Aide Memoire - West Africa Food System Resilience Program (FSRP) (Phase I, P172769) Implementation Support Mission with ECOWAS/ARAA Lomé, Togo, May 2-3, 2024 I. INTRODUCTION 1. From May 2nd-3rd, 2024, the World Bank (WB) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (ARAA)1 jointly undertook an Implementation Support Mission (ISM) for the West Africa Food System Resilience Program (FSRP) in Lomé, Togo. The Bank team would like to thank the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) of ECOWAS, ARAA and the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) for the mission. The objectives of the ISM were to: (i) review results and implementation progress; (ii) discuss technical details on elements of the Annual World Plan and Budget (AWPB) 2024; and (iii) review the project procurement, financial management, and environmental and social safeguards issues. 2. The Aide Memoire summarizes the mission’s findings and was discussed in the closing session of the mission and agreed via email. II. PROJECT DATA AND RATINGS Program data Total: US$ 35 M [IDA D923: US$ 10 M, Food Systems 2030 Program funding Trust Fund (TF) TF0B8256: US$ 2 M, GRiF TF0B9536: US$ 23 M] Closing date December 31, 2026 US$ 3.71 M (US$ 2.61 M IDA, US$ 0.6 M TF, and US$ 0.5 M Total disbursement to date GRIF) Disbursement rate (percentage) of IDA 26 % Percentage of execution of AWPB 24.7 % Detailed Ratings Previous (Nov ’23) Current (May ‘24) Progress towards achievement of Project Development Objective (PDO) MS MS Implementation Progress MU MU Component 3: Food Market Integration and Trade MU MU Component 5: Project Management MS MS Fiduciary Management MS MS Procurement MS MS Environmental and Social Safeguards S S Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) MS MS III. IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS AND KEY FINDINGS 3. Summary: Overall, progress towards the achievement of the PDO is rated moderately satisfactory and implementation progress moderately unsatisfactory. As of May 2024, the disbursement rate of the IDA grant stood at 26%. Activities during 2022 and 2023 were significantly delayed. Due to these delays, during the October 2023 mission, the Director for Agriculture at ECOWAS requested that the mid-term review be postponed from March 2024 to November 2024. During the November 2023 ISM, the mission highlighted the need for ECOWAS to be more ambitious in its AWPB to accelerate disbursements and deliver real results on ECOWAS priority agendas - 1 The list of participants can be found in Annex 1. 1 specifically on the ECOWAS Rice Observatory (ERO), the Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR), and an additional activity related to soil health and fertility. Since the last ISM, ECOWAS has increased ambition on the ERO, worked closely with the World Bank and Global Risk Financing Facility (GRiF) on the SGR and started recruitment for two positions related to the soil health and fertility agenda. Support to SPS work and value-chain development has also been hindered by staffing issues. ECOWAS has successfully led the overall coordination of the FSRP, including by establishing a centralized M&E system, holding monthly Town Hall meetings and effectively communicating FSRP results. However, the WB notes the need for ECOWAS to significantly accelerate their own activities related to value-chain development and ramp-up support to countries on subcomponent 3.2, value chain development. Over the next months, ECOWAS should: (i) continue to advance its own project implementation, with a focus on key ECOWAS priorities that yield tangible results and (ii) support countries in the implementation of their value-chain activities. 4. Dated covenants: As of the date of the mission one (out of three) dated covenants had still not been met, as the procurement of the external auditor had not been finalized. However, immediately following the mission the external auditor contract was approved by the general auditor of ECOWAS. The contract was in place as of June 2024 and now all dated covenants have been fulfilled. 5. Staffing: Since the last ISM, four experts have started their assignments: the agri-food expert and three experts working on the GRIF (specialist in risk financing, food safety expert, actuary). The recruitment of the following experts is ongoing: one expert for national stocks, one ERO coordinator, two soil health and fertility experts, and one internal auditor. Given the challenges with implementation and technical support to Component 3, it was also agreed that ECOWAS would rearrange staffing under Component 3 to expedite implementation and improve quality of work. Dates by which all recruitments are expected to be finalized are included in the annex 4. 6. 2024 AWPB: As of May 1st, the financial execution rate of the AWPB 2024 is 7%. As procurement processes are being finalized, it is expected that the execution rate will accelerate in the coming months, especially with activities recently added to scale the ambition of the AWPB, for example more focus on ERO and two additional experts to support the implementation of the Soil Health and Fertility Roadmap. IV. IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPONENT 3 AND TECHNICAL DISCUSSIONS 7. Component 3 (C3): The implementation status of C3 is overall rated as Moderately Unsatisfactory. This rating is maintained due to low ambition and achievement of the 2022 and 2023 AWPBs, and a 7% achievement of the 2024 AWPB half way through the 2024, and a total disbursement of 26% at mid-term, and a noted lack of technical leadership by ECOWAS to countries on Component 3 activities. Given that the 2024 AWPB has been structured to be ambitious in terms of activities and disbursements, with a full execution of the 2024 AWPB and rearrangement of staffing under Component 3, ECOWAS will be on track to be upgraded. a) Activities of Component 3.1 8. Activity 3.1.1: Implementation of the ECOWAS Agricultural Trade and Market Scorecard (EATM-S) mechanism: After significant delays, Akademiya (on behalf of ECOWAS/ARAA) has provided several trainings and training of trainers on the methodology of the scorecard. Data collection in countries is expected to be finalized by November 2024 enabling ECOWAS to report on PDO indicator 6 (share of intra- regional trade). 9. Activity 3.1.2: Support to the ECOWAS Rice Observatory: FSRP finances the ERO Secretariat and the ERO General Assembly and supports the development of a new ECOWAS roadmap and rice self-sufficiency. As of July 2024, the FSRP will finance the position of the ERO coordinator which is in the process of being recruited. ERO will support the set-up of national rice chapters in Togo (started in 2023 already) and Mali in 2024 and other countries who have chosen rice as a priority value chain (Ghana, Sierra Leone and Senegal) to identify 2 investment opportunities and use the ERO matching grant mechanisms (to invest in the value chain using rice millers as an entry point). 