EG4ALL Vision_Public_20170512 FINAL.pdf

USAID Senegal – Economic Growth For All

(FY2018-2023)

Project Vision

27 March 2017

USAID SENEGAL EG4ALL Project Vision i

USAID SENEGAL EG4ALL Project Vision ii

LIST OF ACRONYMS

AAD Activity Approval Memos ACF Action Contre la Faim

AETR Agriculture Education Training Research

AGCLIR Agricultural Commercial, Legal, and Institutional Reform

AMEP Activity Monitoring and Evaluation Plans

ANCAR Agence Nationale de Conseil Agricole et Rural

ANIDA Agence Nationale d’Insertion et de Développement Agricole

ANPEJ Agence Nationale pour la Promotion de l’Emploi des Jeunes

ANSD Agence nationale de la statistique et de la démographie

AOR Assistance Office Representative

ASPRODEB

Association Sénégalaise pour la Promotion du Développement à la Base

BDS Business Development Services CBSP Community Based Service Provider CCIR Cross-cutting Intermediate Result

CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy

CFA West African Francs

CGER Centres de Gestion et d’Economie Rurale

CIFA Centre Interprofessionnel de Formation des Agriculteurs

CINSERE

Climate Information Services for Increased Resilience and Productivity

CIS Climate Information Services

CLM Cellule de Lutte contre la Malnutrition

CLPA Commité Locale de Peche Artisinal CNCAS Credit Agricole du Sénégal

CNCR Conseil National des Concertations et de Coopération Ruraux

COMFISH

Collaborative Management for a Sustainable Fisheries Future in Senegal

CONGAD

Conseille des organization non-governement d’appuyi au Développement

COR Contract Office Representative

CRODT Oceanographic Research Center

DAP Dept of Analysis Forecasting and Statistics

DCA Development Credit Authority DO Development Objective DPM Directorate of Marine Fisheries

DPSP Directorate for Surveillance and the Protection of Surveillance

ECOWAS Economic Community Of West African States

EG4ALL Economic Growth for All EGO Economic Growth Office

ENSA Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Agriculture

ERA Education, Research, Agriculture

ESPS L’Enquete de Suivi de la Pauvreté au Sénégal

Feed the Future

Feed the Future

FY Financial Year GDP Gross Domestic Product GFSS Global Food Security Strategy GIS Geographic Information System

GLAAS Global Acquisition & Assistance System

GOLD Govt for Local Development GOS Govt of Senegal

GTDRSA Donors Group on Rural Development and Food Security

HR Human Resources

ICT Information Communication Technology

IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute

IP Implementing Partner ISDP Integrated Service Delivery Project

ISFAR L'Institut de Formation Agricole et Rurale

ISRA Institut Senegalaise de Recherche Agricole

ITA Institut de Technologie Alimentaire

IUUF Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported Fishing

JICA Japanese International Cooperation Agency

LEO Leveraging Economic Opportunities

USAID SENEGAL EG4ALL Project Vision ii

LOASP Agro-Sylvo Pastoral Orientation Law

LTAEB Lycée Technique Agricole Émile Badiane

M&E Monitoring and Evaluation

MAER Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Equipment

MCC Millenium Challenge Corporation MEL Monitoring Evaluation and Learning MPA Marine Protected Areas MSME Micro, Small, Medium Enterprise NERICA New Rice (variety) for Africa NFSS Nutritious Food System Services NGO Non Govt Organization

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

OSC Office of Security Cooperation PAD Project Appraisal Document

PAPA Projet d'Appui aux Politiques Agricoles

PBS Population Based Survey PCE Projet de Croissance Économique PD Project Description

PDIDAS Projet de Développement Inclusif et Durable de l’Agribusiness au Sénégal

PDP Project Design Plan

PERA Public Expenditure Review in Agriculture

PMP Project Management Plan

POPAS

La Plateforme des organisations professionnelles de l'agroalimentaire du Sénégal

PPP Public Private Partnership PPR Performance Plan and Report

PRACAS

Programme de relance et d’accélération de la cadence de l’agriculture au Sénégal

PRN Nutrition Strengthening Project

PRODAC Programme des Domaines Agricoles Communautaires

PSE Plan Senegal Emergent PYD Positive Youth Development

ReSAKSS Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System

SAED Société d'aménagement et d'exploitation des terres du delta

SAGIC

Accelerated Growth and Increased Competitiveness Economic Growth Project

SBCC Social & Behavior Change Communications

SEM Sustainable Ecosystems Management

SENWASH Senegal Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

SFZ Southern Forest Zone SGO Sabadola Gold Organization

SISMAR

Société Industrielle Sahélienne de Mécaniques, Matériels Agricoles et de Représentations

SME Small medium Enterprise SMS Short Message Service

SODEFITEX Societé de Développement des Fibres Textiles

SOW Scope of Work

SPRING Strengthening Partnerships, Results, in Nutrition Globally

SRV Senegal River Valley TBD To Be Decided

UCAD Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar

UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund

USAID US Agency for International Development

USD US dollar USG US Govt VC Value Chain WASH Water Sanitation and Hygiene WHO World Health Organization WTO World Trade Organization

