SEKONDI – TAKORADI STORM DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENT …
THE GOVERNMENT OF SIERRA LEONE
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RURAL and PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL impact assessment
REPORT
Prepared By:
Prof. C. dorm-adzobu
(consultant)
P. o. box lg 185, legon-accra
december, 2006
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY i
1. Introduction 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Study Objectives 2
1.3 Terms of Reference 2
1.4 Study Methodology 3
1.5 National Administration of Environmental Management 4
1.5.1 Sierra Leone National EIA Requirements 4
1.6 World Bank Safeguard Policy 5
2. The Proposed Project intervention 7
2.1 Project Background 7
2.2 Project Objective 7
2.3 Project Components 7
3. Environmental Baseline 12
3.1 Land Resources 12
3.1.1 Agro-Ecological Zones 12
3.1.2 Physiography 13
3.2 Climate 13
3.2.1 Temperature and Humidity 14
3.2.2 Evaporation and Water Balance 14
3.3 Drainage and Hydrology 15
3.4 Vegetation 15
3.4.1 Closed Forests and Secondary Forests 15
3.4.2 Savanna Woodlands 16
3.4.5 Mangrove Swamp Forests 16
3.5 Soils 16
4. Socio-Economic Baseline 17
4.1 Population 18
4.2 Land Tenure 18
4.2.1 System of Land Holding in the Republic of Sierra Leone 19
4.3 Road Infrastructure 20
4.4 Key Agriculture Development Issues 21
4.4.1 Small-Scale Farming Strategy 21
4.4.2 Challenges and Constraints 21
5. ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT 23
5.1 Methodology of Impact Assessment 23
5.2 Component A: Improving Domestic Marketing Impacts 24
5.2.1 Domestic supply chains consolidation for specific crops and products 26
5.2.1.2 Cash/Commercial Crops (Cocoa, Oil Palm and Cashew) 26
5.2.1.3 Livestock 30
5.2.2 Rural Market Infrastructure Improvement 31
5.2.3 Knowledge Management and Technical Assistance 32
5.3 Component B: Agricultural Export Promotion Impacts 33
5.3.1 Upgrading and Creation of Market and Export Infrastructure 33
5.3.2 Technical Assistance for Product Development and Adaptation, Proactive Marketing and Compliance with Quality and Phytosanitary Standards 34
5.3.3 Market information System 35
5.4 Component C: Improved Agricultural Technology and Services 35
5.4.1 Demonstration and introduction of Improved Technologies 36
5.4.2 Creation of Legally-Registered Farmer Organizations, Agribusinesses, Marketing Entities, and other Rural Businesses, 36
5.4.3 Public and Private Rural Advisory Services, Decentralized to the District Level 37
5.4.4 Studies in Strategic Areas (Rehabilitation of Agricultural Research, Export Promotion) 37
5.5 Component D: Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation Impacts 37
5.6 General Intersectoral Impacts 37
5.6.1 Gender 37
5.6.2 HIV/AIDS 38
5.6.3 Macro-level Impacts 38
5.6.4 Pro-poor impact 38
5.6.5 Non-financial remuneration 38
5.6.6 Migrants 39
5.7 Summary of Project Impacts 39
5.7.1 Surface Water 39
5.7.2 Air Quality 40
5.7.3 Flora and Fauna 40
6. MITIGATION MEASURES 42
6.1 Surface Water Management 42
6.2 Air Quality Management 43
6.3 Management of Flora and Fauna 43
6.4 Management of Socio-economic Impacts 44
6.5 Occupational Health and Safety 44
6.6 Land Management and Soil Erosion control 44
6.7 Training and Capacity Building 45
6.8 Sustainable Forest Plantation Management 45
6.9 Improved Food Security 45
6.10 Agro-processing Chemicals Control and Management 45
6.11 Livestock Management 47
6.12 Pricing of Agric Products 48
6.13 Rural or Feeder Road Construction 48
6.14 Land Acquisition and Siting 49
6.15 Public Involvement 49
6.16 Project Management Support 50
7. Monitoring Plan 51
7.1 Surface Water 51
7.2 Air Quality 51
7.3 Erosion and Sediment Control 51
7.4 Costs of Mitigation Measures 52
7.5 Checklist for Monitoring 53
7.6 Community Responsibilities and Involvement 53
7.7 Role of Stakeholders 53
7.8 Household Incomes 54
7.9 Rehabilitation and Maintenance of Feeder Roads and Tracks 54
7.10 Publication of Leaflets, Handbooks and Guidelines 54
7.11 Nursery Establishment and Laboratory Equipment 55
7.12 Training Courses on Nursery Establishment and Management 55
7.13 Timing and Phasing of Activities 55
7.14 Financing and Costs 55
7.15 Reporting 55
7.16 Implementation Strategy 56
7.16.1 Short and Medium Term 56
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Agriculture is the primary occupation in Sierra Leone, employing about two-thirds of the labor force and accounting for 45% of GDP. Most Sierra Leoneans live on small, scattered farms, following a scheme of bush-fallow rotation. Rice, grown by 80% of farmers, is the most important subsistence crop. Other domestic food crops include cassava, yams, maize and vegetables. Cash crops include coffee, cocoa and palm products.
The Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) has identified the agribusiness sector as a strategic sector for investment because of the catalytic force it can represent for poverty reduction, particularly in the rural areas where poverty is predominant. Against this background, the GoSL, jointly with the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank is preparing a Rural and Private Sector Development Project (RPSDP). The present study assesses the environmental and social impacts of the project with the following overall objectives:
• Identify opportunities, constraints and environmental and social risks inherent in the RPSDP and;
• Develop a plan to mitigate and address risks inherent in project design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation.
For the analysis of the issues outlined above, the study used existing literature and stakeholder consultations mainly in the Freetown area. A major challenge faced by the study was that as presently formulated, the project document is not specific on some components, for example, project location, project activities and project beneficiaries.
National Administration of Environmental Management
The administration of environmental management in Sierra Leone has changed since the end of the civil war. The National Environmental Policy approved by cabinet in 1999 has been adopted and is now being implemented through the various provisions of its National Action Plan including a new legislation-Environmental Protection Act, 2000. The preparation and processing of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) is required to follow the EIA guidelines. A new Commission on Environment and Forestry was created by a Presidential directive in 2005 which has now taken up the mandate, responsibilities and functions of the original National Environmental Protection Board.
The EIA requirements in Sierra Leone do not conflict with those of the World Bank but are similar in many respects including project categorisation and the content of the EIA study and report. The major difference between the two processes is that while the World Bank recommends rather more public consultation during the scoping stage, the Sierra Leone national EIA procedures require more public consultation at the EIA review stage.
World Bank Safeguard Policy
Operational Policy and Bank Procedure (BP) 4.01 on Environmental Assessment (EA) 1999 describes the EA screening categories and their requirements. An annex of the OP defines the required structure of the EIA report. Another annex describes the structure of the Environmental Management Plan (EMP). During the implementation of the project, the borrower is expected to report on:
(a) Compliance with measures agreed with the Bank on the basis of the findings and results of the EIA, including the implementation of the EMP;
(b) The status of mitigation measures; and
(c ) The results of monitoring programmes.
Proposed Project Intervention
The objective of the proposed Rural and Private Sector Development Project is to raise rural incomes through improved agricultural exports and farm revenues for project beneficiaries who will include the producers, private sector entrepreneurs, transporters, agro-processors and other stakeholders. The following commodities are to receive attention:
(a) Food Crops: Rice, Cassava and Irish Potato;
(b) Commercial Crops: Cocoa, Oil Palm and Cashew;
(c ) Fresh Produce: e.g. Vegetables, fruits;
(d) Livestock and products.
The four components of the project are as follows:
Component A: Improving Domestic Marketing
This component aims at improving domestic distribution channels for crops and livestock products to improve the ability of farmers to market their goods in Freetown and other large domestic markets. This component comprises three sub-components:
➢ Domestic supply chains consolidation for specific crops and products;
➢ Rural market infrastructure improvement;
➢ Knowledge management and technical assistance to improve access to market information and identification of opportunities.
Component B: Agricultural Export Promotion
This will provide tools and services for promoting agricultural exports of traditional and non-traditional products such as cocoa, cashew, oil palm, cassava and ginger. The component will support a pilot export promotion initiative for these commodities identified as promising. The component will support three main activities:
➢ The upgrading and creation of market and export infrastructure to provide facilities where produce is transacted, assembled, processed and prepared for shipment;
➢ Technical assistance for product development and adaptation, marketing and compliance with quality and phytosanitary standards;
➢ A marketing information system.