10. Activity 3.1.3: Harmonization of regional agricultural trade policies on critical food system resilience issues: Activities linked to this sub-component are behind schedule, due to the departure of the responsible ECOWAS SPS expert. However, a transitional solution has been found with the agreement of the WB for the recruitment of a resource person. Activity 3.1.4: Support to ECOWAS multi-stakeholder policy dialogue and consultation: ECOWAS supported the annual meeting of the “Comité Régional de Facilitation des Echanges » for addressing barriers to trade in agro-sylvo-pastoral products’. 11. Activity 3.1.5: Support to the Regional Food Security Reserve (RFSR): The capacity of the first line of defense of the RFSR has increased substantially from 28,000 tons in 2019 to 64,000 tons in 2024. In 2024, several activities to increase the capacity of all three lines of defense (community, national and regional level) are planned to include activities that will enable ECOWAS to remotely monitor the status of stocks. Additionally, the financial reserve, implemented jointly by ECOWAS and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) is currently being operationalized. ECOWAS/ARAA requested technical support from the WB for the financial reserve, and the World Bank team will follow-up with FCI and treasury colleagues on this request. b) Activities of Component 3.2 12. Activity 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3: Strengthening the organization and financing of value chains, promote agricultural competitiveness and market access., strengthening multi-stakeholder coordination and promoting an enabling environment for the private sector: ECOWAS’s role is to support cross-border development of strategic regional value chains and promote linkages between components 3.1 (facilitating trade across key trade corridors) and 3.2 (support development of key value-chains). Without this key support, the program risks countries making individual investment decisions without placing emphasis on supporting key trade corridors. The mission agreed on the need for ECOWAS/ARAA to ramp up its support to countries to link components 3.1 and 3.2 and to prioritize investments for the promotion of regional value chain development. In 2024, ECOWAS has held a training for agri-food inter-professional organizations and is planning a market analysis of three strategic regional value chains, a performance study of fertilizer analysis laboratories in 10 ECOWAS countries, the set-up of a task force and a multi-stakeholder platform for the development of poultry value chains. c) Global Risk Financing Facility (GRIF) 13. Since the three experts of the GRIF have joined the PIU early 2024, they have conducted a variety of different activities intended to both strengthen ECOWAS risk management capacity and the implementation of the GRIF (see Annex 3). The following activities have been agreed upon: To enhance the collaboration with WTW, virtual weekly meetings of the GRIF team and WTW as well as one physical mission will be organized. Moreover, ECOWAS will prepare an overview of data collected, and data remains to be collected which will be discussed with WTW to agree on remaining needed efforts on data collection. WTW will share all data that they have collected and intend to use for their modeling. Regarding ECOWAS capacity enhancement, the GRIF team shared the results of the needs assessment conducted after the mission and will elaborate a detailed capacity building concept note (which may be further elaborated throughout implementation as additional needs emerge). Based on the concept note, the GRIF team and the WB will organize training(s). Lastly, following the ISM, the three experts prepared a detailed workplan including an overview of intended activities throughout project implementation as well as identified concrete outputs per experts for this AWPB. The work plan will be discussed and agreed upon with the WB. d) Other Activities: 3 14. ECOWAS is continuing its strong leadership on Soil Health and Fertility. In order to contribute to the implementation of ECOWAS Soil Health and Fertility Roadmap, ECOWAS committed to two additional activities: (i) the development of fertilizer sector reviews for countries not yet covered by the WB using the same methodology (as knowledge basis for national level action plans) and (ii) support to all FSRP countries to develop their national level soil health and fertility action plans. ECOWAS continues with the recruitment of two experts who will advance with the agenda (expected hiring date: August 30, 2024) and will closely collaborate with the Soil Health and Fertility hub that was established at IITA, financed by the AICCRA project. V. IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPONENT 5 AND CORPORATE REQUIREMENTS 15. Component 5 (C5): The implementation status of C5 is overall rated as Moderately Satisfactory. ECOWAS provided a contractual biannual report on 13 February 2024 accounting for the second 2023 biannual report. ECOWAS holds regular townhall meetings to disseminate information and interinstitutional coordination meetings with CORAF and CILSS and presented program progress to the Regional Technical Monitoring Committee in December 2023. To facilitate the ISM, ECOWAS provided a progress report on May 1st 2024. (extracts are included in Annex 3). 16. Gender: The implementation of gender action plans and other gender-related activities is coordinated by CORAF. ECOWAS will continue to contribute to the financing of regional gender-related activities. 17. Communication: The mission noted the progress with regards to communication, especially the communication of results on the FSRP website and social media (facebook and instagram). The WB provided detailed recommendations on how to further enhance communication and dissemination (see Annex 8). In addition to the current communication, it was agreed that ECOWAS will publish thematic results stories (explaining how FSRP reaches its higher-level objectives through activities on different levels), including one on the Soil health agenda and one on the GRIF.). 18. Financial Management (FM): As of May 29th, 2024, a total of US$2.61 million had been disbursed to the project under IDA Grant D9230, representing a disbursement rate of 26.00% of the total IDA Grant. Disbursements from TF B8256 and TF B9536 stand at US$0.598 million (e.g., 29.9%), and US$0.500 million (e.g., 2.2%), respectively. Overall, the WB has disbursed to ECOWAS/ARAA a total of US$3.100 million (e.g., 8.9%). The overall performance of the FM was rated Moderately Satisfactory. Total budget 2024 amount is up to 6.751 million USD of which an amount of 381,324 USD has been executed, representing 5.6% of the annual budget execution rate, and 46.2% of the quarter expenditure forecast amounting to 825,531 USD. Details are provided in annex 6. 