Djibouti - ISFP Summary Project Proposal to the European Commission

ISFP PROJECT PROPOSAL

Country:	DJIBOUTI
Agency:	Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Project Title:	Mitigation response against the drought and soaring food and inputs prices
Sector:	Agriculture/Livestock, Nutrition and food
Objective:	To improve livestock owners’ access to quality services and goods to enhance the health and productivity of their animals, to increase food production by promoting agro-pastoral activities
Beneficiaries:	+/- 24,000 pastoral nomadic or semi-nomadic and urban households
Implementing Partner(s):	Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Sea, local communities, FAO
Project Duration:	January 2009 to March 2010 (15 months)
Funds Requested:	(US dollar) 6,479,267

Needs Assessment

The global food security crises, which lead to sharp increases in food commodity prices over the last three years has deeply affected Djibouti. Coupled with the absence of the coastal rains during the normal season from October to February, these events have turned a recurrent pattern into a humanitarian crisis in Djibouti. During the past decades, the frequency of drought has been increasing with shorter recovery rainy periods, resulting in a more intense impact on vulnerable populations. In May 2008 Djibouti was ranked second on the World Bank watch list (after Haïti) for food insecure countries with high probability of social unrest.

The drought situation has caused a great reduction of ground water levels in many agricultural sites. As a result, most wells in farming areas operate with minimal water supply. In addition to the climatic conditions, these areas have limited water distribution capacity as irrigation networks are in poor conditions. This situation resulted in extremely low production levels, whereby the income of farmers has been greatly reduced creating difficulties in acquiring seeds and agricultural tools.

Animal husbandry, 90% of which consists of nomadic pastoral activities, constitutes the main economical activities of the farming sector in Djibouti. The majority of the livestock displaces itself permanently to search for pastoral resources to assure the survival of the herds. However, reoccurring droughts have accentuated the imbalance between the available water resources and the needs of the pastoral communities and their livestock. This crisis situation has drastically reduced livestock production and increased the vulnerability of pastoralists. As a result, the morbidity of livestock in 2008 was as high as 50% and animal production as well as its market value was greatly reduced.

Due to the particularly unfavourable climatic situation, the only way to use agricultural land is by the utilization of phreatic surface waters. At present there are around 1,500 farmers that are installed on the oueds’ terraces distributed on 80 agricultural sites in the country. The results from the last FAO projects have given better results and need to be sustained to address the underlying causes for these recurrent droughts.

The proposed intervention targets 400,000 animals countrywide through: provision of animal foods; improvement of the livestock health situation; and improvement of pasture within the regions where the rainwater can be easily harvested. Furthermore, it offers an opportunity to examine more sustainable ways to address the underlying causes for the recurrent droughts in the country. The project will support the development of 50 hectares of small agro-pastoral plots (between two and five hectares per plot), which will be implemented around the water points equipped with solar energy in order to provide fodder crops and limit the alleviation of agriculture due to the drought.

Expected impact, outcome and outputs

Improved livestock productivity leading to an increased nutritional value from the livestock sector.

Fodder production in agro-pastoral units complemented with animal feeding in targeted areas;

increased vegetable and fruit production to improve the nutritional food intake of beneficiaries, especially vulnerable groups—women, the elderly and children; and

Increased diversification of income for pastoralist households.

The food security of + / - 24,000 households: pastoral nomads and urban households strengthened and stabilized through a sustained vegetable production;

The risk of rural migration to cities declining and pressure on urban markets is alleviated through a support to local vegetable and fodder production;

The nomadic households have access to food for their families and dispose additional revenues enabling them to increase their purchasing power for locally produced foods;

Increased production of goat's milk, to stop the deterioration of the nutritional situation, including pastoralist’s children under 10 years and women living in rural areas;

Strengthened resilience of Djiboutian pastoralist populations and potential conflict due to tensions with pastoral populations from neighbouring countries diminished.

Proposed Activities

The following activities will be implemented in support of Government institutions:

Livestock:

Provision of veterinary services

This activity is aimed at protecting key livestock assets belonging to vulnerable small scale livestock farmers. It will also support training of Community Animal Health Workers (CAHW) in building capacity in basic livestock health care and establishment of a solar and/or paraffin-fuelled cold chain system close to watering points.

FAO in consultation with Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Sea (MALS) will conduct regular vaccination/treatment of livestock against major livestock diseases prevalent in Djibouti. This is essential to effectively prevent and control endemic diseases affecting livestock in the country. Livestock vaccinations will be administered once every six months. An initial vaccination will be conducted in April and May 2009 and a second will follow in October and November 2009. Sero monitoring will follow in January-February 2010. Surveillance will be carried out for few diseases to prove freedom for disease with trade concern.