Component C: Improved Agricultural Technology and Services
This aims at increasing farmers’ access to improved agricultural technology and practices to support the production and processing of commodities supported in components A and B. It targets rural producers and public and private providers of agricultural services. It will support:
➢ The demonstration and introduction of improved technologies e.g. improved crop varieties;
➢ The creation of legally-registered farmer organizations, agribusinesses, marketing entities, and other rural businesses;
➢ Public and private rural advisory services, decentralized to the district level;
➢ Studies in strategic areas to initiate future programmes.
Activities that will be carried out under this component will include introducing new crops and improved seeds. There could also be development of irrigation systems.
Component D Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation
This component will finance the project management function. The project will be advised by an inter-ministerial steering committee with representation by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Environmental Baseline
A brief description of the physical environment in Sierra Leone is presented to facilitate a meaningful appreciation of the activities under the RPSDP. This is because the project activities are envisaged to be undertaken within the physical environment. Of the total land area of about 71,740km2, some 60,650km2 are classified as uplands and 11,650km2 are low lands. Out of the total land area 53, 620k km2 (5.36m.ha) has been estimated as suitable for crop production. Land in Sierra Leone is divided into arable agricultural land (60%) pastural (18%), mangrove and inland swamps (8%), forest under protection (4.5%) and others (9.75%). About 6.57m.ha (90%) of the land is owned privately by families, 360,000ha by communities and families and only 285000ha are held by Government in the form of forest reserves.
The land resource of Sierra Leone has been classified into five agro-ecological zones:
1. Uplands-moderately well-to well-drained soils. This covers about 84% of the land.
2. Inland Valley Swamps (IVS) – covers about 9% of the land.
3. Mangrove Swamps, land adjacent to the coast or along estuarine rivers (3%).
4. Bolilands-low-lying inland depressions (2%).
5. Flood plains-located along major rivers (2%).
The climate of Sierra Leone is classified as humid tropical and is largely determined by its geographical location. The mean annual temperature is 27oC and the mean wet season and dry season relative humidities are 90% and 70% respectively. The mean annual rainfall is distributed as follows:
- Coastal areas, more than 3,000mm with the Western Area recording up to 5,000mm.
- The north-central and south-eastern regions receive between 2500mm and 3000mm.
- The north receives from 2500mm to less than 2000mm.
The main vegetation types identified in Sierra Leone are as follows:
• Closed and Secondary Forests;
• Savanna Woodlands;
• Mangrove Swamp Forests.
Socio Economic Baseline
The GoSL has implemented several economic measures aimed at addressing the factors responsible for the pervasive poverty in the country. These measures include Structural Adjustment Programme (1989) and Poverty Reduction Strategy.
The present population of the country is estimated at 6 million, growing at a rate of about 2.6% p.a. Population density is about 58 persons/km2 with concentration in particular regions such as Freetown peninsula, the Kono, kenema and Bo districts. A large section of the population is unemployed. Land tenure in Sierra Leone is characterised by a dual ownership structure. Land in the Western Area is held under the English system of freehold interests. This area includes the capital city of Freetown. Land in the rest of the country is held in communal ownership under communal tenure and is controlled by traditional rulers.
The public road network constitutes the most important transport infrastructure in the country, carrying about 80% of the internal passenger and cargo traffic. The national road network totals about 11,000km of which some 8,000km have been functionally classified in the National Road System (NRS). Less than 1000km of the entire network is now paved with at least half of these reported to be in poor condition.
Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)
This section outlines existing environmental and social conditions, identifies potential impacts of the project intervention and develops mitigation measures to reduce or minimise the impacts.
The guidelines developed by the Environmental Protection Act 2000 were the main tools used for the ESIA. An Impact Identification Matrix was developed for the exercise by matching the proposed project interventions to the key baseline environmental and socio-economic parameters of the project area. The potential impacts identified by this method are categorised according to their imagined level and magnitude of impacts.
Component A: Improving Domestic Marketing:
The environmental and social implications of improving domestic marketing are largely positive. Details of the potential impacts are treated under the three main sub-activities under the component.
Component B: Agricultural Export Promotion Impacts:
This component will provide tools and services for promoting agricultural exports. The beneficiaries include agricultural producers, exporters and other private enterprises. Agricultural export promotion per se will not have any significant adverse impact on the environment. However aspects such as creation and improvement of export infrastructure, mechanization and increased use of agro-chemicals are likely to result in adverse impacts which have been identified for analysis.
Component C: Improved Agricultural Technology and Services:
Activities planned under this component, e.g. introduction of improved agricultural technology and small-scale irrigation schemes, are more likely to result in adverse social and environmental impacts. These have been identified and addressed under the respective subcomponents.
Component D Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation Impacts:
This intervention is mainly to support the implementation of programmes under the project. It will therefore have very little adverse environmental and social impact.
Other general inter-sectoral impacts identified with the project include beneficial impacts or improved income and livelihood of women and children, micro level economic impacts, pro-poor impacts, non-financial remuneration and voluntary migration.
Mitigation Measures
This section presents some proposals for mitigation of the significant adverse impacts identified in the previous section. The topics discussed include agro-processing, chemicals control and management, livestock management, rural and feeder road construction, land acquisition and project siting, pricing of agricultural products and educational support programmes.
Monitoring Plan
The results of the social and environmental impact assessment undertaken require a monitoring programme that will provide additional data for further requirement of the mitigation measures proposed. The monitoring programme will track the performance of the various components of the project. The plan includes a proposed environmental monitoring programme for the various parameters, e.g. air and water quality, noise, soils etc. It also provides for determination of cost of mitigation, checklist for monitoring and an implementation strategy.
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
1.1 Background
Agriculture is one of the most important sectors in national economic development. At the national level, food security and consumption are headline indicators of human well-being, and some economists regard growth in agricultural productivity and incomes as indicators that developing countries are building the conditions for sustainable economic growth. In this sense, agriculture is an important step on the road to industrialization, and agribusiness is often a bellwether of industrial transformation. Even in economies further along the industrialization path, agriculture can still be a significant employer even when the sector comprises a declining percentage of GDP. Some argue that this is especially significant because agribusiness creates jobs for the rural poor, and a market for the produce of the poor, who otherwise may not benefit from industrialization.
Agriculture is the primary occupation in Sierra Leone, employing two-thirds of the labor force and accounting for 45% of GDP. Most Sierra Leoneans live on small, scattered farms, following a scheme of bush-fallow rotation, slash-and-burn field preparation, and limited use of fertilizer. Agricultural exports in 2001 amounted to nearly $7.5 million and consisted of coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, piassava, kola nuts, and ginger. Rice, grown by 80% of farmers, is the most important subsistence crop and, along with millet in the northeast, is a food staple; in 1999, 247,000 tons of rice were produced, down from an annual average of 508,000 tons between 1989 to 1991. The Rice Research Institute, located in the Northern Province, breeds high-yielding varieties for seed. Other domestic food crops include cassava, yams, peanuts, corn, pineapples, coconuts, tomatoes, and pepper.
Coffee is grown in the eastern and southern provinces; production totalled 15,000 tons in 1999. Cocoa is grown in the Kenema and Kailahun districts of the Eastern Province and in the Pujehun District of the Southern Province, mainly on smallholdings of about 0.4–1.2 hectares (1–3 acres). In 1999, an estimated 11,000 tons of cocoa beans were produced. Palm produce is derived from stands of wild palms, mainly in the northeast and southeast; production in 1999 included 22,000 tons of palm kernels and 36,000 tons of palm oil. Although there is substantial local consumption of palm kernels, they are a major agricultural export. Piassava, a raffia palm used for broom and brush bristles, is grown in the swampy areas of the extreme south. Small amounts of kola nuts were also exported, and modest crops of bananas, pineapples, and sugarcane were grown.
The 1991 invasion of rebels from Liberia in the eastern and southeastern provinces severely damaged agricultural production and exports. Whereas annual agricultural growth averaged 3.1% during 1980–1990, it was –0.1% during 1990–2000.
The Government of Sierra Leone (GOSL) has identified the agribusiness sector (in its broad definition) as a strategic sector for investment because of the catalytic force it can represent for poverty reduction in the country, particularly in rural areas where poverty is predominant. Agribusiness contributes both directly and indirectly to alleviating poverty by:
• reducing food costs and supply uncertainties and improving the diets of the rural and urban poor;
• generating growth, increasing and diversifying incomes, and providing widespread employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in both rural and urban areas; and
• inducing productivity gains by smallholder farmers and better integrating them into local, national, and international markets.
It is against this background that GOSL, jointly with the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank is preparing a Rural and Private Sector Development Project (RPSDP), which is proposed to be implemented with funds contributed by GOSL, the IDA and other donors.
1.2 Study Objectives
The overall objectives of the environmental and social impact assessment are to:
a) Identify opportunities, constraints and environmental and social risks inherent in the planned RPSDP project, and
b) Develop a plan to mitigate and address risks during project design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation.