19. Procurement: The procurement performance is considered Moderately Satisfactory and the risk Moderate. The greatest challenges of the procurement are mainly: (i) the delay in the submission of the terms of reference and the technical specifications, and (ii) the unavailability of the evaluation committee members to evaluate the bids and award the contracts in a reasonable time. The World Bank suggestions to reduce these two risks are: (i) the acceptance of the activities in the annual work plan only when acceptable draft terms of reference and technical specifications are available, (ii) ARAA review of procurement procedures related to the FSRP re and (iii) set up standard performance response time in the contract of the consultants who take part in the evaluation of bids. 20. Environmental and Social (E&S) Risk Management: The E&S performance of the project is rated satisfactory. ARAA submitted its second quarterly report covering January to March 2024. In collaboration with CILSS and CORAF, ARAA submitted a safeguard action plan. With regards to grievances, ARAA’s mechanism is operational and comprises of a toll-free number, email (araa.gestiondesplainte@araa.org) and cell phone/what’s app contact. No grievances have been submitted to date. As for SEA/SH, all the PIU staff and consultants (14 individuals) have signed the Code of Conduct. In addition, a GBV focal point has been appointed and its capacities will be strengthened by the regional GBV specialist on SEA/SH mitigation measures. Awareness-raising tools on SEA/SH, the code of conduct and the sensitive GRM will also be developed with the support of the regional GBV 4 specialist. No accident/incident has been reported to date. The WB recommends modifying the plan to include greater support to the countries in the form of sharing of lessons-learned/best practices and identify specific areas for tailored technical assistance or capacity-building. The Bank will facilitate the specialists’ access to the countries’ quarterly reports, aide-memoires, and support the E&S team from the three institutions in establishing a methodology to track key E&S aspects. The ESCP still needs to be disclosed. 21. Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E): The M&E performance is Moderately Satisfactory. Much progress has been made in a small amount of time, including the establishment of a system for harmonized data collection. Currently all results can be tracked through excel.i Furthermore, ECOWAS has upgraded its own M&E system MESECOPS by enabling it to import data from Kobo servers. Countries have submitted preliminary data on results framework indicators which will be validated by regional organizations. No significant progress has been made regarding the ECOWAS-specific results indicators. Details on the M&E system are provided in annex 7. II. AGREEMENTS 18. Agreements are: • Enhancement of procurement process: The mission found again that recruitment of staff is significantly delayed due to the lengthy procurement processes of ECOWAS (especially in the vetting process). The WB supports the recommendation of the ECOWAP review study to simplify the procurement rules of ECOWAS. • Use of financial resources: ECOWAS/ARAA will prioritize the use of the entirety of the Trust Fund Resources of the FoodSystem 2023 Trust Fund by November 2024 (latest by March 2025). When disbursement reaches 75%, the WB will prepare an amendment to increase the grant amount. • Budget for remaining duration of program: An updated version of the budget covering the remaining implementation period of FSRP (which was provided following the mission) will be discussed and agreed upon. • Update of AWPB 2024: ECOWAS/ARAA will provide an updated version of the AWPB 2024 to the WB including additional agreed activities (e.g., with regards to the soil health agenda). • Regional and national level coordination: In order to enhance the collaboration of the regional and the national teams, ECOWAS/ARAA will prepare one document per country with recommendations on how regional activities can complement national level activities. The document will be shared with the WB and PIUs prior to the Wrap Up and will be used as a basis for discussion during the Wrap Up. Following the discussion, the ECOWAS and national PIUs agree on specific activities to be implemented. • Soil Health and Fertility: The mission agreed on additional activities to support the soil health and fertility agenda, by supporting the development of fertilizer sector reviews for 5 countries, and the development of national action plans for the 8 FSRP countries. For this purpose, TORs will be developed as soon as possible. • Value Chain Development: ECOWAS will develop a concrete proposal on how to support countries in the identification of investments in key value chains. • Reserve: The mission notes ECOWAS' request to provide technical support for the finalization of the financial reserve's operationalization. • GRIF: The mission notes the request of ECOWAS/ARAA to have clearer and more frequent communication with the WB and enhanced communication with the WTW team. Weekly virtual meetings between the GRIF team and WTW will be organized as well as a physical meeting. • M&E: The mission identified support needs at the country-level regarding the tracking and identification of unique beneficiaries. In response, ECOWAS will conduct technical support missions to assist countries’ M&E specialists to, amongst others, upgrade and harmonize data collection methodologies related to beneficiary tracking. • Communication: The mission noted several technical recommendations to improve the regional Website (www.fsrp-wa.org). Communication activities must also focus on higher-level messaging, leveraging the 5 FSRP network for wider distribution and reporting on overall FSRP achievements (including through visualizations of results achieved). • Mid-term review: The Mid-term review is planned for November 2024. Signed virtually: Katie Kennedy Freeman Alain Sy Traore Task Team Leader, WB Director, DARD Table 1: Summary of Agreed Actions Actions Responsible Due Date Status Technical issues 1 Agree on updated AWPB 2024 ECOWAS/ARAA & June 30 WB 2 Agree on updated Budget of ECOWAS/ARAA & June 30 2024-2026 WB 3 Share 1 document per country ECOWAS/ ARAA June 30 summarizing all proposed national activities with regards to activity 3.1.3, activity 3.1.4, activity 3.1.5 5 Rice: Share concept note on rice WB June 30 study tour 6 Value Chain: Develop a ECOWAS/ARAA June 30 proposal on how ECOWAS support countries in the identification of investments in key value chains 7 SPS: Share national action plans ECOWAS/ARAA June 30 with the WB for follow up 8 Agree on activities for 2024 ECOWAS/ARAA May 30 based on detailed work plan & WB (Fatima) developed by ECOWAS/ARAA 9 GRIF: Prepare overview of data ECOWAS/ARAA June 30 collected, and data remains to be WTW collected (first draft to be WB (Fatima, Fan) developed by ECOWAS/ARAA) 10 GRIF: Organize weekly ECOWAS/ARAA From May 15 meetings with WTW meeting WB (Fan) weekly 11 GRIF: Share results of needs ECOWAS/ARAA June 30 assessment on risks (GRIF) 12 GRIF: Prepare detailed capacity ECOWAS ARAA