ZOI Zone of Influence

USAID SENEGAL EG4ALL Project Vision iii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Youth Unemployment rates (GlobalEconomy.com, WorldBank) Figure 2. Cost of Starting a Business (Global Economy.com, World Bank) Figure 3. Project Results Framework Figure 4. Feed the Future Zone of Influence, including coastal COMFISH zones Figure 5. USAID Senegal EG4ALL PAD Activities Figure 6. Critical interlinking of components to effect MSME development Figure 7. Precipitation variability over the period 2000-2015 (Badiane, 2016) Figure 8. Youth Unemployment rates (GlobalEconomy.com, WorldBank) Figure 9. Cost of Starting a Business (Global Economy.com, World Bank) Figure 10. Strategic Framework for MSME Growth and Development

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Aspects of Plan Senegal Emergent addressed by EG4ALL Table 2. Activity Transitions and Proposed Procurement MechanismsError! Bookmark not defined.

Table 3. Non-competitive mechanisms to be procured under this PADError! Bookmark not defined.

Table 4. Current and future activity costs (Low Budget Scenario). ..... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Table 5. Current and future activity costs (High Budget Scenario). .... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Table 6. Traditionnal Filiere system approach versus Naatal Mbay contracting agriculture approach (source: LEO report 49, Case studies on facilitating systemic change)

USAID SENEGAL EG4ALL Project Vision iv

Contents

1 Purpose

2 Context

2.1 Political, Social, Commercial

2.2 USAID/EGO Engagement

3 Problem Statement

4 Project Approach

4.1 Theory of Change

4.2 Project Principles

4.3 Assumptions/Risks

4.4 Geographic Approach

5 Project Description

5.1 Value Chain Services

5.2 Nutritious Food System Services

5.3 Entrepreneurship and Vocational Development Services

5.4 Policy Systems Services

5.5 Sustainable Ecosystem and Fisheries Management Services

6 Alignment with United States Government and GOS Priorities/Other Leveraged Resources

6.1 Relationship to GFSS and CDCS

6.2 Linkages with USAID Activities

6.3 Linkage with GOS Priorities

8 Project Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Plan (PMELP)

9 References

10 Annexes

10.1 Climate Risk Analysis

10.2 Project Logic Model

10.3 Summary of Analyses

10.3.1 Senegal - Country Overview

10.3.2 Agriculture Sector Analysis

10.3.3 Feed the Future Value Chain Activities, Achievements and Remaining Challenges

10.3.4 Water Management Schemes in Senegal

USAID SENEGAL EG4ALL Project Vision v

10.3.5 MSME Study

10.3.6 Environment

10.3.7 Agriculture Sector Climate Vulnerability Assessment and Options Analysis

10.3.8 Gender Analysis Study

10.3.9 Expanding and Enhancing Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture

10.3.10 Youth in Agriculture Assessment

10.4 Business Enabling Environment and Competitiveness Program (PREAC)

1 Purpose

The following describes USAID/Senegal’s vision for Economic Growth For All (EG4ALL) 2018-2023, an integrated investment that will aid Senegal, as a focus country under the United States Government’s (USG) Feed the Future Initiative (Feed the Future), to make further advancements along its food security and agricultural development trajectory.

The purpose of the USAID/Senegal Economic Growth For All (EG4ALL) 2018-2023 Project is to sustainably reduce poverty and undernourishment among beneficiaries (See Annex 10.2).

EG4ALL is consistent with the current Government of Senegal (GOS) medium and long-term economic and social policy framework, called the Plan Senegal Emergent (PSE). In particular, it responds to the PSE’s first thrust – structural transformation of the economy and growth.

EG4ALL will contribute to USAID/Senegal Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) Development Goal 1: Increased Inclusive Economic Growth in the Zone of Influence (ZOI). In designing activities to achieve the purpose, the agricultural economy is recognized as the most immediate means of generating income and employment for large numbers of young people. Thus, in alignment with the U.S. Government Global Food Security Strategy (GFSS), the project builds resilience through linking efforts to accelerate agricultural growth and improve nutrition, and more deliberately to create jobs for young people and opportunities for women.

Sustainable ecosystem services are also recognized as a foundation for economic growth.

EG4ALL is an essential next step in expanding a group of current activities that will improve household incomes, consumption of nutritious diets, and environmental outcomes. EG4ALL is built upon the premise that in order to sustainably reduce poverty and malnutrition, these activities must be advanced concurrently in order to ensure that each develop in a complementary or synergistic fashion. Undertaken separately, lack of one stream could undercut potential for success in others.

The approach both builds on and better integrates the current portfolio of Economic Growth Office activities, based on the following principles:

Project Purpose:

Sustainably reduce poverty and undernourishment among beneficiaries.

