Agricultural Services and Producer Organizations Project

closed

The development objective of the proposed Agricultural Services and Producer Organizations Project (ASPOP) is to increase agricultural productivity and rural incomes while preserving the natural resource base. The project has the following three components: Component 1) Promotion of sustainable growth in agricultural production. Under this component, the project finances (a) productive investments to promote processing, and marketing of farm and livestock products. The project finances demand-driven productive investments proposed by producer organizations and the technical assistance required for proper implementation, through a grant system with an up-front farmers' contribution of at least 20% of subproject cost as defined in the Project Implementation Manual, and (b) competitive research as demand-driven subprojects to support short-term (two to three years) applied research aimed at finding solutions to constraints on the productive investment subprojects, both cotton and non-cotton-related. The project complements support from the French Cooperation Agency and ADB. It finances small equipment, inputs, operational costs for the implementation of subprojects, training and study tours, and activities that support effective development of linkages between small farmers and agribusiness. Component 2) will finance jointly with French Cooperation Agency and ADB, (a) capacity strengthening of producer organizations, including cotton producer organizations; (b) specific support to cotton sector reform; and (c) public and private sector development. Component 3) supports: (a) the administration and management of the project, and (b) the monitoring and evaluation of project activities. The component finances the small works and equipment required to establish a National Project Coordination and Management Unit (NPCMU) and six Inter-Regional Coordination and Management Units-IRPCMUs within the Ministry of Agriculture. The component also finances the training of staff and the operating cost of these units the Competitive Research Committee and the Departmental Selection Committees. It also finances studies aimed at addressing unanticipated constraints and opportunities arising from demand-driven subprojects. These studies would cover: (a) identification of crop and livestock development opportunities; (b) identification and use of inputs and agricultural technology needs for a specific region or department; and (c) assessment of the institutional set-up and procedural arrangements and mechanisms for agricultural service centers.