June 30 building concept based on capacity building needs assessment 13 GRIF: Plan training based on WB September capacity building concept 6 Actions Responsible Due Date Status 14 Provide NO for two ToRs WB May 30 (market study for priority value chains, analysis of laboratories) Staffing 15 Finalize recruitment of the ECOWAS/ARAA August 30 internal auditor 16 Finalize recruitment of the Soil ECOWAS/ARAA August 30 Health PPP expert 17 Finalize recruitment of the Soil ECOWAS/ARAA August 30 Health Policy Expert 18 Finalize recruitment of expert on ECOWAS/ DARD/ August 30 stocks de proximite ARAA M&E 21 Enable visualization of all ECOWAS/ARAA June 30 official result indicators in MESECOPS 22 Review FSRP countries M&E ECOWAS/ARAA with September 30 Manuals and conduct M&E support from CORAF (Phase 1 support missions to strengthen and countries by July country-level M&E systems CILSS/AGRHYMET 15) 23 Develop harmonized approach ECOWAS/ARAA with July 31 for mid-term review of program CORAF and activities (including survey to AGRHYMET and WB verify beneficiaries' satisfaction with the program). 24 Update M&E Manual ECOWAS/ARAA in July 31 coordination with CILSS AGHRYMET / CORAF, with inputs from WB Safeguards 25 Ensure that Toll free number is ECOWAS/ARAA June 30 usable in all of West Africa, enable CILSS and CORAF to also use it and include number in all communication documents 26 Conduct virtual session on WB September 30 Environmental and Social Incident Reporting Tool (ESIRT) 27 Upload the updated ESCP on the ECOWAS/ARAA June 30 website 28 Get access to ESF reports of ECOWAS/CILSS Throughout countries CORAF &WB implementation 29 Develop on overview of status of ECOWAS/CILSS July 30 safeguard implementation in CORAF countries identifying challenges and lessons 30 Review comments on last ECOWAS/CILSS June 30 safeguards report and submit CORAF final version (Jan-March) 7 Actions Responsible Due Date Status 31 Submit next safeguards report ECOWAS/CILSS July 30 CORAF 32 Submit updated safeguards ECOWAS/CILSS June 30 action plan CORAF Procurement 33 The acceptance of the activities ECOWAS/ARAA Immediate and in the annual work plan only continue when acceptable draft terms of reference and technical specifications are available 34 Set up standard performance ECOWAS/ARAA WB July 31, 2024 response time in the contract of the consultants who take part in the evaluation of bids Communication 35 Develop repository of all ECOWAS/ARAA Ongoing communication documents on WB shared drive 36 Share written recommendations WB (Rhys) May 30 on communication (strategy, website and social media) 37 Integrate visualization of results ECOWAS September on FSRP website (dashboard) & WB 38 Develop fact sheets owned by ECOWAS, CILSS, August 30 three ROs CORAF 39 Develop communication piece ECOWAS/ARAA September 30 on GRIF to be used for partner (GRIF) collaboration 8 ANNEX 4: Summary of agreements and agreed action items Table 1: Summary of Agreed Actions of last ISM (Nov ’23) Actions Responsible Due Date Status Technical issues 1 Provide an updated APWB ECOWAS/ARAA Nov 27 Done including all updated discussed activities during mission 2 Provide updated disbursement ECOWAS/ARAA Nov 27 Done projections 3 Update the Budget Overview Table ECOWAS/ARAA Nov 27 Done with the budget of 2024-2026 (excluding all activities not financed by FSRP, including estimates for foreseen activities in 2025-2026, including the additional US$ 3 million of the NL) 4 Rice/ERO: Concept notes on ECOWAS/DARD Nov 15 Done matching grants to millers and ECOWAS rice academy to be shared with WB 5 Rice/ ERO: Support of planning for ECOWAS/DARD/ARAA Throughout Yes rice matching grants to FSRP implementation, countries (Mali, Togo, Ghana and start during Sierra Leone, and others, as Wrap Up interested) 6 Rice: Facilitate organization of a WB Done. Date: study visit on rice production 21-28 systems in South Korea October Concept Note developed 7 Reserve: Facilitate a study visit on WB Done, silo storage systems planned for September 8 Scorecard: Finalization of contract ECOWAS/ARAA Nov 27 Done for Akademiya, update timeline of action plan and present during Wrap Up 9 Soil Fertility: Develop concept note WB Nov 6 Done. for Fertilizer Sector Reviews for 4 Reviews countries currently being done. 10 Soil Fertility: Development of TOR WB Asap – Nov 6 Done to hire firm for Fertilizer Sector Reviews for Burkina, Ghana, Mali and Nigeria 11 Soil Fertility: Prepare concept note ECOWAS/DARD Nov 30 Done for the additional activities with 9 Actions Responsible Due Date Status regards to the Soil Health and Fertilizer Agenda 12 Soil Fertility: Prepare ToRs for 3 ECOWAS/DARD Nov 30 Two have experts to be hired been prepared 13 Soil Hub: Email to inform partners WB/ECOWAS DARD Nov 9 Done about setup of hub 14 Soil Hub: Co-creating workshop ECOWAS/WB Nov 14 Done 15 Check for IFDC interest to develop ECOWAS/DARD Oct 27 Done Fertilizer Sector Reviews 16 GRIF: Provide review of technical ECOWAS/ARAA Oct 30 Done proposal for feasibility study 17 List of meetings: Update list of ECOWAS/ARAA Nov 20 meetings happening in 2024 Need to be (including CORAF and CILSS done again meetings), send to WB and present during Wrap Up Staffing 18 Recruitment of 4 position to be ECOWAS/ARAA January 31 finalized: Agribusiness advisor, 3 GRIF positions 19 Recruitment of expert for local ECOWAS/ARAA November 15, stocks to be restarted (first step: 2023 New TORs to be sent to WB) 20 Recruitment of Coordinator of ECOWAS/ARAA January 1, 2024 Done ECOWAS Rice Agenda from 2024 onwards 21 Prepare ToRs for 3 experts for Soil ECOWAS/DARD Done for 2 Health and Fertility M&E 22 Define targets for all indicators ECOWAS/ARAA Nov 27 Done 23 Provide results for all indicators ECOWAS/ARAA Wrap Up – Nov Done possible (e.g., scorecard) 27 Safeguards 24 Disclose updated ESCP ECOWAS Nov 15 25 Provide updated versions of the ESF ECOWAS/CILSS/ Nov 27 Done reports CORAF 26 Submit updated Safeguard Action Nov 27 Done Plan (including GBV/ SEA/SH) including all planned activities for 2024 27 Confirm that all staff have signed Nov 15 Done CoC 28 Submit next ESF trimester report Done 29 Grievance mechanism: ensure ECOWAS/ARAA January 31, Done working of toll-free number and 2024 hold information session for all Toll free ARAA FSRP on grievance number: mechanism 8890 10 Actions Responsible Due Date Status 30 Conduct virtual session on WB Date tbc Not done yet Environmental and Social Incident Reporting Tool (ESIRT) FM 31 External auditor: Pre-section list of ECOWAS/ARAA Nov 13 Done external auditors will be provided to WB for FM review 32 External auditor: ECOWAS/ARAA January 31, Done Selection of auditor 2024 33 External auditor hired ECOWAS/ARAA May 2024 34 Provide first internal audit report ECOWAS/ARAA May 31 Will not be done 35 Recruit permanent internal auditor ECOWAS/ARAA May 31 In progress 36 Enable ECOWAS to submit IFR WB Nov 6 Done through system Communication 37 Share access to knowledge ECOWAS/ARAA Nov 15 Need management system with all improvement existing communication documents (FSRP overview documents, formatted knowledge documents, results stories of countries) 38 Contract consultant to develop ECOWAS/ARAA Nov 30 Done website 39 Finalize website ECOWAS/ ARAA Feb 28 Done Other 40 Find AI translation for meetings WB Nov 17 No service available which translates in two directions 41 Verify whether travel arrangement ECOWAS/ARAA Nov 15 Done. in PIM has to be updated and do so, if required. 