Coverage:

Senegal River Valley, Southern Forest Zone, Coastal Artisanal Fisheries – 9 Administrative Regions

Priority Crops:

Cereals, Horticulture, Fishers, Livestock

Priority Populations:

Children under 5 Women of reproductive age (15-49) Youth (15 upwards) Farmers (male and female)

Methods:

Agricultural productivity improvement, MSME/Employment creation, Technical/Vocational/organizational development training, Food system development, Nutrition Behavior change, Policy strengthening/implementation, Sustainable management of threatened ecosystems

a. Market-based solutions that target youth and women for income-generating opportunities on-farm, and off-farm along the value chain (VC), while reliably supplying nutritious foods.

b. Public/private institutions, local management groups, and commercial entities, strengthened and empowered to manage proactively, based increasingly on strong data, and better linked with end-users’ market requirements.

c. Sustainable and inclusive land and water management that conserves ecosystem services and functions, while promoting viable livelihoods.

d. Policies that improve the business climate for targeted sectors, to be more inclusive of local stakeholders, and attract greater private sector investment.

The presence of a large (and increasing) population of un- and underemployed youth can be seen as both an opportunity and a threat. Therefore, youth engagement as a priority in the commercial functions of the value chains is a key focus of the project. Women’s engagement is also a priority, given women’s propensity to spill over to their families and households any social and economic gains that accrue to them (better education, enhanced nutrition, etc.).

Wherever possible the project will take a ‘service development’ view to value chain functions as a key to sustainability. There will be a strong focus on commercially viable products and services derived from scalable local solutions that add value and enhance competitiveness. These will build on existing systems and opportunities resulting in effective local actors, institutions, and systems.

Environmental sustainability will be addressed in all activities, from resilient agricultural practices to better fish stock management.

At the end of EG4ALL there will be in place a more strongly integrated innovation system that is better able to exploit its potential to contribute to economic growth, employment, and food security in an environmentally sustainable way. This system will link public and private sectors and be founded on a growing, dynamic, network of Micro, Small, Medium Enterprise (MSMEs) offering essential business services in response to market needs. Small farm productivity, profitability, and sustainability will grow based on improved availability of inputs, markets, and services.

2 Context

2.1 Political, Social, Commercial

Senegal is one of the most stable countries in Africa, and has considerably strengthened its democratic institutions since its independence from France in 1960. All three presidential transitions since independence have been peaceful, and President Macky Sall is overseeing further legislative strengthening, including the policy of decentralization of government functions which will enable greater responsibility for decision-making in local areas.

Senegal’s macroeconomic performance is continuing strongly with a 2015 growth rate of 6.5%, a rate that hasn’t been achieved since 2003, making Senegal the second fastest growing economy in West Africa, behind Côte d’Ivoire (World Bank, 2016).

The primary sector is the fastest growing sector boosted by extractives and agriculture (terrestrial crops, livestock, and wild fisheries). In agriculture, good rainfall and strong outcomes from sectors targeted by government programs (including groundnuts, rice, and horticulture) explain this outcome. Over the past ten years the Agricultural Production Index has increased by 25%, mainly supported by improvements in rice yield (doubled to 4 metric tons per hectare (MT/ha)), and a large increase in horticultural production (mainly beans, tomatoes, and mangoes) (Badiane et al, 2016). Millet, sorghum, and maize have all remained constant. From an export value perspective, the horticultural crops have seen a marked growth in importance, now moving into second place behind groundnuts. This period has also seen Senegal move from net importer to exporter of fish and animal products (despite the country's fishers losing an estimated 300,000 MT of fish each year to illegal fishing). Economic modelling by Badiane et al (2016) has also identified horticulture as a significant future opportunity.

Senegal’s 2015 Environmental Threats and Opportunities Assessment (ETOA) detailed a variety of threats affecting biodiversity and related ecosystems. Senegal has a significant amount (1.6 million hectares) of protected areas featuring national parks, forest reserves, bird reserves, and Ramsar wetlands sites. Many of these are under challenge from overexploitation, and around 40,000 ha of forest are lost every year to over and/or alternative use. Significant water resources are available, estimated at 4,700 m3/capita/year, split between surface and groundwater sources. The groundwater portion is supplied by deep aquifers that cover four fifths of the land mass. The main threats to water quantity and quality are climate change and related increased rainfall variability that is also exacerbating soil salinization in areas close to estuaries, and pollution from agriculture, industrial and domestic waste.

Poverty remains high in Senegal, affecting 46.7% of the population. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is well below the rates necessary for significant poverty reduction, and a growing reliance on capital-intensive exports, rather than labor-intensive sectors, limits the creation of new jobs.

Repeated shocks in recent years have further hampered progress, with poverty decreasing only by

1.8 % between 2006 and 2011, and the number of poor increasing, reaching 6.3 million in 2011.

Inequality in Senegal is moderate, and slightly lower than the Sub-Saharan African average.

However, geographic disparities are very pronounced, with almost two out of three poor residents in rural areas, especially in the south, versus one in four in Dakar. Likewise, there is still marked inequality in gender roles. Women have far lower access to productive resources (land, labor, finance, water, and other infrastructure) and opportunities to enhance their skills (time resource, access to training, extension services, and technologies).

