Cocoa Integrated Value Chain Development Project

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The project will support activities directly contributing to the long-term sustainability of the sector (economic, social,environmental, institutional). In line with the Maximizing Finance for Development (MFD) approach, it will not finance privatesector productive activities, except through limited and well-targeted matching grants supporting promising pilot/nascentactivities. Instead, it aims at mobilizing well-coordinated private sector funding (by individual companies or through programsimplemented under or coordinated by the industry agencies, such as of the World Cocoa Foundation-WCF). It will also coordinatetightly with Governments and and donors- funded projects/programs supporting the sustainable development of the forest sector, inparticular under Cote d’Ivoire REDD+ program (such as the IDA-financed FIP and Land Policy Improvement and Implementation Project,the forthcoming Carbon Fund-financed Tai National Park Emission Reduction Program and other donor-financed projects), as well aswith similar operations in Ghana as far as the joint/mutual benefits are evidenced.The project’s primary beneficiaries would bepoor smallholders with cocoa farms of 2–3 hectares who would benefit from project interventions to eradicate pests and diseases,improve productivity (access to improved technologies and services) and market access (feeder roads and storage/drying facilities),and strengthen the voice, effectiveness and market power of producer associations. Other important project beneficiaries would becocoa exporters and processors that would benefit from a better structuration of the domestic value chain (through thestrengthening of producer associations and the development of contractual relationships) and a more secure access to consumercountries for their products. The project would also key public institutions involved in cocoa development, from the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development (MINADER) such as the Conseil du Cafe-Caca and, the agricultural research and extension agencies(CNRA and ANADER), as well as relevant departments and in the ministries in charge of trade, industry and SMEs, water & forests,environment, etc.The project will be structured around the following three components: (i) Cocoa processing and value addition;(ii) Improvement of the sector productivity and sustainability; and (iii) Institutional development and project coordination. Theyare briefly described below, with indicative cost allocation of the IBRD proceeds.Component 1: Cocoa processing and valueaddition. To assist the Government in capturing a higher share of the global cocoa value chain through in-country value addition byimproving quality and developing competitive downstream activities to produce intermediate or consumer products. Activities to besupported include inter alia : (i) development of credible certification programs and promotion of cocoa production for nichemarkets through the development of specific geographically-based production; (ii) establishment of cocoa dedicated logisticsplatforms at the Abidjan and San Pedro ports to improve export operations; (iii) preparation and implementation of strategyidentifying current and future opportunities offered by the domestic and regional markets, as well as emerging markets such asthose of China and India, for intermediate and finished products ; (iv) research on innovative processing technologies and supportto promising small-scale entrepreneurs for the development and production of innovative finished products; and (v) specifictraining programs to develop the technical and managerial skills necessary to support the promotion of competitive processing bysmall and medium-scale entrepreneurs (including cooperatives) .Component 2: Improving cocoa productivity and productionsustainability. This component will include the following inter-related sets of activities supporting the sector’s long-termeconomic, environmental and social sustainability: (i) Improving productivity. uprooting and rehabilitation/reconversion of about200 00 ha of overaged plantations or affected by diseases, with full compensation paid to producers; improving cocoa researchsystem through partnership with Ghana, relevant international centers and the private sector ; facilitating farmers access toimprove and climate friendly cocoa production technologies and farming systems;: (ii) ensuring environmental sustainability through) sub-projects promoting the development of agro-forestry systems (including the Payment for Environmental Services incollaboration with CFI and REDD+ supporting programs; and the development of full traceability of cocoa production and marketing,from plantations to export points; (iii) ensuring social sustainability and improving livelihoods cocoa-farming communities through activities and sub-projects targeted at the eradication of the Worst Forms of Child Labor ; establishment and maintenance ofcritical rural infrastructure (rural roads, access to electricity and water) ; and vocational training programs to provideopportunities to cocoa producers children (focusing on women and youth) to develop skills for migrating toward other agriculturalor non-agricultural activities; and (iv) strengthening the overall cocoa production performance and sustainability monitoring andevaluation systems, including a Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) to monitor development and compliance with environmental andsocial safeguards. Component 3: Institutional development and project managemen t. The component will strengthen the capacity ofall actors of the cocoa value chain and the integration of this value chain to improve its overall efficiency and support theeffective coordination of project implementation. Specifically, activities will consist of the followings: (i) Strengthening ofcocoa cooperatives and support to the establishing the Cocoa Inter-profession, with a genuine public-private partnership that willensure producers, private sector and the civil society participation in the management of the sector; (ii) Improvement t of CCCmanagement, including strengthening its capacity to manage the sector, including an efficient monitoring and early warning systemof production, disease and environmental threat and world market conditions for cocoa and cocoa-based products; (ii) improving theefficiency and transparency of CCC management of the Cocoa Funds (Fond d’Investissement en Milieu Rural- FIMR, Fond‘Investissement Agricole-FIA, Sacherie) ; and ((iii) Project Management and coordination, including support to administrative,technical, and financial management of the project by CCC under the oversight of a Steering Committee under the Prime MinisterOffice, and external M&E scheme led by MINADER.; coordination among all institutional partners to ensure the efficient flow ofinformation among all value-chain actors; (iii) establishment of the project M&E system of the project’s performance onprocurement, financial management, environmental, and social impacts, as well communication activities.Project’s institutionaland implementation arrangements have not yet been finalized. However, it has been in principle agreed that, given its strategic andmultisectoral nature, a Steering Committee will be established to oversee its implementation. It will be chaired by the PrimeMinister’s Office and including representatives from relevant ministries (including Finance, Planning, Agriculture, Industry,Commerce, Forestry, Environment), producers, private sector and civil society. It will be responsible for advising the project onstrategic directions and activities to be provided; and ensuring the effective cooperation between all key stakeholders. Inaddition, it will also oversee (i) an independent Public-Private Partnership Platform (PPPP) established to provide a forum forconcertation, exchange and advocacy; and (ii) a project Grievance Redress Mechanism.