The World Bank Emergency Locust Response Program Phase 1 Ethiopia Additional Finance (P178434) Project Information Document (PID) Appraisal Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 31-Mar-2022 | Report No: PIDA33518 Mar 12, 2022 Page 1 of 10 The World Bank Emergency Locust Response Program Phase 1 Ethiopia Additional Finance (P178434) BASIC INFORMATION OPS_TABLE_BASIC_DATA A. Basic Project Data Country Project ID Project Name Parent Project ID (if any) Eastern Africa P178434 Emergency Locust P173702 Response Program Phase 1 Ethiopia Additional Finance Parent Project Name Region Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Emergency Locust Response AFRICA EAST 04-Apr-2022 24-May-2022 Program Practice Area (Lead) Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Agriculture and Food Investment Project Republic of Djibouti, Ethiopia Food Security Financing Federal Democratic Coordination Directorate, Republic of Ethiopia, Ministry of Agriculture, Republic of Uganda, Natural Resources & Food, Republic of Kenya Kenya Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperation, Djibouti Ministry of Agriculture, Water, Livestock and Fish Resources Proposed Development Objective(s) Parent To respond to the threat posed by the locust outbreak and to strengthen systems for preparedness. Components Surveillance and Control Measures Livelihoods Protection and Rehabilitation Coordination and Early Warning Preparedness Project Management PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY -NewFin1 Total Project Cost 60.00 Total Financing 60.00 Mar 12, 2022 Page 2 of 10 The World Bank Emergency Locust Response Program Phase 1 Ethiopia Additional Finance (P178434) of which IBRD/IDA 60.00 Financing Gap 0.00 DETAILS -NewFinEnh1 World Bank Group Financing International Development Association (IDA) 60.00 IDA Credit 30.00 IDA Grant 30.00 Environmental and Social Risk Classification High OPS_TABLE_SAFEGUARDS_DEFERRED Other Decision (as needed) B. Introduction and Context Country Context 1. Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa after Nigeria, and it has been among the fastest growing economies in the world averaging 10 percent annual growth over the last fifteen years.1 The strong economy helped the country reduce urban and rural poverty; the proportion of the population below the national poverty line (US$1.90/person/day) dropped from 39 percent in 2004 to 24 percent in 2015.2 However, regional inequalities lead to vulnerability with consumption levels in the lowest population decile unchanged since 2005. Inequality between the urban and rural population has also increased over time. Based on the 2019 home grown economic reform agenda, the government has launched a new 10-Year Development Plan (2020- 2030), that endeavors to sustain the remarkable growth achieved in the past decade with greater involvement of the private sector and improved governance to promote more equitable growth. 2. The economy has faced extraordinary headwinds from the COVID-19 pandemic. Like the rest of the world, Ethiopia has experienced unprecedented social and economic challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The direct and indirect economic impacts include disruption of manufacturing, services, and trade leading to widespread job loss and a significant reduction of household incomes and aggregate demand. The extensive strain on the healthcare system and associated costs. Disrupted value chains and supply chains increased the prices of food and basic goods, increasing food insecurity and negatively impacting poverty 1https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/ethiopia/overview#1 2https://databank.worldbank.org/data/download/poverty/987B9C90-CB9F-4D93-AE8C- 750588BF00QA/AM2020/Global_POVEQ_ETH.pdf Mar 12, 2022 Page 3 of 10 The World Bank Emergency Locust Response Program Phase 1 Ethiopia Additional Finance (P178434) reduction gains achieved by GoE since 2005. 3. Consecutive shocks from climate change have increased the vulnerability of farming and pastoralist households. Following consecutive drought and flood seasons, the East African desert locust (DL) upsurge was the worst in at least 25 years. The invasion has been particularly extensive in Ethiopia, causing significant damage to millions of hectares of farmland, pasture, and rangeland across more than 153 districts (woredas) across Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Somali, Southern Nations Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR), and Tigray. Ethiopia is a frontline desert locust country with an endemic breeding population that combined with invading swarms from neighboring countries over three consecutive seasons of spring (March-June), summer (July – September) and winter (October-January). This came at a difficult time as Ethiopia was already supporting 6.7 million chronically food insecure people, and the response has been hampered by the heightened security risk and travel restrictions in the conflict affected areas of Tigray, Amhara, and Afar, which combined with COVID- 19, have compounded the food insecurity and poverty impacts of the upsurge. The concerted efforts of the government, supported by ELRP, and other development partners, have helped bring the outbreak to an end; however, the country still needs to enhance their system of surveillance and control and help those affected by the DL invasions (and the other compounding factors) rebuild their livelihoods. 