A significant percentage of youth (52.2 %) live in rural areas (ANSD, 2014), and according to the most recent national poverty survey, rural youth experience higher levels of extreme poverty, illiteracy and inactivity than urban youth (ANSD, 2006). The percentage of youth in rural areas with at least a primary school education is low, less than 25 % (ANSD, 2014).

Each year, 300,000 new young job seekers enter the labor market, and 50 % are in rural areas. The rural economy offers 60 % of national employment opportunities to youth (ANSD, 2014). The national youth employment promotion agencies Agence Nationale d’Insertion et de Développement Agricole (ANIDA) and Programme des Domaines Agricoles Communautaires (PRODAC) still struggle to attract youth and provide them with permanent jobs. Over 60% of MSMEs are youth owned, and employment in quality control and quality assurance is in line with world-class commodity value chains. However, young Senegalese looking for agriculture sector employment or entrepreneurial opportunity face very limited access to land, finance, and continued training to compete for the few jobs that are available (USAID Senegal, 2016b). Senegal also leads its peers in the region in youth unemployment as evidenced in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Youth Unemployment rates (GlobalEconomy.com, World Bank)

In nutrition, Senegal is off course toward achieving the World Health Assembly 2025 goals. During the period, 2005-14, the children-under-5 stunting rate remained constant at around 19%.

However, this masks regional disparities, with Dakar and central regions improving, while the south has worsened. Over the same period, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding worsened from 37.5% to 32.4%. Senegal has the highest prevalence of women anemia and the fifth highest prevalence of women underweight in sub-Saharan Africa. Over-nutrition and its related non-communicable diseases are on the rise, with 21.3% of women over age 40 overweight or obese.

Senegal is behind its peers in the region in business climate improvement. According to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2016 report, Senegal has taken important steps to improve its business enabling environment with the creation of the Presidential Council on Investment, the establishment of a one stop-shop for business registration and the reduction of corporate tax rates.

However, sustained efforts are still needed to improve the regulatory climate: contract enforcement, the time and cost involved in registering property aspect of business, and other constraints increase the costs and risks to businesses and hinder access to world-class services, investment, and competitive business performance (Figure 2). A weak business enabling environment has discouraged entrepreneurship and new business formation and resulted in large numbers of informal firms, which have labor productivity levels that are only 7% to 10% that of formal ones.

Figure 2. Cost of Starting a Business (Global Economy.com, World Bank).

2.2 USAID/EGO Engagement

In the cereal crops sub-sector of agriculture, the flagship Feed the Future Senegal Value Chain Activity, known as Naatal Mbay, was built upon successes and learning from earlier investments, notably Wula Nafaa and Senegal Accelerated Growth and Increased Competitiveness Activity (SAGIC), followed by the Economic Growth Project (PCE). Naatal Mbay has catalyzed productivity and market linkages in the rice, maize, and millet value chains. Over the period 2013/15, adoption of the improved technical packages developed by the project increased irrigated rice yields from 5- 6 MT/ha, leading to more than $15M in incremental sales. Irrigated rice yields are poised to increase even further. Regarding maize, supply of certified seed trebled from 3,000 MT to 10,000 MT in the 2014 to 2016 period - an outcome facilitated by partnerships among USAID, Senegalese companies, and farmers’ groups. For financial risk-reduction to support greater agricultural investment by smallholders, innovative insurance instruments were tested in the maize and millet zones with good results (USAID Senegal, 2015b). In 2015, 1,470 maize and millet growers purchased rain-index insurance packages, and 450 were paid out due to drought. In the subsequent season, 14,350 farmers bought insurance that covered 4,000 ha. For the more advanced producers, access to finance is being addressed through equipment leasing schemes and warehouse receipts – both modern methods for addressing the liquidity needs of a growing industry (USAID Senegal, 2013).

In the fisheries sector, through the Collaborative Management for a Sustainable Fisheries Future in Senegal (COMFISH), reforms are contributing to building the strength of fisheries governance and management institutions, CLPAs, the backbone of successful shift to collaborative management, sustaining productivity through support to the rollout of large fish stock management plans, connecting artisanal fishers more fully in fisheries value chains, and gaining control over uncertainty with innovative products such as fisheries insurance.. The activity has made striking gains in improved governance through local councils for artisanal fishing. In conjunction with the Climate Information Services for Increased Resilience and Productivity (CINSERE) activity, which emphasizes strategic use of climatic information, resilience and productivity of targeted communities of fishers, herders, and farmers are being promoted as a means of confronting climate variability and change.

Concerning nutrition, a nutrition-led agriculture approach was employed through the Yaajeende activity to reduce malnutrition in Matam, Kedougou, Kolda, and Bakel Department (Tambacounda).

Tools deployed in this approach include promoting the emergence of community-based agribusinesses that facilitate availability and accessibility of agriculture goods and services to isolated and vulnerable communities. These businesses support improved production, trade, and local consumption of quality, nutritious foods, such as orange fleshed sweet potato, bio-fortified grains, meat, and dairy. Results under Yaajeende include a 30% drop in stunting rates, from 23% in 2011 to 16% in 2015; a decrease in poverty by 2.9 percentage points, and an increase in the proportion of women practicing exclusive breast feeding from 1% in 2011 to 24% in 2015. A hallmark of this activity is its work with local government bodies to maximize the numbers of people who are exposed to the benefits.

