Mauritania - Islamic Development Bank

Integrated Rural Development programs,
involving community participation. This strategy
was to be implemented through a set of policies
and in a coordinated and decentralized manner:
(i) promotion of the main agricultural value chains
wedged on the macroeconomic framework and
targeting quality products and Diversification;
(ii) development of rural infrastructure, (iii)
institutional strengthening and organization of
the sector, and (iv) policies to protect natural
resources.
81. For the livestock sector, the main objectives
of the Government inscribed in the 2009 Policy
Letter are: (i) to increase the sector’s growth in a
sustainable manner and with redistribution, and
(ii) to reduce vulnerability of households living
from livestock, in accordance with the guidelines
of the PRSP.
82. The Action Plan for the PRSP III (2011-2015)
proposes an investment program for the rural
sector covers that would cost UM 155billion,
equivalent to approximately USD 584 million,
in combination with a strong emphasis on the
role of the private sector. This program aims at
improving productivity and incomes in the sector
and is concentrated in the regions where the
poorest populations live.
83. IDB Group and all other donors fully
agree and support the above government
strategies, which have been consistent for
the last 15 years. The problem Mauritania
faces is the government inability to fully and
truly carry out the implementation of these
strategies and to take all the measures that
are recommended. High turnover of decision
makers and senior government agencies staff
and general mismanagement have been the main
impediments. There are also questions about
the continuing need to subsidize agriculture in
irrigated areas.
3.5 Proposed IDB Group Interventions
84. Agriculture and rural development requires
a multi sector and integrated approach.
Government support to agriculture alone has
shown its limits especially in irrigated areas.
Given the lessons learned from the past showing
lack of impact of major government interventions,
including subsidies, there should be an early end
to subsidies and to Government interventions in
irrigated agriculture except where justified on an
exceptional basis and the private sector should
be encouraged to take a lead role 7 . Instead,
the focus of government interventions should
now be on rain fed agriculture to enhance food
security and reduce poverty. With this view, the
Government should encourage a supply chain
approach (approche filière) to address food
security involving all partners from input supply
to production, processing and market. Production
alone will not guaranty food security and will
not alleviate poverty. All steps in the supply
chain are important and necessary. Agriculture
development remains the top activity for the food
insecure rural communities. IDB Group promotes
such approach in the following areas and intends
to provide financing of about $250 million to
promote the following activities.
(a) In the irrigated areas, IDB would support the
consolidation of rice production system, crop
diversification and intensive dairy farming.
This will be done by improving or rehabilitating
existing irrigated schemes rather than creating
new ones (improving land leveling, irrigation
and drainage and introducing electrification),
securing land tenure and credit, training
farmers and technicians, supporting the
creation and/or maintenance of access road
and transport infrastructure, developing
processing units and securing markets. Priority
products are rice, new crops (diversification)
for local and export markets, and milk. Inland
fishing will be part of the integrated approach
to be adopted.
(b) In the rain fed areas, IDB would support
integrated rural development approach
7 The IDB Group plans to play an important role in promoting the role of the
private sector in irrigated agriculture in Mauritania. It will do so both through
ICD and in its interactions with the Coordination Group, to support new models
for Arab-African investment that can benefit from the synergy with Member
Countries that have surplus cash and consumer markets with those that have
the knowledge and know-how (for example, Egypt, Morocco etc.) At the same
time, to facilitate public-private partnerships in agricultural investments,
the Bank will be working closely with the Government of Mauritania to help
resolve the constraints noted above in Section V.3.2 that irrigated agriculture
has faced in the past decade, and continues to face.
MCPS for Mauritania, 2011-2015 21