1.3 Terms of Reference
In an effort to gain an understanding of the potential environmental and social impacts of the RPSD project, the consultant will:
1. Review a) Sierra Leone's national environmental legislation, policies and regulations, b) procedures in conjunction with the World Bank's safeguard policies, and identify possible gaps. In this context, particular attention needs to be paid to the country's legislation and policies pertaining to rural areas management and conservation.
2. Review Sierra Leone's land use policy with regard to the establishment of farming and commercial zones in rural areas, paying special attention to the various tribal aspects of the land tenure system.
3. Assess the environmental impact of increased social and economic infrastructure in light of the RPSD Project, including but not limited to:
▪ Soil and water contamination
▪ Impact on agro-biodiversity
▪ Agro -waste and disposal.
4. Assess the social impact of increased social and economic infrastructure in light of the RPSD Project, including but not limited to the:
▪ Selection of project beneficiaries and how to ensure shared growth and inclusion throughout the project implementation
▪ Benefits to social harmony and cohesion of communities
▪ Threats to social harmony and cohesion of communities
▪ Potential empowerment of rural poor and marginalized
▪ Threat that rural elite disproportionately benefit from RPSD project.
5. Identify potential environmental and social risks and propose mitigation measures including cost estimates for implementing the mitigation plan. Such a plan will include clear indications of the appropriate institutional arrangements, training and monitoring 'at all levels. The consultant will develop the mitigation plan based upon lessons learned from World Bank projects in Sierra Leone and relevant projects from other donors.
6. Propose monitoring indicators for such social and economic investments land other aspects as necessary for inclusion into the RPSD Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system.
1.4 Study Methodology
For the analysis of the above outlined issues, the study used: (a) literature review and (b) stakeholder consultations. As presently formulated, the project document is not specific on some components, for example, project location, project activities and project beneficiaries. These have been indicated in broad terms and therefore it has not been very easy to respond to some aspects of the terms of reference.
1.5 National Administration of Environmental Management
The administration of environmental management in Sierra Leone has changed since the end of the civil war. The National Environmental Policy originally approved by cabinet in 1999 has finally been adopted and is now being implemented through the various provisions of its National Action Plan. These include the introduction of a new legislation – Environmental Protection Act, 2000, which is now being implemented.
The original administrative body was the National Environmental Protection Board (NEPB) which was charged with inter alia, providing advice, coordination, cooperation and collaboration with other arms of government. The NEPB had some important powers, including the review of EIAs required under the Act for certain proposed project types. The preparation and processing of EIAs is required to follow the EIA Procedures, published in July 2002, together with the relevant sectoral EIA guidelines.
The Department of the Environment, formerly under the Ministry of Lands, Country Planning and Environment, acted as the executive arm of the NEPB and administered the EIA Procedures, including the requesting, reviewing and approving EIA reports. The Department of the Environment has however been moved to be part of a new National Commission on Environment and Forestry (NECF) which was created by a Presidential directive in 2005. This Commission has now taken up the mandate, responsibilities and functions of the NEPB.
The NEPB had a scientific committee (EIA Committee), which provided appropriate technical advice, and the staff of the Environment Department monitored the implementation of the recommendations of an approved EIA. However the present capacity of the Department of the Environment to monitor implementation is very limited. Moreover, its relocation within the new Commission is seen as illegal, since it does not have parliamentary approval.
1.5.1 Sierra Leone National EIA Requirements
It is important that any EIA or its variant should be fully compliant with applicable national EIA requirements and procedures. The national EIA requirements in Sierra Leone do not conflict with those of the World Bank but are similar in many respects, including project categorization and the content of the EIA study and report. The major difference between the two processes is that while the World Bank recommends rather more public consultation during the scoping stage, the Sierra Leone national EIA procedures require more public consultation at the EIA review stage.
1.6 World Bank Safeguard Policy
Operational Policy and Bank Procedure (BP) 4.01 on Environmental Assessment (EA) 1999 describes the EA screening categories and their requirements. An annex of the OP defines the required structure of the EIA report. Another annex describes the structure of the Environmental Management Plan (EMP). During the implementation of a project, the borrower should report on:
(a) Compliance with measures agreed with the Bank on the basis of the findings and results of the EIA, including the implementation of the EMP;
(b) The status of mitigation measures; and
(c) The results of monitoring programmes
The Bank’s Environmental Strategy (adopted in July 2001) includes the use of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in World Bank operations to promote “mainstreaming” of environment, by influencing planning and decision-making at an early stage.
Involuntary Resettlement (OP 4.12)
Any requirement for involuntary resettlement is considered to be one of the most important environmental impacts of any proposed project. World Bank guidance in resettlement and compensation is now very comprehensive and specific in relation to identification, participation and support of project affected persons (PAPs).
The Policy Objectives in OP 4.12 are as follows:
• Involuntary resettlement should be avoided where feasible, or minimized, exploring all viable alternatives in project design;
• Where it is not feasible to avoid resettlement, resettlement activities should be conceived and executed as sustainable development programmes, providing sufficient investment resources to enable the persons displaced by the project to share in the project benefits;
• Displaced persons should be assisted in their efforts to improve their livelihoods and standards of living or at least to restore them, in real terms, to pre-displacement levels.
This proposed project reveals that World Bank Safeguard Policies on environmental and social impact assessment, including pest management will be triggered (see components B and C below 2-4). The implementation of key interventions under the project, specifically:
(i) Upgrading, strengthening, and enhancing market infrastructure, and
(ii) Demonstrating and introducing improved and new technologies into agricultural production, may result in adverse social and environmental impacts.
While the focus will be on land already under cultivation, risks may include increased agro-chemical use, upsurge of pest incidence, pollution of air and water, contamination and compaction of soils and social disorientation.
As a result of the above, a framework on environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) has been provided in Chapter 5 to determine the possible impacts of the activities to be implemented under the project, and of any infrastructure created by the project to support agro-processing and export. The safeguard on pest management has also been addressed. Finally, a process framework has been developed to address any potential impacts related to land acquisition and or resettlement from sub-project activities.
CHAPTER TWO
The Proposed Project intervention
2.1 Project Background
The Government of Sierra Leone (GOSL) jointly with the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank is preparing a Rural and Private Sector Development Project (RPSDP), which is proposed to be implemented with funds contributed by GOSL and IDA. The proposed outlay is tentatively placed at US$28 million, by the IDA, and US$2million by GOSL, with a five-year period of implementation (World Bank Report #AC 2316).
The project beneficiaries will include producers, and private sector entrepreneurs engaged in domestic and external trade, and transporters, agro-processors and other stakeholders connected with the forward and backward linkages of the value chain. Results indicators to be achieved at the end of the five-year project period are an increase in exports (with a target increase of 40%) and an increase in incomes of producers and traders (50%). The project intends to facilitate improvements in the value chain in which identified constraints and blockages which hinder the smooth and efficient flow of products from producers to ultimate consumers are systematically overcome, and opportunities for realizing potential value-addition are identified and strengthened.
The following commodities are to receive attention:
(a) Food Crops: Rice, Cassava and Irish Potato;
(b) Commercial Crops: Cocoa, Oil Palm and Cashew;
(c) Fresh Produce (e.g. vegetables, fruits, ginger) mainly for domestic use and export of ginger and other fresh produce that can compete on the international market; and
(d) Livestock and products (pilot initiative)'
2.2 Project Objective
The objective of the project is to raise rural Incomes through improved agricultural exports and farm revenues for project beneficiaries
2.3 Project Components
Component A: Improving Domestic Marketing: This component aims at improving domestic distribution channels for crop and livestock products to improve the ability of farmers to market their goods in Freetown and other large domestic markets. Positive and visible developments in improving domestic marketing are expected to provide major incentives to producers for increased production. This component comprises three sub-components:
➢ Domestic supply chains consolidation for specific crops and products
➢ Rural market infrastructure improvement to address critical infrastructure needs for selected products expected to fill gaps and not substitute for support under other on-going projects
➢ Knowledge management and technical assistance to improve access to market information and identification of opportunities.
The component will develop or support business models in key supply chains for the domestic and regional markets and help design appropriate strategies for the establishment and management of market facilities and support market information systems. It would provide grants to local communities and market associations to contract with private entrepreneurs to develop enterprises particularly in the fields of agro-processing. It would also provide matching grants to selected rural and urban SMEs investing in transport and storage of agricultural products and inputs. The commodities (including potentially fisheries and livestock) supported under this component will be determined based on the results of the recently completed DTIS and further fieldwork.
