Annex 5: Project Proposal “Emergency supply of fisheries and agricultural inputs to tsunami-affected fisher folk and farmers

I. Background

On 26 December 2004, coastal communities across South Asia and as far away as Somalia were severely hit by a powerful tectonic earthquake that was followed by a series of aftershocks that triggered tsunami at various places, leaving more than 150 000 dead, according to recent estimates. The countries hardest hit by the disaster are India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Somalia.

In Thailand, the provinces of Ranong, Phang-Nga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun have been severely affected, with tens of thousands of stranded or displaced persons. More than 3 000 dead have been reported.

While the most pressing needs are for medical supplies, clean water, food shelter and sanitation, the affected communities, majority of which are heavily dependent on production assests such as fishing boats and gears and agricultural lands, need to restart productive activities as soon as possible in order to regain their livelihoods. These includes:

• Rehabilitation and reconstruction of coastal village communities and restoration of their livelihood;

• Rehabilitation of coastal fisheries including the repair of fishing boats and provision of fishing gears;

• Rehabilitation of coastal aquaculture and marin fish farming;

• Rehabilitation of damaged agricultural areas and infrastructures;

• Reclamation of salt affected soils for resumption of crop production;

• Repair of rural roads and bridges and other rural infrastructures;

• Permanent relocation of affected/vulnerable households, in cases where no in-situ livelihood alternatives can be identified;

• Dredging of silted waterways.

II. Project Objectives

The overall ovjective of the project is to assist the Government’s efforts for a rapid re-establishment of sustainable income generating activities that were destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami. The project beneficiaries are the poor artisan fishing and farming communities in the affected regions who lost their production assets and subsequently the means to support their livelihood and who are unlikely to meet the immediate food needs of their families without assistance.

The project will make available basic fishery and agriculture sector inputs such as wood for boat repair, gill net and fishing traps as well as fertilizer, seeds, animal feeds, etc. to kick start actibities in the worst affected areas for an approximate 4 000 beneficiaries.

The lead national consultant will be responsible for overall monitoring of the project and drawing up final beneficiary selection criteria, in close consultation with relevant local authorities, in order to ensure that project interventions are focused on the most vulnerable tsunami-affected households and for ensuring that these criteria are applied in a fair, transparent and effective manner.

The main project outputs will be:

• restart income generation and increased food security for the most vulnerable disaster-affected families;

• restored livelihood of fish folk and farmers through the provision of production assests and means of income generation.

III. Work plan

1. Institutional and operational arrangements

Field level project activities will be executed in coordination with the Department of Fisheries (DOF), Department of Agricultural Extension (DOAE) and Department of Livestock Development (DLD) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) with assistance from technical experts/consultants.

A Steering Committee will be established at project start-up or at soonest possible date thereafter consisting of Government couterpart focal points and implementing partners.

This Steering Committee will nominate the national project coordinator and a project national team responsible for counterpart project execution at both administrative and field technical levels.

2. Planning and implementation of project activities

Soon after project start-up, the project consultant will prepare a plan of operation in consultation with national, regional and provincial counterparts. The plan of operation will provide the basis for subsequent activities. It will review the proposed technical interventions andprovide clear guidance on procurement and delivery actions and wqorkplan.

3. Selection of beneficiaries

3.1 Establishment of Selection Criteria

The selection criteria will be agreed upon by Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) and implementing partners in line with the following principles:

Beneficiaries should:

- be tsunami-affected fisher folk and farmers who are recognized as tsunami victims (including registered and non-registered victims),

- be tsunami-affected small-scale fisher folk and farmers who have lost their production assets or had production assets badly damaged,

- be an owner of small boats with maximum length of 10 m registered as lost or damaged or an non-boat owner who have registered lost of fishing gears (for beneficiaries of fishery inputs)

- be small-scale farmers who have been identified as incurring agricultural losses

- be an individual small-scale fisher folk or farmer, not a commercial firm.

Priority is given to:

- family that lost their production assets and have no other means to restore their livelihood,
- family whose house is destroyed,
- family that lost the head of household,
- vulnerable household that has lost family member (s) of working age
- family that has not received other assistance, except government compensation.

