IFAD is preparing to resume its projects activities in Côte d’Ivoire

Mohamed Tounessi is the country program manager for Côte d’Ivoire at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Taking advantage of the good perspectives for security and political stability in Côte d’Ivoire, he recently went to Abidjan as part of a support mission for the resumption of IFAD-funded project activities in the former areas under siege. IFAD intends to resume its activities in Côte d’Ivoire with an emergency program.

Mr M. Tounessi(JPG, 7 kb, 113 x 170 pixels)

Original title: « If a country does not produce wealth, it cannot reduce poverty in a durable manner »

What is the status of IFAD-funded projects in Côte d’Ivoire?

IFAD is maintaining its commitment in Côte d’Ivoire through three loan-based projects started in 2000. These are the Bouaké-based Support for Marketing and Local Initiatives Project in the Centre-Nord region (PACIL), the Rural Development Project in the Zanzan region (PDRZ) and finally the Korhogo-based Support Project for Small Market Gardeners in the savannah regions (PPMS). Disbursements in favor of PACIL and PPMS were frozen due to security issues in the areas covered by the two projects. However, in agreement with the government and thanks to the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), we have agreed to resume the running of both projects in the light of the new positive perspectives for security and political stability, and the upcoming elections this year...

We are starting again with an emergency program. This program aims on the one hand to reestablish the production capacities of small farmers who were affected by the crisis, through a distribution of seeds, inputs and tools. On the other hand, the program aims to facilitate access to drinking water in rural areas by repairing pumps and renovating wells.

At the same time, we are planning to launch a portfolio review mission aiming to redefine the goals of these projects, in order to focus on the needs expressed by populations, while taking into account the current situation in Côte d’Ivoire. At IFAD, we are preparing to resume activities on a wider scale once a more durable peace has returned in the country.

In consultation with all the other operators and donors, we first aim to undertake discussions in order to prepare IFAD’s strategic intervention framework for the period 2008-2012. We will then identify new investment programs in the fields of agriculture and rural development, as well as access to rural funding through the “rural banks” that have received our support to date. These programs should be more appropriate to meet the demand.

Problems linked to agricultural production should also be examined. This requires that we get closer to the relevant sectors in order to provide a consistent support to small peasants and to integrate their production into the marketing and processing chain in Côte d’Ivoire. This is the main direction for IFAD this year and probably next year in Côte d’Ivoire, within the framework of these two projects whose activities have already started thanks to UNDP support.

Are there any current obstacles that could help to shift the focus of actions on the ground?

This is the aim of the portfolio definition and review mission. It should help to tackle the various problems, constraints and challenges. So we are going to shift the focus of these projects based on the mission carried out on the ground.

In spite of 30 years of interventions, the poverty level doesn’t seem to drop. How can you explain this? Are the intervention strategies suited? Or is it that the populations fail to take advantage of actions in their favor?

It is true that IFAD has been fighting poverty for the last 30 years. But it is not the only institution active in this area. Besides, IFAD’s efforts are not limited to poverty reduction. One should bear in mind the actions in favor of wealth generation and the contribution of agriculture to the country’s GNP. If a country does not produce wealth, it cannot reduce poverty in a durable manner. So the reduction of poverty should be inscribed within the wider framework of wealth generation through agriculture, which happens to be the most important sector in Côte d’Ivoire.

It is true that, as we have witnessed and in spite of all the efforts and investments made by IFAD and other donors, poverty has not decreased, and this is not only the case in Côte d’Ivoire. On the contrary, poverty is on the increase. So the problem is linked to economic growth and population growth. If the former is faster than the latter, then there will definitely be an impact on the rate of increase of poverty. Without economic growth, clear distortions begin to appear within poverty reduction. So everything is linked.

In addition, more important than the increase of wealth is the fair distribution of this wealth. And up until now, the rural world has seldom enjoyed a fair distribution of the country’s wealth. This problem isn’t limited to Côte d’Ivoire. It unfortunately exists in several others: in Asia and especially in Africa. The issue and the challenge are to create wealth, guarantee economic growth and ensure a fair redistribution of wealth in all sectors of the economy.

Politicians know this. So why is it that the situation doesn’t change?

Politicians know this. Everyone is aware of this fact. But development is a very complex issue that has sector-wide implications. When touching one sector, another is affected. As a result, we can achieve positive results in one given sector, and have a negative impact on other sectors of activity. So it is a matter of achieving an overall balance in performance and macroeconomic monitoring indicators. It is not easy to make a diagnosis and to find solutions. These also depend on each country and its capacity to build on the investments it receives. It is desirable that countries have a proactive attitude towards all the investments we make and that they don’t wait for initiatives to come from the outside. The peasants and the various actors must act by themselves, for their own development.

After everything you just said, do you think there is any hope?

Of course there is hope, namely through the huge young population of Africa, and therefore of Côte d’Ivoire. These young people must be involved in the whole development process. They must take part in the creation of jobs, and the rural youth should have the means to settle in their own area and to promote their own businesses. This is a global economic and social dynamic. The youth are most certainly the hope of Côte d’Ivoire.

By Benoît TANOH, Fraternité Matin, Côte d’Ivoire, July 13, 2006

Source : www.fratmat.net/content/detail.php?cid=mG6fZO4064F

Printable version

Top of page