11 Annex 1: List of Participants NAME TITLE EMAIL In person Virtual ECOWAS (DARD and ARAA) Alain Sy TRAORE Dir. Agriculture & Rural Development atraore@ecowas.int X Kanfitin Konlani Acting Head of Technical Operations Division kkonlani@araa.org X Mohamed Zongo Head of Division Administration & Finances mzongo@araa.org X Maty Ba Diao FSRP Regional Coordinator m.ba-diao@araa.org X Celestin TIENON Head Procurement Unit ctienon@araa.org X Abasse Tchadouwa FSRP C3 Expert in in regional integration and atchadouwa@araa.org x trade policy Richard Guissou Strategic Planning & M&E rguissou@araa.org X Fabris Compaoré FSRP M&E Specialist fcompaore@araa.org X Gaoussou Diarra FSRP Safeguard Specialist gdiarra@araa.org X Yekeminan KONE FSRP Communication Specialist ykone@araa.org X Laktiékoa BARNABO FSRP Procurement Specialist lbarnabo@araa.org X Constant Koffi N'Goran FSRP Accountant kngoran@araa.org X Daouda Coulibaly FSRP Assistant of Coordinator dcoulibaly@araa.org X Malick Lompo Market Analyst & Data Management mlompo@araa.org X Carine Ouedraogo FSRP/GRIF Expert Risk Finance wouedraogo@araa.org x Penagui N'ouéni Toumoudagou FSRP/GRIF Expert Food Security ptoumoudagou@araa.org x Cedric Batossi FSRP/GRIF Expert Actuary cbatossi@araa.org x WB Katie Kennedy Freeman FSRP TTL kkennedy1@worldbank.org x Kaja Waldmann Agriculture Analyst kwaldmann@worldbank.org X Josue Akre Senior Financial Management Specialist jakre@worldbank.org x Kouami Hounsinou Messan Senior Procurement Specialist kmessan@worldbank.org X Mohamed Sokona Senior Natural Resources Management Specialist msokona@worldbank.org X Eloise Fluet Senior Social Development Specialist efluet@worldbank.org X Fatou Bintou Mbaye Safeguards Specialist (GBV) fmbaye@worldbank.org X 12 Other Fatou DIENG GUEYE CORAF M&E Specialist f.dieng@coraf.org x Kabirou MAGAGI CILSS M&E Specialist kabirou.magagi@cilss.int x Baïdy Tall CORAF Social Safeguards Specialist tallbaidy10@gmail.com x Assetou Kaboré CILSS GBV Specialist assetou.kabore@cilss.int x 13 ANNEX 2: Results Framework Update ANNEX 3: Detailed Summary of activities 3.1 Component 3: Regional trade and markets The activities implemented from January to April 2024 under this component, with an estimated physical implementation rate of 23.7% mainly concern: Subcomponent 3.1: Facilitating trade through the main corridors and consolidating the food reserve system Implementation of the ECOWAS agricultural trade and market scoreboard mechanism (EATM-S) Following the effective contracting of Akademiya2063 at the end of December 2023, activities to set up the dashboard got underway with the organization of a training of trainers session on the methodology and tools of the ECOWAS Agricultural Trade and Market Dashboard (EATM-S), held in Abuja from February 19 to 22. The training session was attended by 23 participants (13% women), including 3 members of the country technical team, as well as representatives from CILSS, AOCTAH[1] and the various ECOWAS Commission departments concerned. This training was preceded by work to identify the members of the national technical team, and the establishment of national committees on the basis of a guidance document produced by Akademiya2063. This training was followed by a final review of the methodological documents by Akademiya 2063, and the formalization of the teams set up at national level to implement the monitoring mechanism. Three (03) fortnightly follow-up meetings have been organized by the ECOWAS regional team to monitor Scorecard technical committee activities at national level. To date, four (4) countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Chad) have completed their national training courses. Niger has organized an information meeting for the enlarged group of stakeholders, but has yet to schedule a national training session, as has Mali. Togo had to postpone the date of the national workshop because of the elections on April 29. As a reminder, following the national training sessions, data collection, data validation at national and regional level, and an advocacy campaign are to follow. In addition, a regional taskforce has been set up to monitor Scorecard activities, bringing together regional IGOs, POs and civil society, and an initial information meeting was held online on March 15. In short, the activity is progressing well, and will reach its objectives by the end of 2024, and will also enable the program's monitoring-evaluation system to inform the indicator linked to ODP6 on the share of intra-regional trade in agricultural products and inputs. Support for the activities of the ECOWAS Regional Rice Observatory (ERO) With an estimated physical execution rate of 23%, key achievements include : - The recruitment of the ECOWAS Rice Agenda Coordinator: the draft contract is submitted to the WB for approval; - The mission to attend the UK Africa Summit, a high-level meeting held in London by the ERO Executive Secretary and the ECOWAS Director of Agriculture and Rural Development (DADR); - A video-conference to launch the Matching Grant call for projects was organized in March for the benefit of established national rice sections (Sierra Leone, Ghana and Burkina Faso) and FSRP countries with rice as a priority value chain. The Matching Grant agenda was presented, with two windows (the MOVE window and the ECOWAS window). Implementation of the activity is scheduled for completion in July 2024. - The regional and national online consultations aimed at involving rice sector stakeholders in the development of the regional rice roadmap have been completed. National consultations in face-to-face countries have begun in Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire, and will continue in the other countries until May 14. The organization of ERO's Annual General Meeting, to be held from May 21 to 23, 2024 in Abuja/Nigeria, is also occupying a large part of the ERO team's workload. Other activities linked to key performance indicators, including the setting up of 2 additional national sections in Mali and Togo, should accelerate from June 2024. Harmonization of regional agricultural trade policies on critical food system resilience issues and support for ECOWAS multi-stakeholder policy dialogue and consultation Key achievements for the January-April period were as follows: - The statutory regional meeting of the Food Safety Convergence was held from February 26 to 29, 2024 in Accra/Ghana. It brought together national food safety authorities, NPPOs, Chief Veterinary Officers, private sector players and partners to share information on progress