The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Mauritania Agriculture Development and Innovation Support Project (P168847) Mauritania Agriculture Development and Innovation Support Project (P168847) WESTERN AND CENTRAL AFRICA | Mauritania | IBRD/IDA | Investment Project Financing (IPF) | FY 2023 | Seq No: 4 | Archived on 13-Dec-2024 | ISR01362 Implementing Agencies: Ministère de l'Agriculture 1. OBJECTIVE 1.1 Development Objective Original Development Objective (Approved as part of Approval package on 31-Aug-2023) To improve land resource management and foster inclusive and sustainable commercial agriculture in selected areas of Mauritania. Has the Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Project Objective? No 2. COMPONENTS Name Community-Driven Territorial Development and Preservation:(Cost 17,500,000.00) Inclusive Commercial Agriculture:(Cost 27,500,000.00) Project Management and Monitoring & Evaluation:(Cost 5,000,000.00) Contingency Emergency Response to Crisis (CERC):(Cost 0.00) 3. OVERALL RATINGS Name Previous Current Progress towards achievement of PDO Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Overall Implementation Progress (IP) Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Overall Risk Rating Substantial Substantial Dec 14, 2024 Page 1 of 12 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Mauritania Agriculture Development and Innovation Support Project (P168847) 4. KEY ISSUES & STATUS 4.1 Implementation Status and Key Decisions Component 1: Community-driven territorial development and preservation in rainfed areas Sub-Component 1.1: planning and restoration of targeted sub-watersheds Significant progress has been made over the past six months, including: • Finalization of Development and Integrated Landscape Management Plans (PDGIP) for the first six perimeters. • Commencement of rehabilitation work on the first six small dams. • Initiation of priority activities in the six watersheds by December 2024. Following a budget simulation exercise based on the first six PDGIPs and in alignment with the Minister of Agriculture's request, it was agreed to prepare PDGIPs and implement rehabilitation works for nine additional dams, bringing the total to 15 small dams. This will require increased monitoring and support from the coordination team, supervision missions, local authorities, and other decentralized structures, particularly the Directorate of Rural Development (DAR). The coordination team must focus on strengthening its capacities, especially in rural engineering, and ensure that execution plans and reports for the first six small dams comply with best practices and address deficiencies observed in detailed studies. Various partnership agreements have been signed to support the implementation of the PDGIPs: • Agreement with the National Center for Agricultural Research and Development (CNARADA) for the development of traditional seeds and soil studies on the first six small dams' sites. • Agreement with the Directorate of Rural Development (DAR) to support the validation of studies and supervision of works. • Agreement with the Agricultural Value Chain Development Directorate (DDFA) to support the identification and extension of climate-resilient agricultural practices. • Support agreement with the Environmental Assessment and Monitoring Directorate (DECE) and regional delegations. The PIU must prepare an action plan to coordinate and ensure the support of these institutions in the implementation of the 6 PDGIPs. These agreements will be extended next year and have been included in the 2025 budget and action plan. Sub-Component 1.2: Augmentation and diversification of the local income base and Sub-Component 2.2: Support to small and medium agri-entrepreneurs The manual for the matching grants sub-projects (valid for components 1.1 and 2.2) was revised to adapt to the specific context of the two sub-components. Other preparatory activities include: • Communication on the matching grant mechanism in rainfed areas. • Establishment of selection committees at regional and departmental levels (Assaba, Brakna, and Gorgol). • Acquisition of equipment for the rainfed area. • Recruitment of a consultant to develop a manual for the management and setup of small and medium-sized agro- enterprises. • Recruitment of a consultant to develop a directory of promoters of small and medium-sized agro-enterprises in the ZOCAs. The recruitment of the Grant Administrator is delayed, as the request for proposals had to be relaunched. Monitoring this contract is a priority. The first calls for proposals for matching grants are scheduled to be launched in 2025 and the project Implementation unit must carry out the preparatory activities. Dec 14, 2024 Page 2 of 12 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Mauritania Agriculture Development and Innovation Support Project (P168847) Sub-Component 1.3: Institutional support to Ministry of Agriculture’s services and affiliated entities Main activities during this period include: • Recruitment of a firm to develop an APIM procedures manual, including procedures related to ZOCAs, and to create a mapping of the private sector. • Training APIM staff in project management, performance measures, engineering, and business support. • Recruitment of a consultant to develop a strategy for the formalization of the economy in Mauritania, and training staff on topics related to PPPs. The relevant