Guinea - Second Phase of the Commercial Agriculture Development Project

Overview & Synopsis

Guinea Commercial Agriculture Development Project Phase 2, for Guinea, has the development objectives to increase commercialization and job creation along agricultural value chains benefiting farmers and rural households in the program areas. Component 1: Foundational investments for commercial agriculture will strengthen market, physical, digital, and knowledge foundations for climate smart, commercially oriented agriculture in targeted agropoles along the Simandou corridor, with a focus on rice, poultry, and fonio. Sub-components include: Sub-component 1.1 supporting market-driven aggregation models that organize producers into business-oriented cooperatives, deploy agricultural technology (AgTech) solutions for mapping and advisory, and provide business development services to cooperatives, agribusiness micro, small and medium enterprises, and startups, with tailored support for women and youth; Sub-component 1.2 developing energy-efficient infrastructure through rehabilitation and construction of irrigation schemes for rice and maize, climate-resilient storage, agro-logistics and cold chains, and establishment of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture including a unified farmer registry and data platforms; and Sub-component 1.3 enhancing productivity and quality via upgrades to research stations and extension training centers, applied research and technology transfer for climate-resilient rice and fonio systems and poultry feed and housing solutions, and strengthened digital and field-based advisory and animal health services. Component 2: Development of financial services and de-risking private investment will mobilize private capital through complementary instruments under a One World Bank Group approach. Sub-components include: Sub-component 2.1 mobilizing private capital through credit de-risking instruments implemented with the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Credit Guarantee Fund (FGPE) and, where relevant, the International Finance Corporation, including partial portfolio credit guarantees for agri-MSMEs, co-guarantees for medium-tier firms, and technical assistance to participating financial institutions; and Sub-component 2.2 providing matching grants and credit enhancement grants managed by the National Agricultural Development Fund (FODA) to co-finance commercially viable aggregation, processing, logistics, traceability, and climate-resilient investments, with dedicated windows and preferential terms for women and youth and fully digital, cashless delivery. Component 3: Enabling environment for commercial agriculture will improve policies, regulations, and institutions. Sub-components include: Sub-component 3.1 strengthening the regulatory framework through a national seed policy, completion of a digital land registry, a fonio marketing strategy, a law on interprofessional agricultural organizations, and establishment of a National Rice Development Office; Sub-component 3.2 enhancing Sanitary and Phytosanitary systems by updating regulations, building surveillance and early warning, upgrading laboratories, and advancing quality standards, traceability, and the Origin Guinea brand; and Sub-component 3.3 strengthening operational capacities of ministries, implementing agencies, and value chain organizations for digital agriculture, certification, coordination, and private sector engagement. Component 4: Project management and coordination will finance a Project Coordination Unit, fiduciary and environmental and social management, monitoring and evaluation, communications and grievance redress, evaluations, and resettlement implementation. Component 5: Contingent Emergency Response Component will allow rapid reallocation of uncommitted funds to address eligible emergencies in line with agreed procedures.