made since the creation and establishment of the convergence forum in July 2022. National action plans have been developed to implement recommendations aimed at facilitating intra-regional trade with harmonized SPS standards. - The development of training materials for aflatoxin control in the main priority agricultural value chains by the consultant recruited for this purpose. The study deliverables have all been validated by the expert in charge at the ECOWAS Commission. Training of trainers on the modules developed is planned for 2025. - Regional training on the Trade Liberalization Scheme (TLS) for representatives of Mano- River Union member countries (Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone) was held in Freetown/Sierra Leone from April 16 to 18, 2024. Planning has begun for the effective implementation of other PTBA 2024 activities: - Raising awareness among ECOWAS countries of the principle of mutual recognition for the acceptance of harmonized phytosanitary certificates between countries in the SPS field, as defined in the 2010 regulation: Mali, Togo and Niger were initially targeted, but a number of difficulties hampered implementation in Mali and Niger, given the announced withdrawal of Mali and Niger from ECOWAS and the departure from ECOWAS of the expert in charge of the activity. Replanning with the four (4) countries concerned (Ghana, Mali, Niger and Togo) is underway. - The recruitment of consultants (Cabinet) for the update of the Study on the identification of administrative and technical measures to facilitate the free circulation of agro-sylvo- pastoral and halieutic products in the ECOWAS zone is progressing. - The organization of in-country pilot training courses on health guidance and risk-based decision-making. For 2024, five FSRP countries (Togo, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Burkina) are scheduled to host these tests. Despite an estimated implementation rate of 33%, activities linked to this sub-component are behind schedule, due to the departure of the ECOWAS SPS expert. However, a transitional solution has been found with the agreement of the WB for the recruitment of a resource person. Support for ECOWAS multi-stakeholder policy dialogue and consultation Key achievements for the January-April period were as follows: - The 5th annual meeting of the Regional Trade Facilitation Committee is underway in Cotonou, Benin (April 30-May 3). All countries in the region are taking part, with each member state represented by 3 delegates (Customs, Ministry of Trade and private sector), in addition to representatives of the ECOWAS Commission. The main expected outcome of this meeting is that WTO trade facilitation measures implemented at regional level will be applied by all countries. - The process of organizing a technical meeting to explore the conditions for perpetuating Operation Fluidité and its Macaron on the free circulation of agricultural products has begun. The terms of reference and budget have been validated by the WB. The meeting is scheduled for June 2024. Prior to this, an evaluation of the operation is to be carried out by a resource person currently being recruited. Support for the Regional Food Security Reserve (RRSA) In line with the program drawn up in conjunction with the AFD-financed "Stocks - Interim Phase" project, the achievements of the PRSP's 2024 PTBA are essentially : - The 3 GRIF experts will start work at the beginning of January and February 2024; - The launch of a feasibility study on a backstop risk financing solution for the Regional Reserve; - Participation of ARAA experts at the PREGEC meeting in Lomé and at the RPCA in Paris. - Recruitment of the expert in charge of local stocks: the report is currently being drafted. - Participation in the internal orientation and organization workshop for the regional storage strategy review process, held from March 25 to 29, 2024. - Participation in the workshop to rewrite the training curriculum for national facilitators from ECOWAS-UEMOA-CILSS countries in proximity stock management in Abidjan from March 19 to 22. With a PTBA execution rate estimated at 16%, activities linked to the Regional Food Security Reserve are experiencing many implementation difficulties, due in part to the difficulty of coordinated planning due to the synergy sought between the projects that finance the activities and the Reserve Division. In fact, a number of activities that are well advanced in the program are awaiting completion: - Risk training for ARAA staff, organized by GRIF staff; - The two series of training courses for national facilitators from countries in the ECOWAS- UEMOA-CILSS zone in local stock management, to be held from May 6 to 10 in Lomé and from May 13 to 17 in Accra. With most activities scheduled to start in the second and third quarters of 2024, we remain optimistic about the annual performance to be achieved. Subcomponent 3.2: Support for the development of strategic regional value chains Under this sub-component, activities have made it possible to : - Launch the recruitment of two experts (Expert in fertilizer policy and regulation and PPP Expert for the development of the regional fertilizer market). The Terms of Reference for the Expert Consultant to support ECOWAS in implementing the Lomé Declaration on Fertilizers and Soil Health are being finalized. However, there may be a delay in this activity, given that effective mobilization was scheduled for September 2024. - draw up and submit the ToR for the recruitment of a firm to carry out a market analysis of three strategic regional value chains - draw up and submit the ToR for the recruitment of a firm to carry out a diagnostic and performance study of fertilizer analysis laboratories in 10 CILSS-ECOWAS countries - prepare the regional training workshop on gender for interprofessional agri-food organizations, scheduled for May 7-9, 2024 in Accra/Ghana. The workshop will be led by CORAF's Gender Advisor, with support from FAO. - Editing of the Lomé Declaration on Fertilizers and Soil Health and its roadmap is already underway, with the first drafts developed and under review. - Monitor the recruitment process for the firm in charge of mapping stakeholders and setting up a multi-stakeholder platform for the development of poultry value chains in West Africa and the Sahel. Negotiations are underway with the firm selected after the bid evaluation process. Most of the activities under this sub-component are based on a procurement process that is underway but could take time and delay implementation. Particular attention is therefore needed to avoid poor performance at the end of the year, although the current execution rate is estimated at 11.9%. Activities conducted by the GRIF team, as of May 2024 In direct link with the feasibility study • Technical note on the country selection • Communication of the data and documents regarding the reserve, in order to allow WTW to understand the overall existing mechanism of the regional strategy (stocks