To create links between key players in the value chain, the project may use technology like computers, mobile and fixed line phones, and facsimile equipment. Collection points could be created in various districts and various modes of transport could be improved to facilitate quick collection. It may be necessary to acquire land for terminals at major collection points if there are none. Presently there are no definite numbers of how many of such terminals will be required and how much land take will be necessary.
Component B: Agricultural Export Promotion: This component will provide tools and services for promoting agricultural exports of traditional and non-traditional products such as cocoa, cashew, oil palm, sugarcane, cassava and ginger. The component will support a pilot export promotion initiative for these commodities identified as promising for export by the DTIS. Target beneficiaries include agricultural producers, agricultural exporters and other private enterprises. It would support three main activities:
➢ The upgrading and creation of market and export infrastructure to provide faculties where produce is transacted, assembled, processed and prepared for shipment;
➢ Technical assistance for product development and adaptation, proactive marketing and compliance with quality and phytosanitary standards
➢ A marketing information system to provide producers and exporters with information on market opportunities and increase their bargaining power
The component would provide technical assistance, training, operational support and matching grants to implement these activities. In an effort to ensure transparency and fairness in the process, the matching grants will be administered through public-private partnership and an operational manual will be developed to guide decisions.
Upgrading and creation of market and export infrastructure could include rehabilitating existing markets or building new ones. It could also mean providing better equipped markets where sanitary facilities are of accepted standards, human waste and refuse are properly disposed off. Adequate storage for unsold produce will be provided and market managers will have properly equipped offices. Export infrastructure could include pack houses, cold storage and ware houses. Training of farmers, providing extension services, sanitary facilities on farms and developing systems for pest control, proper use and storage of chemicals and record keeping will all be required in this component.
A data collection and dissemination system will need to be developed. The system could be based on the use of satellite, computers or telecommunication systems.
If new markets will be constructed there will be need to acquire land that will belong to individuals, families or communities. In Freetown and the Western Area this will be a simple transaction but this will not be same in the Province. It may also be necessary to acquire land for sanitary facilities like land fill sites.
Component C: Improved Agricultural Technology and Services: Aims at increasing farmers’ access to improved agricultural technology and practices to support the production and processing of commodities supported in components A and B. It targets rural producers and public and private providers of agricultural services. It would support:
➢ The demonstration and introduction of improved technologies (e.g. improved crop varieties, processing technologies such as rice hullers, irrigation techniques for off-season production, crop diversification etc.)
➢ The creation of legally-registered farmer organizations, agribusinesses, marketing entities, and other rural businesses
➢ Public and private rural advisory services, decentralized to the district level
➢ Studies in strategic areas (rehabilitation of agricultural research, export promotion, etc.) to initiate future programs
The project would provide technical assistance, training, operational support, and matching grants to implement these activities. Matching grants would support the initial acquisition of improved plant materials, investment in innovative small-scale irrigation infrastructure and investments in private seed farming. The operational support would be directed through decentralized public services providing demonstration and advisory services, either through public or private service provision.
Activities that will be carried out under this component will include introducing new crops and improved seeds. There could also be development of small-scale irrigation systems. Facilitation of group formation and registration of such groups will be done. Advisory bureaus may be set up at district level. New crops and areas that require research will be funded. Linkages will be created between farmers and research institutions. New export promotion strategies, which may include holding or attending trade fairs, advertising in international media will be done.
These interventions may result in land take, relocation/displacement of people, loss of income sources and loss of livelihoods. In such a case, OP 4.12 will be triggered and a Resettlement Plan will be required.
Component D Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation: Will finance the project management function. The project would be advised by inter-ministerial steering committee with representation by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Ministry of Trade and Industry. An implementation unit composed of executive level civil servants within the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Trade and Industry would coordinate the project. A Project Implementation Unit (PIU) would be responsible for monitoring and evaluation among other functions.
PROJECT LOCATION MAP
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CHAPTER THREE
3. Environmental Baseline
A clear appreciation of the physical environment is required for a meaningful evaluation of the activities under the RPSDP. This is because the project activities are envisaged to be undertaken within the physical environment whose components and characteristics are discussed below.
3.1 Land Resources
Of the total land area of about 71,740km2, some 60,650km2, are classified as upland and 11,650km2, are low lands. Out of the total land area, 53,620km2, (5.36m.ha) has been estimated as suitable for crop production. Non-arable land which includes hills, rocky land, roads, rivers and creeks account for the rest of the land resources of the country. Land in Sierra Leone is divided into arable agricultural land (60%), pastural (18%), mangrove and inland swamps (8%), forest under protection and management (4.5%) and others (9.75%). About 6.57m.ha (90%) of the land is owned privately by families, 360,000ha by communities and families and only 285, 000ha (4%) are held by Government in the form of forest reserves. The lands belonging to families are small and fragmented, restricting effective planning and management.
3.1.1 Agro-Ecological Zones
The land resource of Sierra Leone has been classified into five distinct agro-ecological zones as follows:
1. Uplands – moderately well to well-drained soils of varying depth. This covers about 6.1 m.ha or 84% of the land
2. Inland Valley Swamps (IVS), fairly flat, poorly drained depressions between adjacent uplands – 675,000 ha (9%)
3. Mangrove Swamps – land adjacent to the coast or along estuarine rivers subject to inundation by tidal brackish water, 215, 000 ha (3%)
4. Bolilands – low-lying inland depressions subject to flooding during the wet season -120,000 ha (2%)
5. Flood plains – located along major rivers, flooded periodically during the wet season – 110,000 ha (2%)
3.1.2 Physiography
The country can simply be divided into three physiographic regions which run approximately north-east to south-west. These are the coastal plains, interior plains and interior plateaux regions.
The coastal region is generally low-lying with swampy areas covering an area of 10,444 km2 and extending some 30 km inland from the coast. The Interior Plains region is approximately 80-100km wide and the topography is an old peneplain continental land mass. This region is the most extensive covering 31, 418 km2 with altitude ranging from 40m in the west to 200m in the east. This is the region of depressions and low terraces known as bolilands which are flooded by rain during the wet season due to poor drainage of the clayey soils and water over flowing from rivers and streams. The Interior Plateau region rises rapidly above the interior plains to a height of 300 to 700 and covers an area of 30, 464 km2.
Area – Region Relationships
|Region |Area Km2 |Percentage |
|Coastal Plan |10,444 |15 |
| | | |
|Interior Plains |31,418 |43 |
| | | |
|Interior Plateau |30,464 |42 |
|Total |72,326 |100 |
3.2 Climate
The climate of Sierra Leone is largely determined by its geographical location on the south-west coast of West Africa, between latitudes 7o and 10o north of the equator. The climate is classified as humid tropical.
The climatic pattern is closely related to the general atmospheric circulation of air masses over the tropics, with the south-west monsoon winds dominant from May to October and the north-east trade winds dominant from November to April. The zone of convergence of these two air masses is known as the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) which oscillates north and south of the equator, imposing seasonality in the distribution of rainfall over the country. This results in two distinctive periods, the biologically active wet season, and the biologically dormant dry season.
The mean annual and seasonal rainfall distribution pattern is as follows:
(i) The coastal areas receive more than 3,000 mm rain per year with the Western Area recording up to 5000 mm.
(ii) The north-central and south-eastern regions receive between 2500 and 3000 mm.
(iii) The north receives from 2500 to less than 2000 mm.
(iv) Distinctly higher rainfall values above 3000 mm are recorded around Makeni, Mabonto and Bumbuna areas presumably due to the relief influence of the Sula Mountain scarp in the east.
The duration of the wet season varies from nine months, beginning in March in the east, to seven months, starting in May in the north and west, and ending in November.
3.2.1 Temperature and Humidity
The mean annual temperature in the country is 27.0oC. The monthly average maximum is 30.0oC but during February and March, temperatures of up to 35.0oC have been recorded. The average minimum is 22.0oC.
The relative humidity varies considerably with the seasons and during the day. The mean wet season and dry season relative humidities are 90% and 70% respectively. During the day, relative humidity varies from 80% in the morning to 40% in the afternoon. In the dry season values can drop very low.
3.2.2 Evaporation and Water Balance
The annual amount of evapotranspiration in Sierra Leone ranges between 1300 and 1600 mm. During the dry season, the high sunshine hours, high air temperatures and low moisture content help to increase the daily rates of evapotranspiration to 4.5 mm per day. In the wet season, evapotranspiration values average at 3.5 mm per day because of the high humidity values. The water balance calculations therefore indicate that during the wet season, there is “Water Surplus” ranging from about 1200 to 2600 mm and during the dry season the “Water Deficit” ranging from 240 to 610 mm above the assumed soil water storage of 100 mm.