The Education and Research in Agriculture (ERA) Activity is the primary vehicle for helping to develop the human and institutional capacity among the Senegalese public and private sectors to spur value chain productivity, and undergird sustainable production systems. Under ERA, a “4-H Senegal” Positive Youth Development Program focuses on agriculture and entrepreneurship for sustainable community development. It now has over 30 clubs in three regions of Senegal, reaching hundreds of youth. ERA is supporting academic programs ranging from 20 Masters Degrees at U.S.

universities to degrees and certificates for 104 scholars at Senegalese universities and technical training institutes.

In the policy realm, through the Feed the Future Senegal Agricultural Policy Project/Projet d'Appui aux Politiques Agricoles (PAPA) and the Feed the Future Senegal Policy for Agriculture Investments Activity (P4I) strides are being made to address policies that impede progress in the agriculture, fisheries, and business enabling environment. Fisheries laws have been strengthened and fisheries codes introduced to improve enforcement measures.

3 Problem Statement

Exhaustive analyses have been either performed or commissioned by the USAID/Senegal Economic Growth Office (EGO) in the areas of gender, youth employment in agriculture, MSME situation, policy, energy and water for agriculture, climate change, biodiversity, fisheries political economy, and nutrition. In addition, multiple engagements were undertaken with a range of government departments, institutions, other donors, and formal and informal producer and advocacy groups to deepen EGO’s understanding of remaining constraints, specifically:

Agricultural productivity: On the whole, food production in Senegal is not efficient due to availability and access issues related to secure land, water, credit, fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, equipment, and proven techniques for increased agricultural production. The very structure of the input sectors and various distortions in the market limit private sector investment in the cereal seeds sector. Pressure on land and water resources in a country where population growth and urbanization outpace gains in food system functionality, make gains in productivity all the more urgent. Access to technologies and innovation diffusion is limited by the weakness of the government research and extension services system and the lack of linkages with the private sector.

Water and energy infrastructure: Although public investments in water management technologies and irrigation systems have contributed to increased rice production in the Senegal River Valley (SRV) and lowland areas in Southern Forest Zone (SFZ), Senegalese agriculture is still mostly dependent on rainfall. The recurring incidence of extreme weather with irregular rainfall, flooding, and drought, bears increased risks both to farming businesses and to food security.

Expansion of processing facilities is hampered by the low access to energy and the higher cost of electricity and fuel in rural areas. Increasing the availability of water and energy, like improved seeds and fertilizers, are critical to improved agricultural productivity.

Land Tenure: Secure land tenure creates a more favorable environment for agricultural growth through smallholders (men, women, and young people) and other responsible investment. Access to and control of land is more limited for women and young people. There is recognition of the need to reform the laws governing land tenure and to improve implementation of existing laws in ways that support greater inclusion of women and young people. Transparent land rights information, including maps, secure tenure and land transactions in areas targeted for investment areas critical.

Given that existing projects to map and record land rights (Millennium Challenge Corporation [MCC] and World Bank Projet de Développement Inclusif et Durable de l’Agribusiness au Sénégal [PDIDAS]) only cover part of the SRV, where most investment is concentrated, there is considerable need to adapt and apply tools for improved land documentation and management more broadly.

Private sector investments in agriculture: Financial resources dedicated to the agriculture sector have been limited. Based on the Senegal Public Expenditure Review in Agriculture (PERA), agriculture investments account for 10 percent of the national investment portfolio. Recurrent interventions of the government in the financial and inputs sectors distort markets and increase the risks for the private sector. Low private sector investment in agriculture is a major contributing factor to the weak competitiveness of the sector, negatively impacting poverty reduction, food security, and overall economic growth.

Formation and growth of MSMEs: A range of social and economic factors prevent robust development of MSMEs in Senegal. Constraints preventing them from contributing effectively to economic development include: poor access to credit, inadequate managerial and technical skills, insufficient access to information, limited competitiveness, high regulatory burdens, and limited formalization. Due to these challenges, MSME sustainability is low (60% fail within two years). As employment creation and income expansion remain critical for poverty reduction, addressing challenges for the MSME sector provides opportunities to pursue these goals.

Resilience to climate and economic shocks: Senegal’s population is increasing faster than agricultural output and agriculture is highly vulnerable to climate-related risks. These risks include:

variable and increasingly extreme rainfall levels, and extreme temperatures; delayed onset and dry spells during rainy season; floods from heavy rainfall events; sea-level rise and coastal erosion, that are having an impact on crop, livestock and fisheries sectors, threatening the country’s development goals. When erratic rains, frequent dry spells, and variations in the timing and length of the rainy season occur, lives are put at risk, assets are damaged, productivity falls and incomes fail. This traps people in a cycle of food insecurity and poverty. Rainfall variability is likely to continue, with an increase in severe weather events. Proactive and integrated risk management strategies are needed to build farmers’ and fishers’ resilience to climate-related shocks and improve livelihoods. Despite progress in developing economic potential and introducing innovations for climate adaptability, resilience at community levels remains weak due to lack of effective mechanisms to generate group responses to unexpected shocks. Thus, greater organizational capacity to produce unified community responses to major shocks is needed.