quantities, procedures, interventions, functioning mechanism of the reserve) through emails. • Specific variables list that will serve as input to the model (we have proposed a list of variables). • Meetings with the experts from CILSS were conducted during PREGEC where we discussed the different steps for data collection and the availability of the necessary data. • Following the previous steps and following the institutional requirements (exchange of letters), data collection is ongoing with a visit planned to AGHRYMET Center for data collection in Niger (end of May 2024). • Collection of data for Crops prices from RESIMAO that has already been shared with WTW. • ToR, and budget and letters to countries for the kick-off workshop (that was supposed to gather all the different countries) to give them a clear understanding of the GRiF mechanism that is to be put in place. Activity to be scheduled toward the end of the feasibility study as suggested by World Bank. • ToR and Budget of the capacity building on risk management for the ECOWAS: workshop to be held in September 2024. • Internal workshop on risk transfer mechanisms: this training is meant for the RAAF team. All the material is ready. This training is supposed to take place in May subject to participants’ availability. • Note “points d’attention� shared after the kick-off meeting: the objective was to give a clear direction as to what is expected from ECOWAS side regarding the risk transfer instrument and the feasibility study. • Literature review on what has been shared on SharePoint and on our own research. • Inputs to documents (value of money analysis, and comments to Willis Towers Watson proposal) shared via email. Other work with the RFSR: • Technical note on food security and nutrition in west Africa and Sahel: perspective of ECOWAS intervention • Technical note on cereals purchases for the reserve. • ToR for Workshop on Regional strategy for storage (For the reserve) • Letters to countries for the designation of focal point for the national strategy for storage • Inputs on working document for the parametric insurance for livestock (PRISMA project) • Evaluation/panel of evaluation for the recruitment of external auditor for FSRP • Literature review of all the documents for the Regional Fund for Agriculture and Food • Research and drafting of amendments regarding the financial reserve procedures. • Participation in different workshops (regional storage strategy review, PREGEC, Copil) and drafting of the minutes and the important points of the workshop. • Summary on the grain storage capacity in Egypt • Inputs to the drafting of the AWPB ANNEX 4: Status of Recruitment Actions Expiry date Status Comments Service commencement October National stock experts Realized 30, 2023 Service commencement Agri-food consultant Realized December 4, 2023 Service commencement Specialist in risk financing 31-Jan-24 Realized February 5, 2024 Service commencement January Food safety expert Realized 4, 2024 Service begins on January 4, Actuary Realized 2024. Recruitment is at the stage of Expert for local stocks (TDR) 15-Nov-23 Realized evaluating expressions of interest The draft contract sent to the WB Coordinator of the ECOWAS for approval on April 29, 2024. Feb-24 In progress Rice Agenda Recruitment may be completed by mid-June 2024. The draft contract was sent to the ECOWAS Auditor General for an opinion on April 17, 2024. The External auditor May-24 In progress audit could take place in June 2024, with the report available before June 30, 2024. Recruitment is at the stage of evaluating expressions of Permanent internal auditor May-24 In progress interest. Recruitment will be completed by mid-July 2024. AMI launched. Evaluation from PPP expert on fertilizers (TDR) November 30 May 27 Expert in fertilizer policy and AMI launched. Evaluation from November 30 regulations (TDR) May 27 Expert to support ECOWAS in implementing the Lomé November 30 RDT not received Declaration on Fertilizers and Soil Health ANNEX 6: FM and Procurement Details FM: The overall performance of the FM was rated as Moderately Satisfactory due to delay in recruiting auditors. Budgeting: Total budget 2024 amount is up to 6.751 million USD. The projected expenditures for the first quarter of FY24 amounted to 825,531 USD of which an amount of 381,324 USD has been executed, representing 46.2% of the quarter expenditure forecast, and 5.6% of the annual budgeted amount. It was agreed that each Grant finances Eligible Expenditures in the amount allocated to, and up to the percentage set forth in the annual work plan. To date, TF B8256 has been financing up to 23% of the project’s expenditures. TF B8256 will close on March 31st, 2025, while TF B9536 and IDA Grant D9230 will close on March 31st, 2026, and March 31st, 207, respectively. ARAA would like to increase the percentage of financing of eligible expenditures up to 80% or 100% to reach the level authorizing the replenishment of funds under TF B8256. Disbursement: As of May 29th, 2024, a total of US$3.10 million had been disbursed to the project under IDA Grant D9230, representing a disbursement rate of 20.00% of the total IDA Grant. Disbursements from TF B8256 and TF B9536 stand at US$0.598 million (e.g., 29.9%), and US$0.500 million (e.g., 2.2%), respectively. Overall, the WB has disbursed to ECOWAS/ARAA a total of US$3.100 million (e.g., 8.9%). The table below presents the amounts disbursed by financing source. IDA Grant Description D9230 TF B8256 TF B9536 Total Financing Original Approved Amount 10,000,000.00 2,000,000.00 23,000,000.00 35,000,000.00 Historical Disbursed 2,001,297.69 598,531.71 500,935.08 3,100,764.48 Current Undisbursed 7,380,668.10 1,401,468.29 22,499,064.92 31,281,201.31 Special Commitments 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Funds Available 7,380,668.10 1,401,468.29 22,499,064.92 31,281,201.31 Of Which Restricted Amount 0.00 0.00 20,000,000.00 20,000,000.00 Net of Restriction 7,380,668.10 1,401,468.29 2,499,064.92 11,281,201.31 Estimated Funds Available 7,380,668.10 1,401,468.29 2,499,064.92 11,281,201.31 Disbursement Rate 20.0% 29.9% 2.2% 8.9% FM arrangements: The current FM team within ARAA is comprised of one Chief of Administration and Finance Division in charge of the supervision of all FM activities, and a dedicated Accounting Assistant. During project preparation, it was agreed that no additional FM staff will be now needed to handle the workload. Internal audit: Recruitment of a project dedicated internal auditor is underway. At the time of the mission, the process was at the stage of applications evaluation, and was expected to be completed by August 15th, 2024. Once onboard, the Internal Auditor of FSRP should ensure that the Project audit is included in his/her workplan and that the audit is conducted using a risk-based approach. A semiannual internal audit report will be shared with the WB, within 45 days after the end of the calendar semester. The first internal audit report should be received by the WB by