4. The economic and social costs of political unrest and the war in Tigray continue to mount. Since the establishment of the current government in September 2018, several small and large demonstrations, riots, and disturbances have happened throughout the country. The more recent conflict since November 2020 in the northern region of Tigray has resulted in a humanitarian crisis while also preventing adequate surveillance and control of locusts in a known invasion area. The conflict has since spread to the neighboring regions of Afar and Amhara. The war in Tigray is estimated to have costed the federal government billions of Ethiopian Birr in just the past year. Moreover, destruction of services and infrastructure such as schools, health posts, airports, port, roads, transport etc. has resulted in a significant setback of the development gains registered over the years. Sectoral and Institutional Context 5. Agriculture is the backbone of the Ethiopian economy, accounting for more than 40 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), 80 percent of exports, and 75 percent of employment. The GoE, therefore, accords a high priority in further strengthening and diversifying the agricultural sector. As part of the parent project, the GoE, through the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) led a well-coordinated ground and aerial control operation to curb the DL impacts. Over the past 18 months, the ELRP project has conducted survey and control operations in all project regions in partnership with the Regional Bureaus of Agriculture (RBoA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). During this period, a total of 505,404 ha of land has been carefully treated with select agrichemicals. Moreover, 72,759 ha of damaged grazing land has been restored back to productivity. 6. Further damage to farmer, agro-pastoralist and pastoralist Households (HHs) has also been mitigated because of the ELRP project. To restore local livelihoods, the project has so far provided quality seed and fertilizer packets to 142,036 affected farmers and agro-pastoralists as well as emergency forage to 99,904 pastoralist HHs. However, with the limited total funding of US$63 million, the parent project could only support Mar 12, 2022 Page 4 of 10 The World Bank Emergency Locust Response Program Phase 1 Ethiopia Additional Finance (P178434) about 40 percent of the affected vulnerable households. C. Proposed Development Objective(s) Original PDO 7. The program development objective (PrDO) for the ELRP MPA is to respond to the threat posed by the locust outbreak and to strengthen systems for preparedness, and it remains unchanged. The linked project development objective (PDO) for the Ethiopia ELRP is "to prevent and respond to the threat posed by locust infestation outbreak and strengthen national systems for preparedness." Current PDO 8. There is no change to the PrDO of the ELRP MPA or to the PDO of the parent project in Ethiopia. Key Results 9. While the PDO indicators from the parent project will remain the same, the end of project targets for both indicators will be revised upwards. a. Land area in Hectare (ha) sprayed for locust control; b. Land area in ha of affected pasture/rangeland restored to productivity; D. Project Description 10. Additional financing will continue the work of the parent project in Ethiopia, funding all the components albeit with changes in emphasis. 11. Component 1: Surveillance and Control Measures will support enhanced surveillance capacity, ensuring that community awareness about DL continues to be raised and community scouts are trained to watch for hopper bands and swarms. It will also ensure that sufficient control response is in place to rapidly act on any such sightings. Ethiopia has an endemic DL population that breeds in three seasons, so surveillance is an ongoing element of plant protection in the country. The project will also continue to support community-based monitoring with training of community scouts and village leaders and forecasting that integrates climate change considerations with community observations. It will also test different methods of control including, a trial of non-chemical egg field destruction and hopper control practices in five locations across the project area (focus breeding areas). 12. Component 2. Livelihoods Protection and Rehabilitation will support poor and vulnerable households in recovering from the loss of productive assets and restore livelihoods that have been damaged or lost due to DL swarms and further compounded by COVID-19, flooding, droughts, and conflict. The component will continue to provide: (i) a seed/fertilizer kits to affected farmers/agro-pastoralists to support farming in the upcoming cropping season; and (ii) fodder seed to the affected communities to rehabilitate destroyed pastures and grazing areas. In addition, interventions such as legumes and grasses suitable to the local ecological conditions will be promoted to enhance soil fertility, landscape resilience and to conserve local biodiversity. The project will continue to coordinate and complement with the Bank funded Productive Safety Nets Project Mar 12, 2022 Page 5 of 10 The World Bank Emergency Locust Response Program Phase 1 Ethiopia Additional Finance (P178434) 4 (PSNP 4, P146388) and the Bank-IFAD financed Lowlands Livelihood Resilience Project (LLRP, P164336) and other similar projects. 