3.3 Drainage and Hydrology
The river basins of Sierra Leone are relatively small (See MAP). Five out of the nine major drainage basins originate in the country, namely Rokel, Pampana or Jong, Sewa, Waanje and the coastal rivers and creeks. The Great and Little Scarcies and the Moa rivers originate in the Fouta Djallon plateau in Guinea while the Mano River originates in Liberia. All the rivers flow an almost linear pattern from north-east to south-west. The respective total length of each river and the basin area within Sierra Leone are shown in the following table:
Total Length and Area of River Basins in Sierra Leone
|River Basin |Total Length (km) |Area Km2 |% Area |
|Great Scarcies |160 |3115 |4.3 |
| | | | |
|Little Scarcies |280 |13000 |17.9 |
| | | | |
|Rokel/Seli |380 |10620 |14.8 |
| | | | |
|Pampana/Jong |300 |7511 |10.4 |
| | | | |
|Sewa |430 |14140 |19.7 |
| | | | |
|Waanje |200 |4510 |6.2 |
| | | | |
|Moa |320 |9220 |12.7 |
| | | | |
|Mano |180 |2530 |3.4 |
| | | | |
|Coastal Streams/Creeks |120 |6960 |9.6 |
| | | | |
|Peninsula & others |- |720 |1.0 |
|Total |- |72,326 |100.00 |
3.4 Vegetation
The following main vegetation types are identified in the country.
3.4.1 Closed Forests and Secondary Forests
These are primary and mature secondary forests presently found mainly on hill slopes and crests in the Sewa, Mano and Moa river watersheds and the Peninsula Mountains of the Western Area. The primary forests are mature, dense and moist with mixed stands of evergreen and semi-deciduous trees. Previously, they covered a greater part of the country, but presently account for less than 5% of the vegetation coverage.
3.4.2 Savanna Woodlands
This vegetation is an association of trees and grasses occurring mainly on hill slopes and undulating plains in the drier zones of the country. It comprises of a fairly high density of often gnarled trees and tall grasses. The trees generally have large crowns and can grow up to about 15m tall. The grasses grow up to 3m tall above the lower undergrowth. This vegetation type is predominant within the central and northern parts of the Little and Great Scarcies watershed.
3.4.5 Mangrove Swamp Forests
These are found in estuaries of the major rivers and creeks which line the west cost of the country. These comprise of salt tolerant, stilted shrubs and trees occurring on low mudflats of these estuaries along the edges of the creeks and the rivers and inland as far as the limit of the tidal influence. The forests are usually dense, comprising trees up to 20m tall. However densities are generally high where tidal influence is most marked, and also where estuaries are protected.
3.5 Soils
Soils in Sierra Leone have been grouped into 12 soils associations by the Land and Water Development Division (LWDD) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. Each of the soil associations has different attributes. Most soils in Sierra Leone are acidic (pH 4-5), and like most tropical soils are ferralitic and excessively leached as a result of the humid tropical conditions. This is particularly true of the upland soils, with such common mineral as Kaolinite, aluminium and iron. Organic matter content is low, making the soils less suitable for cropping. Top soils’ organic carbon levels range between less than 1 percent in soils under annually burnt savanna in the north and 2-4 percent in the secondary regrowth and forest in the south, to 3.10 percent in the seasonally flooded swamps which are relatively fertile and suited for rice cultivation.
Available plant nutrients are low. The most important soils are the Ultisols, Oxisols, Inceptisols and intergrades. The soils are generally infertile and there is lack of proper management practices. The estimated soil loss due to erosion varies from 14 to 109 tons/ha/year depending on soil type, slope, vegetation and land use.
CHAPTER FOUR
4. Socio-Economic Baseline
The Sierra Leone economy has always been based on the exploitation of natural resources, notably agricultural, marine and mineral resources. Public sector influence has been dominant in the economic activity in the country. The economy is dominated by the agricultural sector which accounts for 44.1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (GOSL Econ Bull, Vol 9 # 2 March 2003). Agriculture has remained traditional and subsistence in character, incapable of satisfying the food needs of the country by a wide margin, and improving the living standards of the broad mass of the population. Over 70% of the country’s labour force is employed in agriculture. Since poverty is pervasive in the country, the GOSL is implementing several measures aimed at addressing the factors responsible for the difficulties identified in the economy.
Sierra Leone embarked upon a Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1989 with the following objectives:
1. Achieve and maintain a stable macro-economic environment
2. Redefine the public sector’s role while restoring the government’s capacity to provide basic services
3. Create an economic environment conducive to private sector development
These objectives and attendant strategies still constitute the basic framework of the Government’s economic reform policy. The Government has also embarked on a programme to achieve food security by 2007. Agriculture is a priority and it is acknowledged that in order to move from the current state of subsistence, mechanization should be seriously incorporated into agricultural practices. The linkages among all the sectors of the economy have also been recognised and highlighted in all government programmes, i.e. environment, agriculture, water resources, forestry, industry, health, transport, education and the decentralization process.
Poverty Reduction Strategy
The Government has completed its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and although the programme is based on access to basic services, empowerment has also been given strong consideration. Investments are being made in other sectors such as infrastructure. Poverty reduction programmes aim at economic and social empowerment of the poor and creating an enabling environment for development through investment in transportation, communication, energy and other economic, social and physical infrastructure.
4.1 Population
The population of Sierra Leone is estimated at 6 million, growing at a rate of about 2.6 percent per year. The population density of about 58 persons/km2 is relatively high as compared to other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The population is concentrated in some particular regions of the country including the Freetown peninsula, the Kono, Kenema and Bo districts. The northern part of the country is sparsely populated. A large section of the population is unemployed, especially among the youth. An estimated 68% live close to the forest or forest regrowth area on which they depend for their livelihood.
National average population density varies among the districts, chiefdoms and towns. Generally, the regions, which have important economic activities tend to harbor larger populations. Areas with 80 persons per km2 are the diamond areas or those with large-scale rice cultivation. These include Kono, Kenema and Bo (diamonds and trading) and Freetown (capital and industrial).
Areas with medium density (50-80 persons/ km2 ) are mainly in the arable alluvial soils and centres for rice, coffee and cocoa production. Areas with low density, i.e. below 30 persons/km2 are mainly in the north, the southern coastal areas and the east.
4.2 Land Tenure
Land tenure in the Republic of Sierra Leone is characterized by a dual ownership structure. Land in the Western Area, which is the area originally settled by the Creole, the liberated slaves on their arrival in the country, is held under the English system of freehold interests. It is believed that the land was acquired through negotiation with the natives by the English and passed on to the settlers. This area includes the capital city, Freetown. It is also the area that has seen considerable growth and is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the country by the level and quality of development.
Land in the rest of the country is held in communal ownership under customary tenure and is controlled by traditional rulers who administer it on behalf of their communities in accordance with customary principles and usage. The result is a dichotomy between modernization and tradition. While in the Western Area interest in land can be assigned with little difficulty, in the Provinces, the traditional authorities are unwilling to assign interests in land, which would connote any possibility of perpetual alienation such as freehold interests as this will deprive posterity of its ancestral heritage.
4.2.1 System of Land Holding in the Republic of Sierra Leone
The Western Area
Land tenure in the Western area traces its history from the British Colonial administration. The area settled by the freed slaves was declared a Colony of the British Empire, and the settlers, having lived in England, and having experienced the English way of life and system of governance, were more inclined to live their lives like the British. As a result of this and other socio-political considerations, British concepts of tenure were introduced in the colony (Western Area). Since the land on which the freed slaves were resettled was purchased in the name of the British monarch, the settlers were therefore tenants of the British Crown and the title passed on to them was the tenancy in fee simple or freehold.
After independence in 1961 the Government of Sierra Leone replaced the crown as the “landlord” of the Western Area and the freehold system was allowed to persist.
The Provinces
Land is communally held under customary tenure in the provinces though there are minor differences among the various ethnic communities, the general trend is that land is considered a divine heritage which the spirits of the departed ancestors expect to be preserved and handed down to future generations. This is because land is deemed to belong to a large family comprised of the departed ancestors, the living and the unborn generations. It is regarded as a heritage entrusted to the living with a responsibility to ensure its preservation and subsequent assignment to future generations.
Family Interests
The absolute interest in land is vested in families who have responsibility for their portion of the land. The paramount chief is regarded as the custodian of the land on behalf of the entire chiefdom but decisions regarding land are the preserve of heads of families. The administration of the community interest is vested in the head of the land-owning family who is aided by a council of elders. One very important consequence of the fact that absolute interest in land is vested in the family is that it invests every member of the family with an inherent right to the occupation and use of any part of the family land.
The Individual’s Interest
Where a family member wishes to cultivate any part of the family land, he has to obtain special permission from the family head that would normally allocate land to him. In some societies the individual has to pay some money, locally referred to as “kola” or “handshake”, to the family head as acknowledgement of the land granted to him. The grant, however does not confer ownership of the land but only confers on him the right to use the land.