September 30th, 2024. Financial reporting: ARAA has been submitting semi-annual unaudited IFRs in form and content satisfactory to the WB. External audit: The recruitment of the project’s external auditor is underway. At the time of the mission, the contract was submitted to the office of General Auditor for signature. The mission has reminded ARAA that the first audit reports are due on June 30th, 2024. The overall performance of the FM was rated as Moderately Satisfactory, mainly due to the delay in recruiting the project’s dedicated internal auditor, and external audit. ANNEX 7: M&E Details Progress on the M&E system at program-level and next steps. The mission discussed progress achieved on the M&E system. ECOWAS has established a centralized M&E system in line with the regional M&E manual. In addition, the M&E system of ECOWAS/ARAA “MESECCOPS’ was upgraded with the functionality of directly importing M&E from Kobo for data storage and management. ECOWAS is currently creating a dashboard (in advanced stage of development) allowing ECOWAS to visualize results, progress on results, in real time and publish them on ECOWAS/FSRP websites. It is expected that the dashboard will come online by the end of June. Since the last ISM, a few changes have been made to the program-level M&E system. Initially, the M&E system envisaged that countries record activities of the annual working plan in MESECOPS. However, after consultation with countries this requirement, deemed non-essential, was dropped to reduce the work burden on the countries. Technical support for strengthening country-level M&E systems. The mission highlighted the importance for M&E systems to be able to distinguish beneficiaries by intervention type and to identify unique beneficiaries to avoid double-counting. The mission identified needs capacity-building of countries related to the tracking of unique beneficiaries and the understanding of several results framework indicators (such as adoption of climate-smart technologies and areas under integrated landscape management). For example, some countries have reported employing different tools to track beneficiaries for training/capacity-building (such as activity lists) and other activities (Kobo sheets), respectively. The mission agreed that countries need to rely on Kobos-sheets to track beneficiaries of the program. In addition, the mission identified additional needs for clarification on the part of FSRP countries related to several results framework indicators. For instance, a few countries intended to include areas that have seen the distribution of fertilizer in isolation, which is not aligned with the indicator definition. On the indicator related to the adoption of climate-smart agriculture technologies, the mission agreed that the relevant data should be collected during the planting season to ascertain actual usage of relevant technologies instead of their distribution only. The mission therefore agreed that ECOWAS will conduct M&E technical support missions to FSRP countries (see tentative mission schedule and objectives below). The purpose of these missions is to review countries’ M&E systems regarding i) tools used to identify unique beneficiaries, ii) country-level results dashboard, ii) quality of input data, iii) data flow arrangements with field-level implementation partners/M&E satellites. In addition, the technical missions will clarify methodological questions related to results framework indicators and determine how data collection sheets can be further customized to respond to country needs. In parallel, ECOWAS will support countries to develop a concept for IRI#11 “satisfaction of program beneficiaries with program interventions� and, based on the former, advise countries to conduct a review of program activities (see also wrao-up notes for a comprehensive overview of required clarifications). Based on the outcome of the country-level support missions, ECOWAS will update the regional M&E manual (and, if needed, relevant data collection sheets linked to regional results framework indicators. Tentative mission schedule for ECOWAS technical support missions to countries ANNEX 8: Communication Details Achievements: • Website: • English and French pages • Details if country activities • "Success stories" • Prominent role for all the partners • Profiles set up on most social media platforms • Communications Group with national comms focal points/partners • Strategy in place • Good website hits (though no benchmarks) • Country level social media strategies • Use of analytics to track progress • Journalist network Recommendations to strengthen communications • Need a strong 'mission statement' with ambition, values and keywords at the very top of the website and on all your platforms. What makes a good mission statement? • There is need to expand and enhance the news stories with more details, storytelling, and multimedia. • You have news stories and 'success stories' as separate items but they should be merged and aligned. • In your news stories, don't just focus on the numbers reached but also the tangible impact on people's lives. • Most social media channels have no posts, only Twitter. Why post the video with Alain and Kaja? It would be good to post across channels to see which channels have most traction. • The social media posting is quite 'passive' (lots of RTs rather than original posts or RTs with additional messaging and context) • Messaging - when posting reports and news stories it's best practice to draw out the key messages that entice the reader to click and read on. • Always post links for direct access to content shared • Publicise your newsletters and the stories in them. Recommend making the newsletters in HTML format (e.g. Mailchimp) not in heavy PDF files. • The website is "heavy" can should be optimised for mobile. Focus on HTML content not PDFs where possible. • On the website, the components need thematic titles (not just "Component 1", "Component 2", "Component 3" etc) • How are you amplifying your post? Encourage FSRP leadership to also share posts, or be FSRPs voice on social media with their own posts. • Events pages on the website need more details. • It is best practice to post key messages and highlights from events and meetings - even as a 'thread'. What is 'threading'? For example, do you have feedback from beneficiaries or participants? That is great content for social media. • Does the FSRP or partners produce knowledge products? These should be easily accessible. • We would recommend profiling the national partners more prominently via the country pages. • Dig deeper into the analytics to breakdown the communications pathways (platforms driving traffic, breakdown by country of audiences) and guide future action. • Good to clarify the national messages vs the regional message • The journalist network is a critical step but how is it being leveraged and (crucially) how are the journalists being capacitated to cover the stories of relevance to FSRP. See the AICCRA example.