3.2 Procedures for the selection of beneficiaries

The Director of concerned Provincial Offices of Department of Fisheries (DOF), Department of Agricultural Extension (DOAE), and Department of Livestock Development (DLD) will be the head of the Provincial Working Group who will be responsible for the submission of the list of beneficiaries for each input based upon the established criteria.

The beneficiaries for each input will be identified and selected by the representatives of the concerned communities, such as village heads and Tambon Administrative Organization (TAO), in close consultation and active involvement of the end stakeholders/villagers. The chief of District Offices of DOAE as well as Provincial DOF and DLD offices will prepare the list of beneficiaries for each inputs based on the identification and selection by the concerned communities and submit the list of beneficiaries for each input to head of the Provincial Working Groups after the endorsement by the village representatives and the certification by the concerned NGOs.

The list should include sufficient information including name, sex, age, address, occupation, lost/damaged production assets, and government compensation received. The list of beneficiaries will be submitted by the head of the Provincial Working Groups to MOAC National Project Coordinator for clearance, which will be further forwarded to an implementing partner for joint clearance.

3.3 Orientation to provincial/district/tambon officials and beneficiaries

The consultants of the project, jointly with DOF, DOAE and DLD, will provide first orientations to concerned Provincial/District/Tambon officers as well as to community leaders on the aims and the scope of the emergency project. Types of inputs, specification, distribution schedule, criteria of beneficiaries, and necessary preparation for receiving the inputs will be informed to concerned officers and community leaders, and their comments will be received at orientation meetings.

Once the list of beneficiaries are endorsed, the project consultants, jointly with the officials of the Provincial Working Groups, will hold second orientations to the beneficiaries on the aims of the project as well as distribution schedule and necessary preparation for receiving inputs.

The project consultants will verify the list of beneficiaries to ensure that the inputs will be delivered to the most needed people. NGOs which have good knowledge of local condition will also be involved in orientation where possible. The project consultants, in consultation with Provincial Working Groups, NGOs, and community leaders, will formulate Inputs Distribution Plan for each province/district/Tambon taken into consideration of local condition and needs expressed during orientation.

4 Distribution mechanism

4.1 Distribution to province/district/tambon level and to the beneficiaries

(a) Fishery inputs

The suppliers will deliver fishery inputs to the concerned Tambon offices, for which DOF will inform the implementing partner the details of destination. Concerned Provincial Fisheries officers/Head of Tambon offices will acknowledge receipt of inputs to the implementing partner and the suppliers. The government will be responsible for the transportation of inputs from the Tambon Office to the concerned villages/beneficiaries. Inputs will be handed to the beneficiaries by the Provincial Fishery Officer in charge of the concerned districts, in the presence of the representatives of TAO and village communities as well as NGOs where possible. The project consultants will oversee the distribution process and provide necessary advice as appropriate.

(b) Agriculture/Livestock inputs

The suppliers will deliver agriculture/livestock inputs to the concerned Tambon offices, for which DOAE will inform FAO the details of destination. The head of District DOAE/Tambon offices will acknowledge receipt of inputs to implementing partner and the suppliers.The concerned Provincial DLD officers and District DOAE officers will jointly take charge of distribution from Tambon office to the beneficiaries. The Government will be responsible for the transportation of inputs from the Tambon Office to the concerned villages/beneficiaries. Inputs will be handed to the beneficiaries by the District DOAE officer and Provincial DLD officer in charge, in the presence of the representatives of TAO and village communities as well as NGOs where possible. The project consultants will oversee the distribution process and provide necessary advice as appropriate.

4.2 Certification of receipt by beneficiaries

The concerned Provincial or District offices will be responsible for the certification of receipt at Provincial and District level respectively upon the receipt of the inputs from the suppliers as stipulated above and send receipts to the implementing partner through MOAC.

On handing-over inputs, beneficiaries will give his/her signature or thumbprint on the list of beneficiaries as receipt. District Office/Tambon office will submit the original signed list of beneficiaries to MOAC through the head of Provincial Working Group and keep one copy for their record. MOAC will retain the original receipt and forward one set of the copy to the implementing partner.

5 Monitoring and follow-up

5.1 Technical advisory services

a) Implementing partner

Technical backstopping and monitoring of project operations will be provided by the implementing partner.

