Abidjan - The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved, on Tuesday, November 10, 2020 in Abidjan, a financial envelope of US$14.74 million for the implementation of the Project to Strengthen the Livelihoods of Smallholders and Women in the N'zi Region (PREMOPEF), in Central Côte d'Ivoire.

The Bank's financial support consists of a $2.74 million loan from the African Development Fund and a $12 million grant from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GASFP), said a press release issued Thursday by APO Group.

PREMOPEF will cover the three departments of the N'zi region, namely Dimbokro, Bocanda and Kouassi-Kouassikro and will directly affect 62 villages in the region. The project is expected to contribute to reducing households' economic vulnerability and improving their resilience to economic shocks more broadly.

This will be achieved by facilitating access to goods and services for smallholders, especially women and youth, increasing productivity, production and incomes, while ensuring their inclusion in value chains.

The project will be implemented in the yam, cassava, market gardening and traditional poultry production sectors. In particular, it provides for the development of market gardening perimeters for 1,350 smallholders on one hundred hectares, including the rehabilitation of eight dams, water catchment works of the N'zi River and a lake, the construction of ten pumping stations on the dams, the installation of irrigation systems (semi-Californian on 70 hectares and the drip system on 30 hectares).

In terms of support, the hundreds of small agricultural enterprises led by young people and women will be equipped with equipment and materials for the transport of products, mechanization services, including the promotion of cassava harvesting technologies.

PREMOPEF will directly reach 60,000 people, representing 25% of the population of the N'zi region, 50% of whom are women and 35% young people. With the project interventions, the expected additional annual production is estimated at 522 tons of vegetables, 4,500 tons of cassava, 3,750 tons of yams and 1.5 million heads of poultry.

"With a focus on promoting water mobilization and irrigation technologies, disseminating efficient and climate-resilient agricultural practices, and supporting smallholder agricultural enterprises led by youth and women, including the processing of agricultural products, the PREMOPEF project addresses the key factors in reducing fragility and strengthening the country's resilience," said Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbadé, Director for West Africa at the African Development Bank.

As of October 30, 2020, the African Development Bank's active portfolio in Côte d'Ivoire included 38 operations for commitments totalling $2.5 billion.