59455




Findings reports on ongoing operational, economic and sector work carried out by the World Bank and its member
 governments in the Africa Region. It is published periodically by the Knowledge Learning Center on behalf of the
                                                      Region.




                            Guinea: moving towards food security

Objectives

The Guinea National Agricultural Services Project's overall development objective is to improve
nationwide agricultural productivity and production, incomes of farmers and food security.
Initiated in 1996, the food security component of this project was undertaken in conjunction with
the Food and Agriculture Organization's Special Program for Food Security (SPFS). SPFS,
approved by the FAO Board in June 1994, had the objective of helping countries with low
revenues and a food deficit to rapidly increase their food production in order to contribute to food
security.

The SPFS strategy is based on pilot projects to identify existing technical assistance packages
and the intensification of their application while eliminating the institutional obstacles to their
adoption. The pilot phase will be followed by an extension of five years during which technical
solutions, policies and investment programs will be implemented to strengthen the national
capacity necessary for increased food security.

The pilot operation covers five prefectures (districts) and impacts on 2,430 farmers situated in
nine village communities.

Impact

The average yield of mangrove rice in the pilot area increased by 78% more than the national
average.

The revenue per hectare in the pilot area is almost three times that of the non-pilot sites.

Lessons Learned

If an initiative such as the SPFS is to be successful , adequate and timely information needs to be
provided at the field-level by the institutional partners before it is launched to ensure buy-in by
partners such as farmers' groups;

It is possible to leverage existing financial resources such as the IDA credits so as to establish
functional partnerships that reorient technical approaches and strategies towards addressing a
food deficit situation;

If the impact of the SPFS is to be increased and its approach mainstreamed, three areas need
more focus:

Strengthening of monitoring capacity, evaluation techniques, and the economic viability of
proposed economic assistance packages;

Extension of the SPFS to crops other than rice and to techniques other than small- scale
irrigation, through acknowledging and addressing the overarching problem of managing soil
fertility; and

Strengthening mechanisms for cooperation and collaboration between development partners.

It is possible for donors and governments to establish a sustainable framework for effective
collaboration on the ground. This convergence of purpose has to be based on a very clear
understanding regarding mutual roles and responsibilities.



"Program for the Collaboration of the PNSA/PSSA" , Backo Camara (FAO, Conakry), Joseph Toledano (World
Bank, Conakry), and Mathurin Gbetibouo (World Bank, Washington, D.C.). For more information, please contact
Mathurin Gbetibouo, Rm. J6-140, World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20433. Tel. no.: (202)
4737548; e-mail address : Mgbetibouo@worldbank.org