The Resilience, Food and Nutrition Security Support Project in the Prefectures of Kemo and Ouaka (PARSANKO) stems from the top priorities of the Central African Government's National Recovery and Peace-building Plan (RCPCA) which seeks to revive the economy, increase rural incomes and improve the population's food and nutrition security by enhancing agricultural and livestock production and rural productivity. The project, which is estimated to cost UA 21.38 million in total (USD 29.51 million), will be implemented over a five-year period from 2021jointly with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Labour Office (ILO) which will respectively support agro-pastoral production and community initiatives. PARSANKO will, in synergy with the various ongoing projects financed by other TFPs, help to build on the lessons learned from an approach that promotes community initiatives to support inclusive and sustainable agricultural sector development. In this context, it will experiment, on a pilot basis: (a) new technologies for increasing productivity; (b) inclusive financing mechanisms; and (c) support for youth entrepreneurship in agricultural sub-sectors. PARSANKO comprises three components, namely: (i) Support for Agropastoral Production; (ii) Support for Community Initiatives; and (iii) Project Management. It will also contribute to mitigating the potential effects and impacts of COVID-19 in the target prefectures as well as enhancing women's and youth empowerment. Therefore, project beneficiaries will be encouraged to widely adopt best agricultural practices through a significant increase in access to agricultural services. The intensification of beneficiaries' agropastoral production will also be facilitated by developing or rehabilitating production infrastructure and easing access to factors of production.

The project's overall objective is to contribute to improving the living conditions and resilience of vulnerable rural populations. Its aim is to contribute to improving the food and nutrition security of rural populations in Kemo and Ouaka Prefectures. Its specific objective is to increase and diversify agro-pastoral production and improve access to basic services.

Regarding beneficiaries, the project will provide direct support to 500 women/youth enterprises and groups, particularly young, budding or established agricultural entrepreneurs. It will also provide assistance to 47 050 beneficiary households, representing 279 300 people (farmers/stockbreeders, youth/women agricultural and non-agricultural entrepreneurs) in Kemo and Ouaka Prefectures, particularly households facing a crisis and in dire need of assistance, including food (IPC3),households affected by COVID-19 through agricultural input kits and access to water, young people and women without land or livestock, families classified under IPC1&2, particularly those hosting displaced people in production basins. Indirect project beneficiaries are estimated at about 241 000 people.

NameLAAJILI Khaled

Emailk.laajili@afdb.org

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

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ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF AfDB

The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), which is administered by the Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU), is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an African Development Bank (AfDB)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the IRM, it may assist you by either seeking to address your problems by facilitating a dispute resolution dialogue between you and those implementing the project and/or investigating whether the AfDB complied with its policies to prevent environmental and social harms. You can submit a complaint electronically by emailing crmuinfo@afdb.org, b.kargougou@afdb.org, b.fall@afdb.org, and/or s.toure@afdb.org. You can learn more about the IRM and how to file a complaint at: https://www.afdb.org/en/independent-review-mechanism/