13. Component 3: Coordination and Early Warning Preparedness will help strengthen early warning systems with investment in human capacity, technology, and infrastructure to: (i) operationalize an integrated system for locust detection, occurrence projection and early warning backed up by systematic data collection and analysis system and access to control operation assets such as elocust3, drones, rental helicopters and fixed wing aircrafts; and (ii) strengthen DL control units in the Plant Protection Directorate at the federal and regional levels. The interventions would include identification, coordination, and engagement of key stakeholders, strengthening early warning and communication arrangements at the local level; awareness raising about environmental and health risks, and enhancing skills for safe transportation, storage, handling and spray of pesticides for locust control. 14. Component 4: Project Management will sustain the project management costs including operating costs, training and costs associated with implementation, financial management, procurement, environmental and social management, monitoring and evaluation, communications, and knowledge management. Furthermore, the AF will strengthen the use of already launched Geo-Enabling Monitoring and Supervision System (GEMS). . Legal Operational Policies Triggered? No Projects on International Waterways OP 7.50 No Projects in Disputed Areas OP 7.60 Summary of Assessment of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts . 15. Environmental Risk Rating. The environmental risks of the project could result mainly from Component 1: Desert Locust Monitoring and Control and Component 2: Livelihood Protection and Rehabilitation which will finance the provision of seed, fertilizer, and fodder seed packages to rehabilitate farmlands, pasturelands and rangelands affected by the desert locust invasion. Desert locust control activities (Component 1) will entail the application of pesticides that can have a range of environment, health, and safety risks. The use and application of pesticides if not properly managed could contaminate and lead to poisoning for farmers and livestock. Pesticides are considered highly hazardous if they present high levels of acute or chronic hazards to human health or the environment (FAO and WHO, 2016). Hazards to the environment include contamination of water resources and soils, and toxicity to non-target organisms that may lead to disruption of ecosystem functions, such as pollination or natural pest suppression. Pesticides can be toxic to other organisms including birds, wildlife including endangered species and beneficial insects. Some pesticides may accumulate through the food chain. Environmental exposure can result in contamination of ground or surface water, soils, and air. Pesticides can reach surface water through runoff from treated plants and soil. Pesticides can cause populations of Mar 12, 2022 Page 6 of 10 The World Bank Emergency Locust Response Program Phase 1 Ethiopia Additional Finance (P178434) beneficial soil microorganisms to decline which can influence soil fertility. Exposure of pesticides could be particularly high in contexts where there is limited availability of the prescribed PPE; limited ability to safely store pesticides; risk of occurrence of spray drift and lack of disposal options/facilities for obsolete stocks, left- over product, or empty containers. Other factors affecting proper use of pesticides may include limited user knowledge about pests and pest management options, available products, and their risks; users not being able to read or understand labels (low literacy levels in certain areas); incomplete labels; labels not available in the local language; etc. Sprayers, mixers, loaders, and agricultural farm workers could be exposed to pesticides. Activities to be financed under Component 2 have also small-scale environment, health and safety risks such as risks associated with application of fertilizers, generation of solid waste and community health and safety impacts. The environmental risk of the AF remains high. 16. Social Risk Rating (High). The AF will have positive social impacts in controlling the locust invasion, restoring the livelihood of locust-affected people, and strengthening the capacity of locust emergency response and preparedness. The AF under component 1 will finance locust control and surveillance activities, by applying both ground and aerial surveillance, and control methods. The ground control mission will use pesticides. Pesticides are believed to be a potential source of risk for community members, different types of workers, and ecosystem. The bulk pesticide constitutes Malathion 95%ULV which is a hazardous chemical. The working conditions put workers as vulnerable for exposure, including those workers at pesticide stores, and in charge of transportation of pesticides and spraying. Any accidental spills in the handling of the pesticide, traffic incidents during transportation. Negligence of safety procedures may seriously damage the community and workers’ health, and cause human and livestock fatality, harm the environment and biodiversity. For aerial surveillance operations, the project will use surveillance aircrafts, despite the low level of likelihood it is associated with plane crash incidents. The parent project encountered three pesticide spraying aircraft incidents. An environment and social audit (ESA) was conducted on the aircraft crash incidents, for which the client developed an action plan and is currently implementing. The ground survey and control mission will be achieved by deploying scouts, extension workers, human and vehicle-mounted sprayers, including in insecure and inaccessible places. This will increase workers and communities’ exposure to GBV and security incidents. The ESA and the project implementation support mission conducted in 2021 identified the lack of health examination and ecological monitoring exercise particularly after or post-control