Regional delegates discussed IFAD-funded Projects in Gambia

About 300 delegates comprising representatives from IFAD-funded projects in West and Central Africa, governments’ representatives and NGOs are recently completed a meeting in The Gambia to discuss how to continuously improve the performance of IFAD-funded projects and grants in terms of relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency; among other things. 

It was the 7^th Regional Forum for IFAD-funded Projects held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi from 12^th to 15^th November 2012 on the theme, ‘Result-based management for sustaining rural poverty reduction: lessons learned and challenges’.

Speaking at the opening of the forum on Monday, The Gambia’s Minister of Agriculture, Mr Solomon Owens, said the forum will lead to concrete conclusions and actions for enhancing the pro-poor impact of development interventions not only in The Gambia but in all the countries within our two sub-regions – West and Central Africa.

IFAD awards Gambia US$ 34 million project to reduce poverty of rural women and youth

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has recently awarded The Gambia a US$34 million project to reduce the poverty of rural women and youth in the country. 

The project, National Agricultural Land and Water Management Development Project dubbed Nema, is to increase the incomes of rural women and youth from improved productivity based on sustainable land and water management practices.

According to Mod K. Ceesay Deputy Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Nema project is one of the biggest IFAD programmes in The Gambia to help smallfarmers, especially women and youth, to improve land and water management to increase rice and vegetable production.

Momodou Gassama, coordinator of the project, said the Nema project is targeting all the six agricultural regions in the country and will focus on women and youth to enable them to participate more actively in development initiatives.

The Nema project would support and develop further The Gambia Government’s priority to transform the largely rain-fed production systems into sustainable market-oriented agriculture based on the smallholder, mainly women and youth.

Fatou Samba Njai, President of the Women Wing of the National Coordinating Organisation for Farmers Associations The Gambia (NACOFAG) acknowledged that farmers were fully involved in design of the Nema project.

Gambia hosts regional IFAD forum

The Gambia will this year host the 7^th Regional Forum for IFAD-funded Projects from 12^th to 15^th, November 2012.

Ms Mpouma Logmo Geraldine

According to Ms Mpouma Logmo Geraldine, communication consultant of IFAD - International Fund for Agricultural Development – about 300 delegates comprising representatives from IFAD-funded projects in West and Central Africa, governments’ representatives and NGOs working with IFAD.  The delegates will discuss among others things how to continuously improve the performance of IFAD-funded projects and grants in terms of relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency. 

This year’s theme: ‘Result-based management for sustaining rural poverty reduction: lessons learned and challenges’, reflects IFAD and Governments' determination to fulfill their promise to deliver better results that positively touches the lives of the rural poor.

Ms Geraldine said objectives of the annual forum, hosted by Gabon last year, include highlighting and sharing the knowledge, experience and lessons that have evolved during the project implementation period, including areas of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and the threats to further and sustained progress.

She said the forum will give the delegates the opportunity to discuss the experiences of selected successful projects so as to learn how they effectively linked and enhanced the relationship between inputs, interventions, outputs to achieve the expected results and impacts.

PIWAMP rated on top for wonderful performance

The Participatory Integrated Watershed Management Project (PIWAMP), a project that continues to positively touch the lives of thousands of Gambian households particularly those in rural areas, has been top rated for its wonderful performances, achievements and financial managements.

The project is ranked fourth in the 2011 Fiduciary Ratings of the top ten IFAD supported projects in West and Central Africa.  The IFAD’s Fiduciary Ratings compares the total financial investment of a project against it achievements.  PIWAMP is rated fourth best performing project among 45 IFAD - International Fund for Agricultural Development - supported projects in West and Central Africa, as end of June 2012. 

This was announced at Financial Management training workshop held in Rome, Italy in August 2012.  

Mr. Momodou Gassama, project coordinator of PIWAMP, said:  “This is the first time PIWAMP is ranked among the top ten best performing projects in West and Central Africa.” 

Gambia to benefit from $14mn IFAD project to boost incomes of women, young farmers

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), following request of The Gambia government, is developing a new agricultural project dubbed ‘the National Agricultural Land and Water Management Development (ALAWAMDEP)’ to the tune of fourteen million U.S dollars aim at increasing food security and raise income of smallholders especially women and youths.

The main objective of the ALAWAMDEP is to improve rice and vegetable productivity through land and water management practices taking into account the value chain.  The project will target all the six agricultural regional directorates, nationwide, focusing on women and youth.

IFAD mission team, led by IFAD Country Programme Manager for The Gambia, Mr. Moses Abukari, has recently completed participatory and consultative visits countrywide in order to have first hand information about the current ongoing IFAD projects in the country so as to build on that experience in the new project.