State or Public Lands
There are two types of State lands in Sierra Leone; they are Crown Lands and Government Reservations. Crown lands are found in the Western Area while Government Reservations are found in the Provinces.
Crown Lands comprise of lands which have been acquired ”for the service of the colony” under the Public Lands Ordinance, 1898.
4.3 Road Infrastructure
The public road network constitutes the most important transport infrastructure in the country, carrying about 80% of internal passenger and cargo traffic. The national road network totals about 11,000 km of which some 8,000 km have been functionally classified in the National Road System (NRS) and the remaining 3000 km as local networks and unclassified roads and tracks. Less than 1000 km of the entire network is now paved with at least half of these reported to be in poor condition. Many formerly paved roads have reverted to gravel due to neglect during the civil war. Of the unpaved portions, less than 30% is in fair to good condition (GoSL Vision 2025, August 2003).
Road construction and rehabilitation is now being given the priority it deserves. The Feeder Roads Department of the Ministry of Works, Housing and Technical Maintenance is undertaking the rehabilitation programme with the support of donors. The Government of Sierra Leone recognises the crucial link between the road network, especially feeder roads and food self sufficiency. So far, the European Union (EU) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) have provided funds for road works in four Districts each (See Maps).
The road rehabilitation programme does not involve the construction of new roads. It essentially deals with the rehabilitation of existing network through formation, regravelling and reconstruction of old bridges and culverts. A National Road Fund provides funding for the maintenance of the road networks, using light equipment from the Plan Pool. Concerns have been raised about the environmental impact of using laterite on the roads, and this will be addressed in the impact assessment section of this report.
4.4 Key Agriculture Development Issues
4.4.1 Small-Scale Farming Strategy
The production of both food and cash crops in Sierra Leone is almost exclusively by small-scale farmers. It is therefore advisable that the GOSL should rely largely on a small-scale farming strategy for the increased agricultural production envisaged under the project.
The main thrust of the small-scale farming strategy is to ensure that agricultural inputs and services are directed to small-scale farmers with a view to improving their resource productivity and increasing their farm output. In pursuing this strategy, Government will liaise with and coordinate the work of local and foreign non-governmental organizations, which are currently operating in the field of food and agricultural production and related areas.
4.4.2 Challenges and Constraints
• Infrastructure: The poor state of roads in the countryside does not only have direct impacts on the marketing of agricultural produce, but also has indirect consequence on adding to the cost and difficulty of supplying food in the rural areas. Port facilities and costs may also constitute a major constraint on exports, especially food crops which need special handling.
• Investment Environment: Long-term investments in agriculture are required if a diversified agricultural export base is to be established. Growth and diversification cannot rely only on the activities of rural small-scale farmers. It will require a new class of entrepreneurs who will invest in larger scale of production, coupled with processing and marketing in order to drive the agricultural sector forward. This is the major role of the private sector in the project.
• Sustainability of Exports: The agricultural export market is very competitive and if Sierra Leonean producers are to maintain a place in the export business, then they must develop the culture of competition. This will require the following in all sectors:
- Efficiency of production, backed by strong extension service and availability of inputs including planting materials, fertilizers and pesticides.
- Information on markets and consumer demand and capacity to respond
- Cooperation between all participants in the project – farmers groups as business units, private sector entrepreneurs and cooperatives.
- Innovation in research into new products and varieties.
• Environmental Management Concerns: These have been identified as closely related to:
- traditional bush fallow – farming systems and changes;
- increased use of inland valley swamps (IVS) for agriculture and the effects on water management ;
- degradation of mangrove and natural forest for fuel wood and timber;
- denuding of watersheds resulting in increased runoff and associated soil erosion and siltation of water ways.
CHAPTER FIVE
5. ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Environmental and Social Impacts Assessment (ESIA) outlines existing environmental and social conditions, identifies potential impacts and develops mitigation measures to reduce or minimize the impacts of the project on flora and fauna, including human beings, and identifies the specific actions to address and mitigate the potential adverse effects of the project.
5.1 Methodology of Impact Assessment
The guidelines developed by the Environmental Protection Act 2000 were the main tools used in the preparation of the Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP). The ESIA and ESAP constitute the overall ESIA for the project. The ESAP should be considered as a living document to be updated from time to time to ensure that its content reflects the current conditions and knowledge base on the project site.
Various techniques exist in the determination and identification of impacts. These include the Ad-hoc Methods; Matrices; Checklists; Networks; Map Overlays (Batelle Environmental Evaluation System); and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). For the purposes of this study, the Impact Identification Matrix technique was used. A two-dimensional table (project activity vs. impact) was designed by matching the proposed project interventions to the key baseline environmental and socio-economic parameters of the project area. The potential impacts identified by this method have been categorised according to their imagined level and magnitude of impacts. Professional experience and knowledge, consultations and case studies of similar projects coupled with the review of relevant literature were used to determine the magnitude and significance of the impacts. Table 1 shows an Impact Identification Matrix.
The presentation of the individual project-impact results could be presented either by discussing the potential positive, adverse impacts of each project activity or sub-activity under pre-production, production and post production Impacts or taking each project component one by one and predicting the significant environmental and socio-economic impacts. Each method has its merits and demerits. However, we have used the later because it affords one the opportunity to discuss the various project components.
5.2 Component A: Improving Domestic Marketing Impacts
The strategies proposed in the project for improving domestic marketing include the establishment and management of market facilities, market information systems and provision of grants to market associations (women's associations, petty traders' associations) for agro-processing and enhancing domestic marketing. The environmental and social implications of improving domestic marketing are largely positive. Details of the potential impacts are discussed under the three main sub activities under this component.
TABLE 1: SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT IDENTIFICTION MATRIX
| |Environmental Parameters |Socio-economic Parameters |
|ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS | | |
| | | |
|PROJECT INTERVENTIONS | | |
| |Land Quality |Air Quality (dust) |Flora (vegetation) |
|1. Nursery establishment |
|(a) Nursery shade |Bush clearing; disturbance to |Man |No Impacts. Smallholders do not establish nurseries|
| |habitats. | | |
|(b) Application of |Chemical alteration of the |Toxic chemicals |Water pollution, depletion of fish and aquatic |
|insecticides |ecosystems. | |organisms |
|2. Transplanting |
|(a) Weed control through |Disturbance to habitats. |Toxic chemicals |Minimal Water pollution, and depletion of fish and |
|use of herbicides | | |aquatic organisms |
|(b) Established shade |Micro-climatic changes. |Man |Positive Impacts. Good for development of cocoa |
|trees: coconut and fruit | | |trees |
|trees | | | |
|(c) Use of insecticides |Habitat destruction; changes in|Toxic chemicals |Quite insignificant. Only when required |
| |species diversity; reduced | | |
| |insect resistance. | | |
|3. Field maintenance |
|(a) Weeding and use of |Physical disruption of habitat |Toxic chemicals |Possible impact on fisheries, source of drinking |
|herbicides | | |water etc. |
|(b) Fertilizer application |Chemical alteration of habitat |Chemical nutrients |Minimal Impact; also used for inter-cropping |
|(c) Pesticide use |Changes in the ecosystem and |Toxic materials |Death of local population of organisms |
| |population of organisms | | |
|(d) Fungicide use |Changes in natural habitat; |Toxic materials |Minimal Impacts |
| |reduced insect resistance. | | |
|4. Post-harvest and on-farm processing |
|(a) Pod wastes |Garbage; fouling; nuisance. |Solid waste |Breeding site for black pod disease, viruses and |
| | | |pests. Recycled as organic fertilizer |
|(b) Sweats from |Fouling; nuisance. |Liquid waste |Negligible. Only localized Impacts |
|fermentation | | | |
|(c) Discarded beans |Disturbance of the environment |Solid waste |Negligible. No beans discarded |
In the case of oil palm production the processing can pose adverse impacts to the environment especially when appropriate pollution prevention and abatement measures are not incorporated in the design stage for pollution avoidance and/or minimisation. Significant quantities of wastewater are generated in the milling process. . The process also produces considerable amount of solid waste. Oil palm cultivation itself results in long-term soil fertility loss, loss of vegetation and emergence of undesirable plant species. Thus waste disposal measures should be undertaken with adequate care. Table 3 below shows the major disease and pests of the oil palm and their control.