campaign, and the lack of focused approach and performance toward project benefit sharing for vulnerable and disadvantaged people. The AF responds to all these issues by implementing FAO’s Deseret Locust Guideline 5 & 6, and the Integrated Pest Management Plan (IPMP) as an integral part of the relevant national and WB ESSs. The AF project activities may give rise to potential grievances which could be linked or associated health and safety risks of workers and the community. Possible grievances cases include loss of livestock, water contamination, security risk from remote & conflict areas (security risk from the use of security personnel, when required), working conditions, GBV risk, etc. The project reported establishment of GRMs. However, the audit identified lack of functional GRM as there are no reports demonstrating functionality. The AF shall support GRM functionality through provision of technical support. The AF will finance component 2 extending to families affected by the locust upsurge. It aims to restore the livelihood of locust-affected households in 294 districts. The social risk may arise from, 1) targeting beneficiary groups, and 2) distribution of agricultural inputs (e.g., seeds, fertilizers, pasture development). If these activities are implemented without meaningful consultation, informed decision of the Mar 12, 2022 Page 7 of 10 The World Bank Emergency Locust Response Program Phase 1 Ethiopia Additional Finance (P178434) community and participation of vulnerable and disadvantaged people, it will inflame the existing livelihood deprivation, widen the existing inequity and inclusiveness, food insecurity, and poverty. The AF may suffer from a lack of operational procedures for benefit sharing and participation, inaccessibility or remoteness, security issues, the lifestyle (e.g. pastoral and agro pastoral), and absence of awareness. The AF project will undertake early planning consideration and implementation of the environment and social risk management (ESRM) instruments prepared for the parent project and updated for the proposed AF. The project risk management will be anchored on the updated ESRM instruments such as, ESMF, IPMP, LMP, GBV/SEA Action Plan, Social Assessment, SEP, resettlement framework and security risk assessment and management plan, as required. E. Implementation Institutional and Implementation Arrangements 17. The AF implementation arrangements would remain the same as for the parent project, and the MoA will implement the project. Food Security Coordination Directorate (FSCD) has the overall responsibility for a successful implementation of ELRP. The PCU is already adequately staffed with well-trained environment safeguard specialist, social development specialist, accountant, procurement officer, finance officer and M&E officer. All project staff have already been trained on WB procedures and have ELRP implementation experience for nearly 20 months now. The state minister for agriculture development, who oversees plant and animal protection, will continue providing overall oversight for the project with the assistance of heads of Regional Bureaus of Agriculture (RBoA). The PCU carries coordination, project management, financial management, procurement, ESF, periodic financial audit, M&E and coordination functions with the relevant directorates and units at the federal, regional and woreda levels engaged in project implementation. A steering committee co-chaired by MoA and Ministry of Finance (MoF) provides strategic oversight and direction to the project. 18. As the project fund-flow will remain the same, and there are no changes in FM requirements or procedures. M&E arrangements of the AF will also remain the same as the parent project. All implementation arrangements at the regional and woreda levels will continue to be implemented through RBoAs. 19. Given the need to reach households in conflict-affected areas, the World Bank will work with the Government of Ethiopia to use third-party implementation through United Nations (UN) agencies contracted by the Ministry of Finance. . CONTACT POINT World Bank Melissa Williams Senior Rural Development Specialist Mar 12, 2022 Page 8 of 10 The World Bank Emergency Locust Response Program Phase 1 Ethiopia Additional Finance (P178434) Mohammad Imtiaz Akhtar Alvi Senior Agriculture Economist Welela Ketema Sr Agricultural Spec. Borrower/Client/Recipient Republic of Djibouti Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh Minister of Economy and Finances, in Charge of Industry smibrathu@mefip.gov.dj Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Abebe Tadesse Feyisa Director atadessef@mofed.gov.et Republic of Uganda Keith Muhakanizi Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury ps@treasury.go.ug Republic of Kenya Dr. Thugge Kamau Principal Secretary ps@treasury.go.ke Implementing Agencies Ethiopia Food Security Coordination Directorate, Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources & Food Sintayehu Demissie Director sintusaron@yahoo.com Kenya Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperation Esther Mueni Wambua Project Coordinator wambuaemm@yahoo.com Djibouti Ministry of Agriculture, Water, Livestock and Fish Resources Ibrahim Elmi Secretary General ibrahimelmimed@gmail.com Mar 31, 2022 Page 9 of 10 The World Bank Emergency Locust Response Program Phase 1 Ethiopia Additional Finance (P178434) FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects APPROVAL Melissa Williams Task Team Leader(s): Mohammad Imtiaz Akhtar Alvi Welela Ketema Approved By Practice Manager/Manager: Country Director: Mar 31, 2022 Page 10 of 10