impact management system (RIMS) within IFAD Insuffisance du Suivi et d’Evaluation des projets

10. women do not have equal access to productive resources, education and information, and play little part in social decisions five workshops for gender training held for project leaders a partnership agreement between IFAD and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) started within the context of support to rural development in Western and Central Africa Gender

11. poor coordination among projects, IFAD, the cooperating institution and borrower in the preparation of supervision missions planning of annual supervision missions carried out with the cooperating institution increased participation of IFAD staff in supervision missions Coordination among projects, IFAD, the cooperating institution and borrower in the preparation of supervision missions

12. the approaches adopted do not guarantee a real, active participation of the beneficiaries and other partners major issue of training on gender and sustainable means of subsistence Participation of beneficiaries and partners in all stages of project preparation

13. Long delays in getting projects to meet the overall conditions for effectivenss despite difficulties in mobilizing funds before loans come into force IFAD has set up and continues to set up financial assistance for the preparation of invitation to tender documents and the selection of project teams Project start-up

14. length and content of workshops not conducive to active participation of partners long gaps between project approval and inception In each new project: project teams recruited and trained after the loan is signed implementation partners identified, assessed and selected organization of information, education and communications campaigns with beneficiaries and project teams (PRODAD, PRODER) Start-Up Workshops

15. delays in setting up counterpart funds HIPC funds made available for co-financing in certain countries (e.g. Mauritania) Counterpart funds

16. Delays in procurement IFAD directives for procurement procedures revised and updated regular consultation with cooperating institutions in order to solve this problem Procurement

17. the impact of HIV/AIDS in Western and Central Africa is worsening – absence of an appropriate response from IFAD to combat this pandemic presence of a specialist on project preparation teams (Cameroon, the Gambia, the Niger, etc.) systemic inclusion of HIV/AIDS issues in new country strategic opportunities papers (COSOPs) (Senegal) study started on the current situation in Western and Central Africa an agreement in preparation between UNIFEM and UNDP for a validation workshop and four training workshops for focal project staff HIV/AIDS

18. contributions requested from beneficiaries not consonant with their capacities, thus slowing down implementation subject revised in the context of bottom-up community development Contribution of beneficiaries

19. results of FIDAFRIQUE I limited – installed equipment soon broken down FIDAFRIQUE I terminated FIDAFRIQUE II launched, with special emphasis on the creation of a local maintenance network Results of FIDAFRIQUE I

20. Challenges for the Bamako Action Plan Identification of SMART Objectives • Specific • Measurable • Attainable • Relevant • Time Limit