Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
- International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
FRUTAS E LEGUMES GUINE BISSAU SARL
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Amount (USD)
Not Disclosed
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.
Frutas & Legumes (F&L) is a vertically integrated organic cashew and mango export company in rural Guinea-Bissau (GB), a Fragile and Conflict-Affected state (FCS); and, the ninth poorest country worldwide. F&L is undertaking a project to expand, diversify and add-value to its exports of organic nuts, fruits and vegetables seeking at least to triple export volume. The project to be financed by IFC includes the following elements.
Purchase of irrigation equipment for agricultural fields;
Purchase of machinery for processing dried mango, cashew and sesame to add value in-country;
Crop diversification (avocado, lime, lemon) that will facilitate year-round sales, as these rotation fruits will be produced and processed during the cashew and mango off-season;
Expansion of an outgrower scheme, Agrieco; and,
Working capital.
F&L is situated to the northeast in Oio region roughly seventy (70) Km or two hours from the Capital, Bissau, and practically in the center of the country. The region borders Senegal to the north, the Guinea-Bissau regions of Bafat\u0102\u0104, Bissau and Biombo to the east, the Rio Geba/Guinea-Bissau region of Quinara to the south and the Guinea-Bissau region of Cacheu to the west. There has not been any local administration since the civil war of 1998-99 and all the social services are provided by organs of civil society such as F&L and other government agencies.
F&L started in 2013 with the acquisition of 1,750 ha land constituting a farming operation known as Agri-Bissau constructed in the early 1980s by a Belgian entrepreneur. The parcel is partially covered by cashew and mango plantations that were abandoned for ~13 years. Since the inception of farming activity revival, the company has focused on the following.
Establishing organic production of crops for exports to European markets;
Obtaining DRC, certification of quality for export to European markets;
European Commision certification for Organic Farming, BIO;
PursuingDemeter Biodynamic Farm Standardcertification (Demeter). Demeter is a comprehensive organic farming method that requires the creation and management of a closed system, minimally dependent on imported materials, that meets its needs from the living dynamics of the farm itself;
Achieving GlobalGAP, a raw materials food safety certification scheme, for farming operations and the pack house;
Creating Agrieco, a small scale farmer outgrower scheme with the United Nations\xc2’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) assistance for capacity building courses;
Building infrastructure such as roads, factory, school, clinic, staff housing; and,
Analyzing and piloting other crops in an on-farm nursery that may be suitable for production of products for export markets.
F&L promoted the creation of the first and only association of Bio farmers in the country, Agrieco, to improve access to markets, provide capacity building on sustainable agricultural practices, and enhance the supply chain through purchase of raw materials from local farmers. Through Agrieco, F&L may ultimately reach ~1000 independent farming operations and their ~4028 ha of cultivated lands thereby greatly contributing to efforts to reduce poverty and create wellbeing. However, extensive basic cultivation training is required for the independent farmers to produce internationally marketable products.
Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.
Name: Cesario Vicente Mendes and Cristóbal Sánchez Fornieles.
Address: Frutas e Legumes Guiné Bissau, En Mansoa (Region de Oio), Sector de Mentem, Km 20.
ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC
The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at
CAO@worldbankgroup.org. You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at
http://www.cao-ombudsman.org/