Senegal needs to identify and apply a full set of policies and actions for achieving national food system resilience.

Youth integration in modern agriculture: A number of issues constrain youth integration in modern agriculture, on and off farm in Senegal. For youth interested in farming, the two main problems are access to land ownership and access to credit. A number of government and donor-financed programs are attempting to address the credit issue with mixed results. There is a vast array of institutions aiming to support directly or indirectly business development opportunities in agriculture and provide training for youth (Domaines Agricoles Communautaires, ANIDA, Agence Nationale pour la Promotion de l’Emploi des Jeunes [ANPEJ], various donors), but efforts lack coherence and are often stand alone or one -off endeavors. Stimulating jobs for young people in the agriculture sector, in areas such as processing, machinery/equipment rental, operation and repair, and logistics, can be integrated and linked more deliberately with MSME development and other efforts to accelerate agricultural growth and improve food security. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) with digital tools’ hold great potential to enhance agricultural productivity through innovative value-added services along the value chains and provide job opportunities to youth.

Agricultural policy reforms: Closely tied to Senegal’s low agricultural productivity and limited private sector investment, a constrained agricultural policy environment, at the national and local levels is detrimental to the competitiveness of the agriculture sector. Implementation of policy reforms was highlighted in multiple strategies (Agro-Sylvo Pastoral Orientation Law - LOASP, New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition Cooperation Framework, and Plan Senegal Emergent) as essential for modernizing and increasing sector performance. The LOASP was enacted as an expression of Senegal’s aspiration to make agriculture an engine of economic growth, yet implementation has slowed. Both at the national and local levels, considerable work remains to advance reforms in areas such as land tenure, women’s empowerment, youth inclusion, water rights, the enabling environment for increased private sector investment and a reduction in the government intrusions that distort agricultural input and equipment markets. At the same time, there are important institutional and human resource capacity gaps within the cognizant Ministries that constrain them from effectively formulating, implementing and monitoring the needed reforms. Hence, more focused attention on strengthening the underlying policy architecture is required.

Ocean fisheries: Wild fisheries are critical to the socio-economic development of Senegal, yet the sector on the whole is characterized by overexploitation, inadequate regulation and monitoring, weak stakeholder consultation mechanisms, and overall poor management. Overfishing of key species and declining fish size and abundance push Senegalese fishers to fish further offshore.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) and the re-emergence of large fishing vessels illegally harvesting fish within the Economic Exclusive Zone of Senegal deplete the resource base and lower natural productivity, negatively affecting fishers’ livelihoods and national wealth. The situation is compounded by the consequences of a warming climate on the marine and coastal resources and environment, namely changing fish stock migration habits and spatial and temporal abundance. Despite these threats to sustainable ocean fisheries, the policy response does not yet provide sufficient incentive for change.

Multi-sectoral integration for nutrition and understanding of the causes driving malnutrition in Senegal’s various agro-ecological zones: Bringing about improved nutrition calls for interventions in the agriculture, health, and education sectors, along with improvements in people’s economic status. While rising GDP per capita and increasing proximity to markets are associated with declines in underweight, they are also linked with worsening rates of over nutrition and its related non-communicable diseases. Senegal is in the midst of a nutrition transition marked by the coexistence of over and undernutrition at the population, household and individual levels. To get out front of this looming double burden, deliberate coordination to drive development of a multi-sectoral nutrition policy and strategy are needed. The specific drivers of malnutrition by agro-climatic zones are not yet clearly defined. Gaining a nuanced understanding of the causal factors at work in the different geographical zones where malnutrition persists is critical to optimally targeting USAID, GOS and others’ resources to achieve the greatest impact.

Gender in agriculture and food security: There has been steady progress in socio-economic conditions for Senegalese women. Interventions under Yaajeende and COMFISH have helped women diversify their incomes, improve their nutrition status and take on leadership roles in important community activities. Still, less than half of those surveyed for the Feed the Future Senegal 2015-16 ZOI Interim Assessment, reported having ownership, access to, and decision-making power over the purchase, sale or transfer of productive resources such as land, livestock, agricultural equipment, consumer durables and credit. While there is tremendous potential for entrepreneurship and employment in the value-added segments of value chains, creative approaches will need to be deployed to successfully address persistent cultural and institutional biases. A final area of concern is the need for men’s engagement and active participation in household nutrition, supporting women in reducing their labor burden and increasing time/resources available for key practices, such as exclusive breastfeeding, continued breastfeeding beyond six months, proper complementary feeding, and seeking healthcare.

Knowledge management systems for evidence-based decision-making: Relevant, timely and accurate agricultural data and statistics are needed to support analysis of producer decision-making and the impact of government policies on all aspects of agriculture – trends in trade, progress towards food security, impact of farmer outreach programs, status of fisheries stocks, etc.

Timely, accurate and relevant information is also needed for efficient functioning of agricultural markets, and monitoring progress towards or hindrances to food security and economic growth.