institutions must closely monitor the quality of the studies produced to enhance the effective implementation of field activities. Component 2: Inclusive commercial agriculture Sub-Component 2.1: Planning and implementation of ZOCA public investments The current preparatory phase of the ZOCA process on priority sites, according to the GO/No-Go principle described in the PAD, corresponds to feasibility studies. During these studies, a land dispute arose in the Thiènel ZOCA, leading to a temporary suspension of activities related to this ZOCA, pending resolution by the competent authorities. Other potential sites have been explored to increase the chances of quickly identifying a potentially eligible ZOCA site, including the "Second Casier de Boghé plot" and along the Aftout Channel. A strategy extending until the end of February has been prepared and agreed upon with the project coordination and the Steering Committee (COPIL) and presented to the Minister of Agriculture and the Director General of Financing of the MEF. This strategy includes: • Simultaneous evaluation by relevant institutions (PIU, MEF, DAR, APIM, Land Committee, MoA. DECE) of five potential sites (Bababe, Boghe pilot plot extension, Dar Elbarka, Beilane, and Aftout), covering land aspects, social and environmental safeguards, economic feasibility, and potential with agribusiness. • APIM verifying with the private agro-industry sector and local groups the potential common interest in developing partnerships on some of these ZOCAs. • Based on the results, the next mission will decide on the final choice of ZOCAs to be retained. Obtaining land certificates is a priority, particularly for the Bababe site, where the application is at the final stage and awaiting approval at the Minister of Finance's office, before its possible transfer to the new Ministry of State Domains, State Heritage, and Land Reform. The Land Committee will also play a particular role in this regard. Potential ZOCA sites that do not provide sufficient guarantees within the given deadlines will be temporarily set aside to allow the coordination to focus on activities that can disburse. Sub-Component 2.3: Institutional support to ministry of Economy and Finance, and other ZOCA implementing entities Main activities during this period include: • Recruitment of a firm to develop an APIM procedures manual, including procedures related to ZOCAs, and to carry out a mapping of the private sector. • Training APIM staff in project management and business support. • Recruitment of a consultant to develop a strategy for formalizing the economy in Mauritania. The capacity building of APIM must advance to ensure it can fully contribute to the implementation of the ZOCA strategy. Component 3: Project management, monitoring, and evaluation The central coordination is currently based in properly furnished and equipped offices, pending the rehabilitation of the offices that will be jointly shared with the Ministry of Agriculture. The bidding process for the rehabilitation of the former Directorate of Agriculture is underway. Adjustments and reinforcements within the coordination are necessary, including the recruitment of an expert engineer in rural engineering and irrigation. Dec 14, 2024 Page 3 of 12 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Mauritania Agriculture Development and Innovation Support Project (P168847) In terms of monitoring and evaluation, revised manuals have been validated, and monitoring and project management software must be ordered. Progress has also been made in communication with the development of a communication plan and strategy. An NGO is being recruited to support the implementation of the strategy to address the risks of violence against women and the grievance management mechanism, which is being improved and popularized in different intervention areas. This aspect must be closely monitored by the safeguard teams during the implementation of activities in the startup phase. The financial management of the project has progressed, but the rate of disbursements remains insufficient compared to the initial programming. Procurement is experiencing delays due to blockages between the coordination team and the Ministry's procurement commission, which need to be addressed. Compliance with the Work Plan and the 2025 Annual Budget will depend on procurement, programming, and monitoring activities in rainfed areas, timely programming of socio- environmental screenings, and solutions to land issues in the ZOCA component 2.1. All these elements will require close monitoring by the coordination team. To address the evolving context, a mid-term review and potential restructuring are planned for 2025. 