Support to domestic livestock production

Restocking will be done with locally bred small ruminants (goats and sheep) or other rejected from the quarantine station. Selected beneficiaries will be trained in basic animal husbandry practices and thereafter be supported to construct appropriate housing for the animals using locally available materials. It will also provide animal foods, liking blocks and vitamins; in addition to developing rainwater harvesting techniques for fodder production;

Support quarantine station and public health

This support will be through awareness, education and communication campaigns towards bleeders; and undertaking a study to clearly diagnose livestock coupled with a brief census. Slaughter house will be strengthening and treatment/vaccination again zoonostic diseases will be carried out to stop the deterioration of the nutritional situation through increased production of goat's milk and meat.

Small scale agriculture and food production:

providing of agricultural inputs—seeds and agricultural tools—to agricultural cooperatives;

developing of 50 hectares of agro-pastoral units in appropriate drought affected areas;

extending of services and training of beneficiaries; and

Continued monitoring of production activities.

Linkages with existing and proposed medium and long term programming

In June 2008, the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Djibouti by a Join Appeal, called for international assistance amounted USD 31.7 million to support the Government of Djibouti to respond—with a consolidated approach over the next six months—to the current food and nutrition crisis aggravated by drought and soaring global food prices.

Assessments conducted amongst the pastoralist communities in Djibouti over the last four years indicate that pastoralist trade has declined to extremely low levels, with between 40 and 70% of livestock lost. Furthermore, the remaining animals are in poor health: suffering from lack of pasture, water and infection by viral, parasites and bacteria. The resulting loss to the pastoralists in consumption and trade has reduced their health and income, leading to a global acute malnutrition (GAM) rate among children between six and 59 months of 16.8% reaching 25% in the north west region.

Six months of general food distribution (GDF), from July through December, to 80,000 rural people, will save lives and allow pastoralists to recover from the shocks. With only three months of the summer period (July to September) provided for by WFP food distributions in rural areas—financially covered by European Commission (EC) contributions—an additional three months of distributions will be needed to cover food needs during the rest of the year (October to December). Furthermore, food/cash voucher distributions for six months will be needed for 35,000 vulnerable groups living in urban and semi-urban areas of Djibouti, due to the high food prices, to allow most vulnerable people to meet their daily food requirements.

Based on the satisfactory results from the FAO projects, it will be necessary to extend those experiences to potential regions countrywide. The projects on agriculture and livestock presented in this document constitute an important contribution to reduce the current impact of drought and to be fully prepared for the future. The project will target 400,000 animals countrywide and will permit the provision of veterinary services and food for livestock in order to better contain the impact of drought on animal health.

Implementation strategy

FAO in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and the Sea, in charge of Hydraulic Resources (MAEMRH) will identify sites implementation of the project, varieties of seeds and agricultural tools to acquire to be transported to the target areas. The distribution will be implemented in collaboration with local authorities. The FAO will use the distribution services and coordination and monitoring mechanisms of NGOs on the spot for the implementation of the programme. In agreement with WFP, FAO and its partners will implement the programme of "food/cash for work". This project aims to support and strengthen the on-going efforts, to untangle the urgent need to increase production of goat's milk products and horticultural crops as a basis for vulnerable populations facing the food crisis.

Procurement plans

The procurement of inputs under the current proposal will be taken under FAO rules and regulations. The local produced seeds will be procured locally. In additional, other inputs such as fertilizers and animal feed could benefit from international tendering with more improved flexible procedures of purchasing based on economies of scales, ensuring more value for the money. With the forthcoming anticipated increase of fertilizer prices, FAO through TCE will reinforce the capacity of the fertilizer specialists/group (AGPC) to provide adequate expert advice to member countries on fertilizer markets: supply and demand issues, to assist in addressing the current high inputs prices in order to increase food production in a timely manner.

FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Budget Items	USD
Staff costs	65,000
Input costs: provision of animal foods, development of rainwater harvesting for fodder production, livestock health, and monitoring and evaluation.	5,110,390
Contracts	850,000
Administration costs	30,000
Indirect programme support costs, including TSS (7%)	423,877
Total	6,479,267

ONARS, WFP and FEWSNET, Joint assessment missions, 27 October to 4 November 2004 and 21 to 25 March 2005. ONARS, Assessment, February 2006. WFP and UNICEF, Assessment, December 2007

Government data and results from a joint assessment conducted by WFP and FEWSNET on the impact of the drought and the high food prices.

Previously foreseen for a total number of 24,000 beneficiaries.