The current suite of EGO projects is addressing aspects of each of the above gaps.

EG4ALL represents a new generation of activities to further address these gaps, building on evidence and lessons learned from earlier accomplishments.

4 Project Approach

4.1 Theory of Change

The Project is based upon the following theory of change:

If productivity and resilience of food production systems are enhanced;

If access to markets and trade is increased;

If employment and enterprise development are increased;

If nutrition behaviors are improved; and

If sustainable ecosystem management is improved;

Then incomes will increase; consumption of nutritious diets will increase; and natural capital will be enhanced. Achievement of all three of these intermediate results will contribute ultimately to the sustainable reduction of poverty and undernourishment among EG4ALL beneficiaries.

This logic is represented graphically in Figure 3.

The achievement of the Sub-IRs will also be supported by seven cross-cutting intermediate results

(CCIR).

Figure 3. Project Results Framework

By 2023, USAID will aim to reach 150,000 households in order to impact the lives of 1,500,000 people and increase the 2015 average household income in the Feed the Future ZOI by 20%. This investment will also allow project activities to reach 70% of all children under five, and increase consumption of a minimum acceptable diet for children 6-23 months from 7% to 35%, in each focus community. Further, there will be increases in three key domains of the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture 2015 score: asset ownership, access to credit, and workload by 17%, 47% and 14%, respectively. In the Feed the Future ZOI, this will ultimately contribute to reducing poverty and stunting by 15% in synergy with the health and WASH projects.

4.2 Project Principles

EG4ALL builds on a strong sequence of previous and current activities. As such, the proposed activities are designed according to principles that will continue to push results deeper and wider.

The principles are grouped around the themes of key focus areas such as integrated value chain approaches, entrepreneurship and market drive, women and youth empowerment leading to scaled technologies and good practices, systemic change, and sustainability.

Youth engagement should underpin all project activities in line with USAID’s 2012 Youth in Development Policy using the Positive Youth Development (PYD) approach that seeks to build the four domains of youth assets, youth agency, youth leadership and participation and a strong youth enabling environment at the family, community and national levels. The goal is to make agriculture fun and lucrative for many young people, to cement their long term contribution to Senegalese agriculture by extending every opportunity to improve employment options for youth and women, as owners and/or employees of the service providers to the expanding rural market.

Empowerment underpins the EG4ALL approach, as access to information alone is insufficient to ensure adoption of best practices. Ultimately, successful behavior change is contingent upon agency, an individual’s power or ability and willingness, both economic and social, to transform their knowledge of best practices into action. The Project will promote gender equality and women’s empowerment by actively engaging men and women of all ages to increase their capacity to be good environmental stewards, better business people, engaged citizens, and proponents of good nutrition and childcare. It is recognized that when power dynamics shift, for example when women generate more income, there is an impact on men as well. Therefore, the project must actively engage both men and women to ensure that gains are maintained and advanced at a societal level, rather than undermined or taken over by individuals who may not feel included.

Do no harm. All proposed activities will be screened and assessed to avoid undermining existing functioning systems. Examples are those commercial systems organized through the current projects, ongoing government efforts, and other donor programs working under similar principles.

To be avoided are subsidies, donor-dependent practices, or other approaches that undermine the development of local solutions and engender a culture of dependence or disempowerment.

Working with partners should involve a true sense of engagement, rather than unduly imposing activities that the project deem beneficial.

Closely related is the issue of sustainability. Implementation will require continuous focus on markets and agricultural value chains as the basis for demand-driven activities. Local actors, including farmers, private sector, producer organizations, business organizations, local government, and community groups, should be the principal actors, with services developed to be more responsive to their needs and to facilitate their ability to meet market demands. Support in the area of financial services, input supply and market development will generally be transactional, responding to needs and interests of individual firms or producer groups. Support to training, information, and technology providers will facilitate better and more responsive service to their clients or constituents. The Project aims to facilitate the functioning of local systems rather than become an actor in the system itself. It will seek to the extent possible to facilitate linkages among service providers, businesses and other institutions, to help them achieve their objectives. Here the term ‘service’ refers to all the functions that enable actors with vested interests to operate efficiently. These functions include technical and business training, extension and behavior change communication, research and development support, fisheries and natural resources management, business/marketing information and support and quality assurance systems. To the maximum extent possible, the Project will embrace local solutions to foster and enhance local ownership and sustainability.

Building the rural population’s access to a wide range of income generating activities, with the confidence to rapidly change between them depending on prevailing climatic/economic situations, plus increased health status and strong local governance, all combine to improve resilience to potential shocks.

Targeting of investments will occur in geographic areas that have the greatest potential to sustainably improve food security and nutrition, using those approaches and interventions that evidence shows will reduce extreme poverty, hunger, and malnutrition at scale.

The major lesson from the preceding Projet de Croissance Économique (PCE) activity was that sufficient proof-of-concept had been demonstrated to shift the implementation focus of the ensuing Naatal Mbay activity to scale-up. Again, every effort and innovation will be employed, every entity energized, and every constraint analyzed, to maximize the scaling-up potential of the project.