5. SYSTEMATIC OPERATIONS RISK-RATING TOOL Rating at Approval Last Approved Rating Risk Category Approval Package - ISR Seq. 03 - 02 Jun Proposed Rating 31 Aug 2023 2024 Political and Governance Moderate Substantial Substantial Macroeconomic Moderate Moderate Moderate Sector Strategies and Policies Substantial Substantial Substantial Technical Design of Project or Program Substantial Substantial Substantial Institutional Capacity for Implementation and High High High Sustainability Fiduciary Substantial Moderate Moderate Environment and Social Substantial Substantial Substantial Stakeholders High High High Overall Substantial Substantial Substantial Dec 14, 2024 Page 4 of 12 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Mauritania Agriculture Development and Innovation Support Project (P168847) 6. RESULTS 6.1 PDO Indicators by PDO Outcomes Restoration of land resources Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) Closing Period Indicator Name Value Month/Year Value Date Value Date Value Month/Year 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 5,000.00 Jun/2028 Comments on The indicator measures, in hectares, the land area for which new and/or improved sustainable achieving targets landscape management practices have been introduced. Land is the terrestrial biologically productive system comprising soil, vegetation, and the associated ecological and hydrological Land area under sustainable processes; Adoption refers to change of practice or change in the use of a technology landscape management promoted or introduced by the prject; Sustainable landscape management (SLM) practices practices (Hectare(Ha)) refers to a combination of at least two technologies and approaches to increase land quality and restore degraded lands for example, agronomic, vegetative, structural, and management measures that, applied as a combination, increase the connectivity between protected areas, forest land, rangeland, and agriculture land. Increased agriculture productivity Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) Closing Period Indicator Name Value Month/Year Value Date Value Date Value Month/Year 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 36,000.00 Jun/2028 Farmers reached with Comments on This indicator measures the number of farmers who were provided with agricultural assets or agricultural assets or services achieving targets services as a result of World Bank project support. "Agriculture" or "Agricultural" includes: (Number) crops, livestock, capture fisheries, aquaculture, agroforestry, timber, and non-timber forest products. Assets include property, biological assets, and farm and processing equipment. Biological assets may include animal agriculture breeds (e.g., livestock, fisheries) and genetic Page 5 of 13 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Mauritania Agriculture Development and Innovation Support Project (P168847) material of livestock, crops, trees, and shrubs (including fiber and fuel crops). Services include research, extension, training, education, ICTs, inputs (e.g., fertilizers, pesticides, labor), production-related services (e.g., soil testing, animal health/veterinary services), phyto- sanitary and food safety services, agricltural marketing support services (e.g., price monitoring, export promotion), access to farm and post-harvest machinery and storage facilities, employment, irrigation and drainage, and finance. Farmers are people engaged in agricultural activities or members of a agriculture-related business (disaggregated by men and women) targeted by the project. Farmers reached with 0.00 0.00 0.00 14,400.00 agricultural assets or services - Female (Number) Increase in productivity of key 4.50 Mar/2023 4.50 14-May-2024 4.50 01-Nov-2024 6.50 Jun/2028 targeted crops in irrigated areas (rice) (Metric ton) Increase in productivity of key 0.50 Mar/2023 0.50 14-May-2024 0.50 01-Nov-2024 1.00 Jun/2028 targeted crops in rainfed areas (sorghum) (Metric ton) Direct project beneficiaries 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 72,000.00 Jun/2028 (Number) Male (Number) 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 43,200.00 Jun/2028 Female (Number) 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 28,800.00 Jun/2028 6.2 Intermediate Results Indicators by Components Page 6 of 13 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Mauritania Agriculture Development and Innovation Support Project (P168847) Community-Driven Territorial Development and Preservation Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) Closing Period Indicator Name Value Month/Year Value Date Value Date Value Month/Year People with enhanced 0 01-Nov-2024 resilience to climate risks (Number of people) CRI People with enhanced 0 01-Nov-2024 resilience to climate risks – Youth (Number of people) CRI People with enhanced 0 01-Nov-2024 resilience to climate risks – Female (Number of people) CRI People with strengthened 0 01-Nov-2024 food and nutrition security (Number of people) CRI People with 0 01-Nov-2024 strengthened food and nutrition security – Youth (Number of people) CRI People with 0 01-Nov-2024 strengthened food and nutrition security – Female (Number of people) CRI Terrestrial and aquatic areas 0 01-Nov-2024 under enhanced conservation and management Page 7 of 13 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Mauritania Agriculture Development and Innovation Support Project (P168847) (Hectare(Ha)) CRI Physical infrastructures 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 120.00 Jun/2028 rehabilitated/upgraded (Number) Increase in cultivated area in 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 2,500.00 Jun/2028 project area as a result of project investments (Hectare(Ha)) 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 6,000.00 Jun/2028 Comments on This indicator measures the number of farmers (of agricultural products) who have adopted an achieving targets improved agricultural technology promoted by operations supported by the World Bank. NB: "Agriculture" or "Agricultural" includes: crops, livestock, capture fisheries, aquaculture, agroforestry, timber and non-timber forest