TABLE 3: MAJOR DISEASE AND PESTS OF THE OIL PALM AND THEIR CONTROL
|Diseases |Symptom |Control |
|1. Germinating Seed | | |
|Brown Germ |Brown spots appear on emerging ‘button’. These |Immerse seeds after de-pulping in a fungicide and |
|(Aspergillus sp) |spread and coalesce as the embryo develops, and |bactericidal solution of streptomycin and T.M.T.D. |
| |the tissue become slimy and rotten | |
|2. Seedling | |Spray seedlings with fungicide (Thiram or Dithane |
|i) Leaf diseases |Small translucent spots, typically near the top |M45) weekly in the pre-nursery from the two-leaf |
|Anthracnose |or edge of the leaf or where the leaf is damaged |stage and for 6 weeks after transplanting to the |
| | |nursery. |
|Feckle or cercospora Leaf spot |The youngest leaves of nursery seedlings become |Application of fungicides (Dithane M 45 and benomyl|
| |infected and minute translucent spots surrounded |(Benlate). |
| |by yellowish-green haloes enlarge and become dark|Pruning of affected leaves |
| |brown | |
|Seedling Blast or curvularia leaf |Small, translucent yellow spot becoming |Treatment similar to cercospara leaf spot. |
|spot. |irregularly elongated along or between the veins.| |
|ii) Spear and Bud rots. |Median leaflets of the spear leaf are affected by|Disease not yet been sufficiently virulent to |
|Phytophthora spear Rot. |a rotting which varies greatly in intensity |require special control measures. |
|iii) Root Disease | |Provision of shade to reduce Blast incidence |
|Blast Disease |Affected seedlings lose their normal gloss and |Provision of irrigation substantially and |
| |become dull and flaccid, the leaf colour changes |significantly reduces the Blast incidence |
| |to olive to green, dull yellow, purple or umber |High standard nursery cultural practice. |
|3. Adult Palm | | |
|i) Leaf Diseases: |Infection takes place in the unopened spear leaf.|Pathological work not yet fully established and |
|Patch Yellows |Widespread defoliation |published |
|Coelaenonenodera minuta | |Application of insecticides and Evisect “s” |
|Crown Diseases |Crowns of oil palm leaves bent downwards in the |Pathological work not yet fully established and |
| |middle of the rachis |published |
|ii) Root and stem Diseases |Foliar symptoms are preceded by extensive bunch |Inoculation through root-dipping technique |
|Dry Basal Rot |and inflorescence rot | |
|4. Pests and Insects | | |
|Red Ring disease |Commonly found on unprotected and mismanaged |Regular sanitary and good plantation management |
|Arachnids (spiders, mites) |plantations | |
|Orthoptero (locusts) | | |
SOURCE: Compiled from C.W.S. Hartley, The Oil Palm, Tropical Agricultural Series, 1977
5.2.1.3 Livestock
The animal production system in all the rural smallholder stocks is based on traditional mixed backyard system where animals are left to scavenge for feed freely around households and on community garbage dumps with little feed supplementation and watering provided by women and children. This system unduly retards growth and productivity of livestock. There is no provision of shelter against inclement weather and conflict arises between livestock farming and crop farming due to the destruction of crops by livestock during the cropping season. Housing and confinement will stem the tide of crop destruction and reduce the risk and rate of losses suffered from predators, road accidents, and theft.
The poor genetic stock of local animals imposes restriction on their growth performance for high productivity and efficiency of production. There is the need to improve the genetic base of the stocks while retaining their innate adaptive and good qualities. This will be achieved through breed selection, breeding with improved selected sires or crossbreeding with high producing exotic genotype. Prevalence of epidemic infectious diseases such as PPR, parasitic and viral diseases such as trypanosomosis, dermatophilosis, gastrointestinal helminthiasis, tick borne diseases and anthrax, coccidiosis and Newcastle disease greatly reduce the productivity of livestock and poultry in Sierra Leone. Government veterinary services are not able to deliver adequate animal health services and the few veterinarians that are in the system are over-stretched. Consequently, there is the need for more intermediate manpower development in the animal health care sector.
The project therefore intends to improve husbandry practices, improvement upon the genetic base of the local livestock, improvement in the veterinary and animal health care delivery and improved accessibility to credit. Farmers will be educated on the importance of good animal husbandry practices, in particular housing and feeding. It is expected that there will be short-term refresher training on proper animal husbandry practices for livestock extension workers. Construction of simple low cost but adequate and well-ventilated housing and kraals for the animals will be demonstrated. Farmers will be exposed to feed conservation and diversified feed sources for their animals.
The main environmental implications of this component include:
i) possible overgrazing of grasslands;
ii) waste discharge, and
iii) infectious diseases.
iv) Overgrazing would cause or worsen soil erosion and endanger the ecological stability of surrounding forest areas.
5.2.2 Rural Market Infrastructure Improvement
Supporting infrastructure is needed to facilitate the commercialisation process. Fresh produce such as vegetables and fruits, which are perishable, require proper storage facilities (e.g. cold chains and cold rooms). The production of palm oil also requires as a prerequisite an expansion of nurseries. The capacity of existing nurseries needs to be improved and new nurseries established especially in areas where irrigation is being introduced or practiced. The possibility of private sector engagement in investing in support infrastructure of this kind also needs to be explored. This component is likely to ensure the long term viability of the commercial farming programme.
Commercial farming will require the support of farm mechanisation. Farmers will need access to rural finance as a prerequisite for purchasing, leasing or hiring machines and equipment. Efforts are also needed to strengthen the delivery of local level mechanisation services. Advisory support is also needed to strengthen local training relating to machinery and equipment use, e.g. plough setting, tractor driving, etc., and building the capacity of local repair service providers. It is expected that the programme will support the following actions:
▪ Physical construction of market places in communities, provision of access roads, telecommunication, ICT and GCNET facilities, freight forwarders and export/import facilities, custom and excise etc.
▪ Providing advisory support with respect to standards and evaluation of equipment and tractors.
▪ Setting up a mechanism to ensure that there is proper and effective coordination and collaboration between public institutions and private players in support of mechanisation. This should include initiation of consultative meetings between stakeholders (government, NGOs, local service providers, formal service providers and farmers) to improve coordination.
▪ Designing a training programme for potential commercial farmers in farm business management. The training would be designed to provide farmers with skills in farm planning and management and to make better decisions regarding whether to purchase a machine or equipment as an investment or, alternatively, whether to rent. The training will also cover operational aspects such as how best to maintain and make efficient use of the asset.
Anticipated constraints/impacts include:
▪ Physical barriers (poor physical infrastructure including rural access, facilities for collection and storage of agricultural products);
▪ Co-ordination failures amongst actors along the value chain that deny potential economies of scale and other opportunities for efficiency improvements, including distribution networks;
▪ Information asymmetries that skew bargaining power between agents along the supply chain and reduce competitiveness;
▪ Poor capacity at the individual and enterprise level to manage production, transport, distribution, retail, marketing, and export processes effectively and efficiently and consistent with market demands (in particular quality issues); and
▪ Low capacity among the relevant public institutions necessary to facilitate, promote and where necessary regulate various aspects of the supply/ value chain by providing necessary public goods and services (including a regulatory capacity).
5.2.3 Knowledge Management and Technical Assistance
A major challenge in Sierra Leone is to change the mindset of smallholder farmers to become more commercially oriented and to provide income opportunities for the migrants and the vulnerable. In order to achieve this goal assets and employment opportunities need to be created. Marginal farmers should be provided with the means to generate sustainable family incomes. Off-farm activities appear as a supportive strategy for land based interventions to provide income and employment for the poor. Livelihood diversification interventions could, for example, focus on the promotion of smallholder livestock whilst identifying ways of increasing value added. The promotion of pig rearing and fattening, back-yard poultry, and semi intensive sheep and goat production could be encouraged as income diversifying and risk reducing strategies for small scale farmers. The livestock based income generating strategies should also aim at maintaining the complementarity between crops and livestock in productive ways to ensure long-term sustainability through integrated, mixed crop-livestock systems. The initiative should concurrently encourage increased commercialisation and intensification of livestock husbandry.
The component can be addressed through understanding the livelihood systems of the rural community, identifying potential enterprises for introduction into the farming system, realigning the support service delivery system to enhance its capacity to deliver quality services that respond to farmer needs, and provide farmers with training in rural enterprise development and in establishing linkages with the private sector. Through these efforts, farm incomes and food security in the assisted provinces and districts could be increased.
The project is expected to create various employment opportunities for local farmers. This is expected to impact positively on people by providing job avenues for high income. There will also be increased employment and income for adjoining activities due largely to the improvements in infrastructure, aesthetics, land and property values in the vicinity of the project.
In order to have the right caliber of manpower to meet the expected improvements, this intervention will provide training to farmers associated with producer organisations as well as developing the capacity of advisory service providers both through the public and private sectors. Training programmes will be designed in farm business management, post harvest handling, marketing and value addition. The training will aim at increasing the capacity of farmers to better manage their farm business. Exchange visits for farmers should also be promoted for farmer-to-farmer and organisation-to-organisation learning.
