Sierra Leone Smallholder Commercialization Programme Project Completion Report Main report and appendices Mission Dates: 16/09/2019 - 27/09/2019 Document Date: 06/04/2020 Project No. 1100001599 Report No. 5388-SL West and Central Africa Division Programme Management Department This document will be publicly disclosed unless there is written dissent on its disclosure by the Borrower at the time of this document submission to IFAD or no later than the project closing date. Map of the Project Area Currency Equivalents Currency Unit = Leones 4 741 (at design, 2010) US$1.0 = 7 380 (at completion, 30 September 2019) Weights and measures 1 kilogram = 1000 g 1 000 kg = 2.204 lb. 1 kilometre (km) = 0.62 mile 1 metre = 1.09 yards 1 square metre = 10.76 square feet 1 acre = 0.405 hectare 1 hectare = 2.47 acres Abbreviations and Acronyms ABC Agriculture Business Center AED Agricultural Engineering Department ASSL Audit Services Sierra Leone AVDP Agricultural Value Chain Development Project AWPB Annual Work Plan and Budget BES Block Extension Supervisors CB Community Bank CNFA Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture CPM Country Programme Manager DAO District Agriculture Office/Officer FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FBO Farmer Based Organization FEW Field Extension Worker FFS Farmer Field School FO Farmers Organization FSA Financial Services Association GALS Gender Action Learning System GoSL Government of Sierra Leone GPS Global Positioning System GYTU Gender and Youth Technical Unit ICADeP Inclusive Comprehensive Agricultural Development Project IFAD International Fund for Agriculture Development IPs Implementation Partners IVS Inland Valley Swamp IVSA Inland Valley Swamp Association M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MAF Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry MFI Microfinance Institution MoA Memorandum of Agreement MOFED Ministry of Finance and Economic Development NaFFSL National Federation of Farmers of Sierra Leone NPCU National Project Coordination Unit NSC National Steering Committee ODK Open Data Kit OSS Operational Self Sufficiency PAR Portfolio at Risk PCU Project Coordination Unit PMU Project Management Unit RFCIP Rural Finance and Community Improvement Project RFI Rural Financial Institution RIMS Results and Impact Management System SCP- GAFSP Smallholder Commercialization Programme–Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (S)TCO (Senior) Tree Crops Officer SP Service Provider TAA Technical Assistance Agency for Financial Services UNFCCC United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change WA Withdrawal Application YC Youth Contractor Project at a glance Region West and Central Africa Division Project at Risk Status Not at risk Country Sierra Leone Environmental and Social Category N/A Project Name Smallholder Commercialization Programme Climate Risk Classification not available yet Project ID 1100001599 Project Sector Agricultural Development CPM Ann Turinayo Project Area not available yet Key Dates IFAD Approval Signing Entry into Force Mid-Term Review Original Actual Completion Completion 11/05/2011 30/05/2011 29/07/2011 15/08/2015 30/09/2016 30/09/2019 Original Financial Actual Financial Closure Closure 31/03/2020 not available yet Date of Last SIS Number of SIS Number of Effectiveness lag Mission Missions extensions 01/03/2019 13 2 2 months IFAD Financing as at the time of PCR submission Actual Costs and Financing (USD ‘000) as at the time of PCR submission Component IFAD Cofinancing Beneficiaries GOVT Total Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Small Scale Irrigation Development 0 0 0 0 0 Programme Management 0 0 0 0 0 Rural Finance 0 0 0 0 0 Smallholder Agriculture and Commercialization 0 0 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 0 0 Remarks Outreach Direct Beneficiaries Number of HH members Number of persons receiving services Estimated total: 158 272 Total: 158 272 Males: 79 136 Females: 79 136 Project Objectives Acc to agr/techno & prod servc Increase productivity, yields, marketing and income of smallholders with emphasis on commodity chain development Country Partners Executing Institution not available yet Implementing Institutions not available yet Project Completion Ratings Matrix COUNTRY: Sierra Leone PROJECT NAME: Smallholder Commercialization Programme PROJECT ID: 1100001599 BOARD APPROVAL DATE: 11/05/2011 ENTRY INTO FORCE: 29/07/2011 PROJECT COMPLETION DATE: 30/09/2019 LOAN CLOSING DATE: 31/03/2020 IFAD LOAN AND GRANT (USD MILLION): $0 TOTAL PROJECT FINANCING: $56,400,000 IMPLEMENTING AGENCY: not available yet Criterion PCR Rating Project performance - Relevance 5 - Effectiveness 4 - Efficiency 3 - Sustainability 4 Rural poverty impact 5 - Households’ incomes and assets 5 - Human and social capital 5 - Food security 4 - Agricultural