Project structure

Institutional Arrangements

The project will last for three years and will be implemented by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). Technicians from FAO field offices will participate in routine project management in collaboration with the regional director and national project coordinators. FAO has long experience in Central Africa, particularly in the context of TCP projects ("Technical Cooperation Program"), in support of COMIFAC Secretariat for the development of its convergence plan.

The project will collaborate closely with the COMIFAC Executive Secretariat (Yaoundé, Cameroon) to ensure harmonious implementation. The project coordination team will be headed by a regional coordinator, who will be hired full time at international level, based on a short list, according to FAO procedures, with CBFF agreement. The regional coordinator will be assisted by: i) 5 national coordinators based in the countries covered by the project, ii) 6 administrative assistants: 5 based in five countries and 1 based at the regional coordination and; iii) 1 natural resources/NTFP expert. The regional project coordination team will share the same premises with the GCP/RAF/408/EC and GCP/RAF/441/GER projects in Yaoundé. This will clearly enhance collaboration and synergies, and contribute to generating savings through shared facilities, expertise, staff and equipment.

The Regional Steering Committee (RSC) chaired by COMIFAC Executive Secretary and five National Steering Committees (NSCs) will be set up; the RSC and the NSCs will meet once and twice yearly, respectively. The terms of reference of these committees will be produced by FAO and reviewed by the Bank before the project starts. They will be responsible for approving regional and national annual work plans (AWPs) as well as the related budgets, providing technical and operational guidelines for smooth project implementation, and monitoring the progress of regional and national activities to ensure that they are in synergy.

Project Cost

The total project cost is estimated at EUR 3,589,587. The costs were estimated in the currency of each country and then converted into Euro, CBFF’s only financing currency. The cost includes financial contingencies at 12%, calculated from an average of the inflation rates of Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Rwanda, Burundi and Sao Tome & Principe between 2003 and 2010.

Regional focus: Central Africa (including all 10 COMIFAC countries)

1. Awareness raising, outreach and lobbying

• Enhance networks and collaboration for information sharing within and outside the region,
• Act as a regional NTFP information point,
• Participate at national, regional and global events to demonstrate and lobby NTFP,
• Organize or assist in regional and international expert consultations, workshops or investment fora on NTFP. 

2. Policy support to develop a sustainable forest management concept

• Help to clarify the contribution of NTFP to the regional food security situation,
• Provide policy advice to meetings of COMIFAC and CEFDHAC dealing with NTFP, sustainable forest management, food security and right to food,
• Support the functioning of COMIFAC’s NTFP experts working group and advise on NWFP in regard to food security and right to food,
• Facilitate the elucidation of the right to food principles and develop regional template forestry – right to food toolbox. 

3. Consolidation of technical knowledge and best practices in the NTFP sector

• Consolidate, adjust and upscale technical brochures and extension material for wide dissemination to relevant schools, universities, key governmental agencies and NGO etc.,
• Elaborate of a reference publication on NTFP and foods from the forests of Central Africa. 

4. Capacity building and training

• Organize regional training workshops on relevant topics e.g. market analysis and development framework,
• Provide education or research grants/support to researchers or NGO in the Central African region who deal with or investigate on relevant topics,
• Conduct study tours in the region for key project stakeholders regarding management, use and processing of NTFP.

National focus: Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Rwanda, Burundi and Sao Tomé & Principe

1. Support national policy formulation and review e.g. NTFP strategies, taking the right to food into consideration,
2. Legal advice on the elaboration of draft national legislation and their corresponding application text, based on the sub-regional directives for a sustainable use of NTFP of plant origin in Central Africa, adopted by COMIFAC, and the voluntary right to food guidelines, adopted by FAO member countries,
3. Support to product, market and small and medium forest-based enterprises (SMFE) development e.g. through market studies.
4. Create and strengthening capacities of SMFE to improve their organization, production, processing, commercialization and marketing of more value-added NTFP by using i.e. the market analysis and development approach,
5. Improve market information on selected NTFP and make access to it easier for local communities and other stakeholders along the value chain,
6. Consolidate and disseminate knowledge and appropriate techniques on participatory and sustainable management of NTFP species cultivated or growing in the forest,
7. Assessing existing harvesting methods of NTFP and their impact on sustainability and regeneration of species, and propose and disseminate improved techniques,
8. Consolidate and disseminate processing techniques for key NTFP in regard to storage, grading, drying or first level processing,
9. Analyze the feasibility of and assess the technical, legal and commercial requirements for setting up forest and/or food related certification schemes governing the trade of selected NTFP from pilot sites.

Local level: 2 pilot sites, each, in Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Rwanda, Burundi and Sao Tomé & Principe

1. Create and strengthening capacities of SMFE to improve their organization, production, processing, commercialization and marketing of more value-added NTFP by using i.e. the market analysis and development approach,
2. Improve market information on selected NTFP and make access to it easier for local communities and other stakeholders along the value chain,
3. Consolidate and disseminate knowledge and appropriate techniques on participatory and sustainable management of NTFP species cultivated or growing in the forest,
4. Assessing existing harvesting methods of NTFP and their impact on sustainability and regeneration of species, and propose and disseminate improved techniques,
5. Consolidate and disseminate processing techniques for key NTFP in regard to storage, grading, drying or first level processing,
6. Analyze the feasibility of and assess the technical, legal and commercial requirements for setting up forest and/or food related certification schemes governing the trade of selected NTFP from pilot sites.