Project consultants will also be engaged directly in project monitoring and technical advisory services as indicated in the below Section 6.

b) Government

The National Project Coordinator has an overall coordinating role for the implementation and monitoring of the project. The Departmental Coordinators from Department of Fisheries, Department of Agricultural Extension and Department of Livestock will be responsible for coordinating implementation of the project at each department.

At provincial level, the Directors of Provincial Agriculture and Cooperatives as well as Directors of Provincial Offices of Department of Fisheries (DOF), Department of Agricultural Extension (DOAE), and Department of Livestock Development (DLD), as members of Provincial Working Groups, will be responsible for the coordination of technical advisory services and monitoring of the project progress in their respective Province, which will be carried out by provincial/district officers in close collaboration with implementing partner and project consultants.

5.2 Reporting

Upon project inception, project consultant, in collaboration with concerned government officers, will submit to the implementing partner an inception report outlining Plan of Operation of the project which includes work plan, priority inputs, specification and the list of potential local suppliers.

The project consultant will also be responsible for submitting two consolidated progress reports, based on the reports of other two national consultants, to the implementing partner for clearance. The first consolidated progress report will focus on the distribution status and will be submitted to the implementing partner upon the completion of the distribution of inputs (approximately 2 - 3 months after the inception). The second consolidated progress report will focus on the utilization of inputs and recommendations for further improvement, which will be submitted three months after the submission of the first progress report.

The project consultant will submit final report to the implementing partner in accordance with established guidelines and procedures.

6. Consultancy Inputs

6.1 National consultants

A lead national consultant with assignment of five months and two national consultants, one in fishery and one in agronomy with assignment of four months each, will assist project implementation as stipulated in the project documents, in close collaboration and coordination with National and Departmental Project Coordinator and Provincial Working Groups and under direct supervision of the implementing partner.

A lead national consultant will stationed in Bangkok and will travel six provinces during distribution of inputs and for monitoring. A national consultant in fishery will be stationed in Phuket and a national consultant in agronomy will be stationed in Phang-Nga, and travel six provinces during distribution of inputs and for monitoring and technical advice.

The three national consultants will also oversee the implementation of other related projects and prepare necessary reports for these projects.

IV. Inputs

1.Coastal Fishery (US$ 95,600)

a) Inputs for six affected provinces and cost estimates

b) Specifications of inputs

c) Government compensation plan

2. Coastal Aquaculture (US$ 214,100)

a) Inputs for six affected provinces and cost estimates

b) Specifications of inputs

c) Government compensation programme

3. Crops (US$ 200,826)

a) Gypsum for soil reclamation (Phang-Nga)

b) Organic fertilizer for soil reclamation (Phang-Nga, Phuket, Ranong)

c) Organic fertilizer for soil reclamation (Satun)

d) Organic fertilizer for coconut plantation (Ranong)

e) Coconut seedlings (Phang-Nga)

f) Oil palm seedlings (Phang-Nga)

g) Cashew nut seedlings (Phang-Nga)

h) Coconut seedlings (Ranong)

i) Water melon seed (Trang)

j) Rice seed (Phang-Nga,Trang)

k) Ferilizer for coconuts (Phang-Nga)

l) Ferilizer for cashew nut (Phang-Nga)

m) Fertilizer for oil palm (Phang-Nga)

n) Organic fertilizer for coconut (Ranong)

o) Fertilizer for water melon (Trang)

p) Fertilizer the rice production (Phang-Nga and Trang)

q) Fertilizer for rice production (Trang)

4. Livestock (US$ 27,036)

a) Concentrate for cattle (Phang-Nga)

b) Concentrate for cattle (Satun)

c) Mineral Blocks for Cattle, Buffaloes, Sheep (Phang-Nga)

d) Mineral Blocks for cattle, buffaloes, sheep (Satun)

e) Mineral blocks for cattle, buffaloes, sheep (Ranong)

f) Hay for buffaloes, cattle, sheep (Ranong)

g) Animal drugs for Phang-Nga, trang, Satun, Ranong (US$3,870)

Note: Calculation is based on the conversion rate of Baht 39/US$