productivity 5 - Institutions and policies 4 Additional evaluation criteria - Gender equality and women's empowerment 5 - Innovation 4 - Scaling up 4 - Environment and natural resource management 4 - Adaptation to climate change 4 - Targeting and outreach 5 - Access to markets 3 Partners performance - IFAD's performance 4 - Government performance 4 Overall project achievement 4 Executive Summary The Smallholder Commercialisation Programme (SCP) was implemented in Sierra Leone between 2011 and 2019. The project was financed by the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP) with US$50 million and supervised by the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Counterpart funds amounted to USD6.5 million, thereby bringing the total project cost to US$56.5 million. The objective of the programme was to empower the rural poor to increase their food security and incomes on a sustainable basis leading to a stronger national economy. Specifically, it aimed to: (i) contribute to the reduction of the gap between national rice production and demand (representing 70,000 metric tons), and (ii) increase farm incomes by 10 percent for direct beneficiaries. Despite delays in the early years of implementation mainly caused by the outbreak of the Ebola virus in 2014-2016, the project has shown satisfactory results. The project managed to meet the project objectives as follows: 1. Contribute to the reduction of the gap between national rice production and demand: Given yield levels for both project supported and non-project supported farmers, the average rice yield attributed to the project in one cropping season was estimated at 4.56mt[1]/ha. Apart from the baseline year where production level was the same for both project supported and non-project supported farmers, all subsequent years had multiple crop cycles on rehabilitated inland valley swamps. Therefore production level on rehabilitated inland valley swamp area of 1,991.36ha was estimated at 9,080.60 metric tons, showing 13% contribution to the reduction of the gap between national rice production and demand (representing 70,000 metric tons). It should be noted that the Smallholder Commercialization Programme, which was the flagship programme of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security from 2010 to 2015 had a basket of projects contributing to rice production intensification and as a result the 13% contribution by GAFSP is no small margin. 2. Increase farm incomes by 10 percent for direct beneficiaries. The objective has been met as the average income changes at household level exceeds the target (10%). More specifically, incomes of households participating in rice production in Inland valley Swamps are estimated to have increased by 38[2]% above that of the control group of non-participants for male headed households, and by 67% for female headed households. For Tree crop participants the income change is estimated to be 28% for female, and 57% for male headed households. This report presents the project’s key results, focusing on the effectiveness of project implementation, including, whether the outcomes were achieved within the timeline. The report also examines the relevance, efficiency and sustainability of the project. Background and political context In 2009, the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Food Security (MAFFS) developed the National Sustainable Development Plan 2010-2030 (NSADP) under the umbrella of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) with the broad involvement of all stakeholders. At the core of the NSADP is the Smallholder Commercialisation Programme (SCP). MAFFS developed a USD403 million National Agricultural Investment Plan (NAIP) for the implementation of the SCP covering the years 2010-2014 including six components: 1. Improving smallholder production and commercialisation by setting up 2,750 FBOs and building 650 Agricultural Business Centres (ABCs) nation-wide; 2. Developing small scale irrigation to boost rice production on 18,000ha of land; 3. Improving access to markets by rehabilitating and maintaining 4,000km of feeder roads; 4. Providing better access to financial services specifically tailored to rural farming groups or individuals through the creation of 130 new Financial Services Associations (FSAs); 5. Providing a social protection safety net to vulnerable households to increase food security and nutrition for 1.5 million people; and 6. Planning and coordinating implementation, including M&E. In June 2010, the multi-donor financing facility “Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme” (GAFSP) approved a USD50 million proposal presented by the Government of Sierra Leone in support of components 1, 2, 4 and 6 (i.e., excluding the feeder roads and social protection). The Government of Sierra Leone selected the International Fund