Gambia - Additional Financing to the Rice Value AEFPF Project

The proposed operation is a Transition Support Facility (TSF) grant of UA 2.5 million as Additional Financing for the Rice Value Chain Transformation Programme (RVCP) in The Gambia. This project is designed as an additional financing emergency support to the on-going Bank-financed project Rice value Chain Transformation Project with the main aim of scaling up the RVCTP Component 1- Production and Productivity enhancement, in addition to complementary reforms components to avert the looming food crisis as a result of the conflict and build the resilience within the national food system to reduce its reliance of imports. The main concern for the Government of The Gambia is to ensure access to affordable and good quality inputs for smallholder farmers for the 2022/2023 cropping season. Therefore, building on the structure of the RVCP Component 1- Production and Productivity Enhancement, the additional financing – the Gambia African Emergency Food Production Facility (AEFPF) will focus on i) the provision of subsidised fertilizer input using the RVCP platform, ii) enhancing the farmer registration database/platform to promote delivery of smart subsidies and enhance extension services for farmers, and iii) strengthen agriculture policy reforms within the fertilizer subsector.