products. Adoption refers to a change of practice or change in use of a technology that was introduced Farmers adopting improved or promoted by the project. agricultural technology Technology includes a change in practices compared to currently used pactices or technologies (Number) (seed preparation, planting time, feeding schedule, feeding ingredients, postharvest storage/ processing, etc.). If the project introduces or promotes a technology package in which the benefit depends on the application of the entire package (e.g., a combination of inputs such as a new variety and advice on agronomic practices such as soil preparation, changes in seeding time, fertilizer schedule, plant protection, etc.), this counts as one technology. Farmers are people engaged in farming of agricultural products or members of an agriculture related business (disaggregated by men and women) targeted by the project. Farmers adopting 0.00 0.00 0.00 2,400.00 improved agricultural technology - Female (Number) Farmers adopting 0.00 0.00 0.00 3,600.00 improved agricultural Page 8 of 13 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Mauritania Agriculture Development and Innovation Support Project (P168847) technology - male (Number) Functional income generating 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 60.00 Mar/2024 sub-projects one year after establishment (Percentage) Youth < 30 years 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 65.00 Mar/2024 (Percentage) Women (Percentage) 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 40.00 Mar/2024 Disadvantaged groups 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 5.00 Mar/2024 (Percentage) Annual real income per 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 1,000.00 Jun/2028 beneficiary derived from IGAs financed by the project (Amount(USD)) Women reaching this 0.00 0.00 0.00 60.00 income among beneficiaries (Percentage) MoA staff trained in planning 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 90.00 Jun/2028 and implementation of landscape restoration activities (Number) Area provided with 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 1,500.00 Jun/2028 new/improved irrigation or climate-resilient features (Hectare(Ha)) Inclusive Commercial Agriculture Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) Closing Period Indicator Name Value Month/Year Value Date Value Date Value Month/Year Appropriate legal and No Mar/2023 No 14-May-2024 No 01-Nov-2024 Yes Jun/2028 Page 9 of 13 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Mauritania Agriculture Development and Innovation Support Project (P168847) institutional framework for implementation and management of the ZOCA program established (Yes/No) Land and water rights 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 100.00 Jun/2028 inventories prepared and validated with local communities in ZOCA areas (Percentage) Land area under project 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 2,500.00 Jun/2028 having a documented land- based (ententes foncières) open for investment (Hectare(Ha)) PPPs registered under the 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 6.00 Jun/2028 ZOCA program (Number) Value of new private 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 20,000,000.00 Jun/2028 agribusiness investments registered in the ZOCA program (Amount(USD)) Total volume marketed for 0.00 Jan/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 4,500,000.00 Apr/2028 the smallholders and SMAES Comments on Represent the total amount of agri-food products that has been sold by the smallholders and through ZOCAs achieving targets SMAEs through ZOCAs (component 2). (Amount(USD)) Project Management and Monitoring & Evaluation Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) Closing Period Indicator Name Value Month/Year Value Date Value Date Value Month/Year Grievances responded and/or 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 90.00 Jun/2028 resolved within the stipulated Page 10 of 13 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Mauritania Agriculture Development and Innovation Support Project (P168847) service standards for response times (Percentage) Share of target beneficiaries 0.00 Mar/2023 0.00 14-May-2024 0.00 01-Nov-2024 80.00 Jun/2028 with rating “Satisfied” or above on process and impact of project interventions (Percentage) Page 11 of 13 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Mauritania Agriculture Development and Innovation Support Project (P168847) 7. DATA ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 7.1 Cumulative Disbursements 7.2 Disbursements (by loan) Loan/Credit/TF Status Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed % Disbursed Historical Disbursed IDA-72250 Effective 50.00 50.00 0.00 8.29 41.71 16.58% 50.00 7.3 Key Dates (by loan) Loan/Credit/TF Status Approval Signing Effectiveness Orig. Closing Rev. Closing IDA-72250 Effective 17-Nov-2022 10-Dec-2022 27-Mar-2023 30-Jun-2028 30-Jun-2028 8. KEY DATES Dec 14, 2024 Page 11 of 12 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Mauritania Agriculture Development and Innovation Support Project (P168847) Key Events Planned Actual Approval 17-Nov-2022 17-Nov-2022 Effectiveness 27-Mar-2023 27-Mar-2023 Mid-Term Review No. 01 30-Sep-2025 Operation Closing/Cancellation 30-Jun-2028 9. RESTRUCTURING HISTORY 10. ASSOCIATED OPERATION(S) There are no associated operations Dec 14, 2024 Page 12 of 12