Science and innovation is an important area of investment that can help to scale up and accelerate impact of targeted technologies on food security. When considering scaling up a successful pilot, rigorous analyses and research on the pathways of uptake of technology and innovative practices, as well as how to trigger behavior change, will be undertaken. Furthermore, identifying, characterizing, and isolating those factors that influence uptake and seeking to identify those solutions that show promise for scaling should become mainstream so that they are harnessed during and beyond the life of the project.

EG4ALL will encourage implementing entities to be scientific, rigorous and yet, pragmatic and actionable in their recommendations. Making data-and-evidence-based decisions should be the norm and part of any capacity development program. There is a wealth of international and local partners developing new technologies to suit project clients at all levels of development.

ICT has a suite of technology offerings to increase the efficiency of implementation, while upgrading the management systems of the entities involved in the program. Specifically, ICT offers ways to multiply the use of scarce, high-level technical expertise, to larger and more dispersed client groups – for example, through the use of social media for group problem solving, video instruction, and expert decision support systems. Similarly, ICT is enabling high resolution management, based on real-time data collection.

Partnering with local private sector and local institutions to unlock opportunities, mitigate risks, and secure investment is also key. Naatal Mbay, Yaajeende, COMFISH, ERA, and CINSERE are all supporting organizational capacity development of targeted local organizations that will be partnered to scale up and sustain the activities.

4.3 Assumptions/Risks

The theory of change logic assumes that certain contextual and macroeconomic trends will remain stable. The specific assumptions are listed below. Dramatic shifts in any of these could potentially derail achievement of the intermediate results and overall goal of EG4ALL.

● Input prices remain on current trends or improve;

● Weather and climate patterns remain on current trends;

● Global food prices remain relatively stable;

● Commitment to market liberalization continues (Senegal continues to fulfill World Trade

Organization [WTO] & regional agreements);

● Demand for target sector products remains stable or improves;

● Ease of doing business remains the same or improves;

● Political receptivity to pro-business labor law (labor market….) remains the same or improves;

● Population and leadership remain generally receptive (to change, new information);

● Effectiveness of local populations’ engagement in decision making remains the same or improves;

● Revenues from oil and gas do not influence investments and purchasing power until after the completion period of this project (2023). They are said not to accrue to Senegal until around 2021; and

● Budgets from USG do not drastically decrease.

4.4 Geographic Approach

The Project will continue operations in the same Feed-the-Future (Feed the Future) Zone of Influence (ZOI) as the current EGO activities (Figure 4).

There are significant reasons for not changing. First, many of these activities are still in ‘forming’ mode, gaining traction and confidence with local stakeholders. New systems have been tested and are still being adapted. There is also a sense that there is much potential for ‘filling-in’ the areas, as more people experience the benefits. The Project will leverage and capitalize on EGO’s successful value chains and nutrition-led agriculture results and approaches to address gaps in targeted value chains. The ZOI is expansive, with a population of 2.7 million in the Feed the Future focus areas alone; effecting transformative change that profoundly impacts such a large population takes time.

Senegal offers an opportunity to target communities with very different levels of development and resources. This means there is a ‘development continuum’ within the project whereby the more developed areas are able to push further into newer innovations, providing a proven path for the less developed areas to follow.

Also, as more entities are developing more confidence with the new set of tools and clients, the potential for systemic change increases. Systemic change is an ultimate success measure, not seen enough in the development world. However, after only a short operational time, Naatal Mbay has already rated well in the Feed the Future systemic change analysis (USAID LEO 49, 2016). As Naatal Mbay built on former PCE successes, this Project will scale up and anchor ongoing changes brought about by USAID interventions in the ZOI food systems.

While the ZOI sub-regions have markedly different poverty levels, there is a more complex connection with nutrition status (Figure 4). First, there is wide variation within sub-regions, and second, nutritional food availability may be more uniform in the southern forested areas, than the more Sahelian north.

Figure 4. Feed the Future Zone of Influence, including coastal COMFISH zones.

The rural population of the Feed the Future zone is approximately 2.7M, and EG4ALL plans to reach 45% of this population. The COMFISH zone brings an additional 23,000 people active in the fishing industry.

5 Project Description

EG4ALL has five areas of intervention as depicted in Figure 5 :

1. Value Chain Services

2. Nutritious Food System Services

3. Entrepreneurship and Vocational Development Services

4. Policy Systems Services

5. Sustainable Ecosystem and Fisheries Management Services

The use of the term ‘Service’ in the interventions is a deliberate reference to sustainability being a cornerstone of the project. The proposition here is that sustainability takes hold when actors with vested interests in the process, on an on-going basis, are able to define, clarify, and institutionalize efficient transactions with each other. The project will focus on facilitating and strengthening connections between market actors, local entities, businesses etc., rather than inserting itself into the market and providing services.

Value Chain Services, Nutritious Food System Services, and Sustainable Ecosystem and Fisheries Management Services will share an objective of identifying and fostering the services (and associated employment opportunities) that will most effectively facilitate their respective value chains.