IBSA Fund Annual Report- GUINEA-BISSAU

Partners

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; UNDP Guinea-Bissau

Overview

These projects improved livelihoods by increasing adult literacy, agricultural and pastoral training and support, and affordable and clean energy. They contributed towards increased agricultural production in partner villages through training in agricultural techniques, introduction of improved yield seeds or new crop alternatives, and introduction of short-cycle animals for reproduction.

Key Achievements

• More than 500 farmers were trained in various aspects of agricultural services such as agricultural planning, production, processing and commercialization of products, vegetable seeds, crop protection and production of organic fertilizer.
• More than 400 ha of mangrove and Bas-Fonds rice fields were rehabilitated.
• More than 6,000 animals and poultry were vaccinated and treated, and more than 150 small-scale farmers were trained in health and animal production and construction of animal shelters.
• 966 adults, mostly female, learned to read and write to a functional level and learned simple mathematics. Twenty-four teachers were trained to conduct literacy courses.
• 3,000 individuals in 5 villages were provided access to solar energy. Five technicians from Guinea-Bissau were trained in India in solar-system installation and maintenance to provide qualified services to partner villages and raise awareness of the use of renewable natural resources. Partner villages organized themselves to receive training and to manage solar energy equipment.

Challenges and Lesson Learned

• Some solar panels were stolen or temporarily out of use owing to insufficient security infrastructure. Remediation measures included enhanced security requirements for the solar panels and support to communities to ensure that they developed the necessary infrastructure to safeguard the equipment.
• Difficulties in identifying technical capacity regarding local biofuels were overcome.