No negative impacts are anticipated in the short term. However, low staff motivation after their training may result in high staff turnover.
5.3 Component B: Agricultural Export Promotion Impacts
This component will provide tools and services for promoting agricultural exports of traditional and non-traditional products such as cocoa, cashew, oil palm, cassava and ginger. The component will support a pilot export promotion initiative for these commodities identified as promising for export by the DTIS. Target beneficiaries include agricultural producers, agricultural exporters and other private enterprises. Agricultural export promotion per se will not have any adverse significant impact on the environment. It could rather be a medium through which sound and sustainable agricultural practices could be introduced through eco labeling, and quality assurance.
5.3.1 Upgrading and Creation of Market and Export Infrastructure
Market and export infrastructure, comprising rural roads, markets, irrigation systems, water supply, health and educational facilities, are basic to quality of life in rural areas and are important factors in economic development. Even though the statistical reporting systems are weak, there is evidence to suggest that such key rural infrastructure necessary to accelerate economic growth are generally below the levels that will promote appreciable levels of economic activity in the project area. This suggests that the level of deprivation is high especially in the project communities, requiring some attention.
The feeder road system for example, collects traffic from mainly the rural communities, farm gates and production centers onto trunk roads for further distribution. The feeder road infrastructure supports socio-economic activities effectively in order to ensure that rural and farming communities’ transport needs are adequately met. The system provides access to farm gates and markets, schools, clinics and other social facilities in order to ensure competitive and stable prices for their produce by minimizing the transport cost for both export and internal consumption. The programme will also support Government’s efforts to reduce the incidence of poverty, alleviate disparities in incomes, improve standards of living between the rural and urban areas and to raise the quality of life through improvement in access to social services and economic opportunities to improve household incomes.
The upgrading and creation of market and export infrastructure could result in initial short term constructional impacts. These temporary impacts include air pollution, water pollution, occupational health and safety problems, noise and vibration. The main sources of noise for example, will be the operation of heavy equipment to be used for land clearing. Workers operating such machinery will be exposed to risks such as impaired hearing (from noise). However the impacts would be temporary and should not culminate into lasting effects.
One other factor worth discussing is the choice of siting the export facility. Because agriculture has typically been studied as an opportunity, the consequences of its demise are less well understood. It is assumed that small and large growers are able to switch between annual crops fairly easily to take advantage of new opportunities. It is more difficult for perennial crop growers where there can be several years between planting and harvest. This is one reason slumps in coffee and cocoa prices have had a serious impact on economic development in parts of Central America and West Africa, and the survival strategies adopted by many farmers highlight the need to consider livelihood diversity as an aspect of sustainability.
Small growers of crops such as vegetables, cashew and ginger can find themselves forced out of export markets (and even domestic ones) by regulations relating to food safety, and intellectual property rights. Where small growers are able to compete with plantations or commercial farms (e.g. cocoa, oil palm), the land-holder may be relatively wealthy and it is sharecroppers and labourers who are the real poor. Indeed, in some cases commercialisation of agriculture has worsened the plight of the poor by, for instance, depriving them of land rights and reducing the amount of land, time or financial capital available for subsistence farming
5.3.2 Technical Assistance for Product Development and Adaptation, Proactive Marketing and Compliance with Quality and Phytosanitary Standards
Mechanization and agro-chemicals pose short and long-term risks to worker health and safety that without adequate risk prevention, medical facilities, insurance and training can have negative economic impacts at the household level. Long hours, especially during peak periods which often create a demand for child labor, are a feature of agriculture that on the one hand provide opportunities to earn additional income, but on the other if excessive or too frequent can mean fewer jobs are created as well as putting over-worked employees at physical risk.
5.3.3 Market information System
Fair prices and price stability are only one aspect of trading relations that might promote economic development. Access to market information is important so that farmers can decide when to sell and how to negotiate. Timely payment can prevent farmers seeking credit to cover operational costs, and longer-term contracts can help them develop more efficient, longer term investment strategies. There is also evidence that another benefit from stable relationships with buyers is that growers gain access to national and international peer networks (resulting for instance in improved market access and productivity gains), and build up degrees of trust that reduce transaction costs.
5.4 Component C: Improved Agricultural Technology and Services
Majority of Sierra Leonean farmers still use shifting cultivation and bush burning for land clearing and use simple tools like hoes and cutlasses, thus limiting the area under cultivation. These practices are responsible for severe yield reduction due to delayed operations such as planting, weeding, harvesting, transport and storage. Furthermore, the slash and burn system is responsible for gradual soil degradation and declining soil fertility. Conservation agriculture is seen as a practice that reduces soil erosion, improves soil fertility and reduces production costs through reduction in external inputs and service costs in farming operations.
It is expected that at the end of the project (i) community and public awareness in modern agricultural practices would have been created (ii) suitable agriculture technologies screened (iii) conservation agriculture technologies validated and promoted (iv) capabilities of extension staff of MAFs and other stakeholders to introduce and promote mechanised conservation agriculture enhanced (v) mechanized conservation agriculture technologies exchanged and (vi) training manuals for mechanised conservation agriculture developed.
The project will also provide technical assistance, training, operational support, and matching grants to implement these activities. Matching grants will support the initial acquisition of improved plant materials, investment in innovative small-scale irrigation infrastructure and investments in private seed farming. The operational support will be directed through decentralized public services providing demonstration and advisory services, either through public or private service provision.
There have been numerous technological advances in areas such as plant breeding, agricultural machinery, agro-processing, environmental management and storage that have increased agricultural productivity. Access to technologies is uneven and can have negative economic consequences. For example, a recurring theme in agricultural development has been the lack of appropriate, affordable technologies for small growers. The ‘green revolution’, while undoubtedly increasing rice yields, drastically altered land-ownership in Java, and today enforcement of plant breeders’ rights as part of international trade agreements is depriving some small growers in East Africa of access to export-quality planting materials. However, small growers can also be responsive to new technologies and market opportunities. For example, in Uganda they responded quickly to the demand for organic cotton and the health food sector’s demand for dried organic fruit.
5.4.1 Demonstration and introduction of Improved Technologies
The positive impacts of beneficiary awareness campaigns far more outweigh the negative impacts. Awareness created will help the beneficiary communities understand the project concept. Participation by individual farmers to make the project successful will be enhanced. Training, demonstration and introduction of Improved technologies will have very minimal to no adverse impacts on the environment.
Training workshops will help the beneficiaries to develop their social life, acquire general knowledge in wildfire, forestry management, health and enhance their record keeping and financial management as outlined in the project document.
5.4.2 Creation of Legally-Registered Farmer Organizations, Agribusinesses, Marketing Entities, and other Rural Businesses,
Producer organisations are a way of increasing farmers’ capacity to better manage their farm businesses. As a group, farmers will be better able to negotiate for better product and input prices as well as facilitate the distribution of inputs, marketing of outputs and the dissemination of agricultural technologies. Farmers could be organized into groups on a commodity basis in order to enjoy economies of scale and reduce transaction costs.
A pre-requisite for contract farming is also the organisation of smallholders into farmer associations. Farmers, through better organisation, have a greater potential to identify buyers for their produce and arrange for delivery to markets. This, however, requires strong extension service support in a number of subject areas:
i) identifying buyers and providing information on product prices, terms and conditions;
ii) organising farmers to sell produce to buyers or market centres;
iii) organising farmers to assemble their produce in a central location to make it attractive for buyers to visit the farming community.
The creation of legally-registered farmer organizations, agribusinesses, marketing entities, and other rural businesses will have positive impacts.
5.4.3 Public and Private Rural Advisory Services, Decentralized to the District Level
Decentralization of Public and Private Rural Advisory Services to the District level is a component of Government’s Strategy which will benefit rural farmers, both men and women.
5.4.4 Studies in Strategic Areas (Rehabilitation of Agricultural Research, Export Promotion)
These studies will promote agricultural output by making available to farmers new and improved plant varieties and export avenues. This will generally have positive impacts but the long-term implications must be considered as part of the normal monitoring mechanism.
5.5 Component D: Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation Impacts
This intervention is mainly to support the implementation of programmes under the project. It involves strengthening data collection and management capacity, strengthening skills for promoting agri-business, and the establishment of provincial and district capacity for policy co-ordinating, budgeting etc. It will therefore have no adverse impacts on the environment.
5.6 General Intersectoral Impacts
5.6.1 Gender
The inter-relationships between men and women; boys and girls in households predominantly engaged in agriculture are generally determined by traditions and stereotyped roles for the sexes. There are indications from various studies undertaken[1] that inequity exists within the agricultural sector which impede the equal contribution of men and women to agricultural attainments. The traditions include land tenure systems that do not favour land ownership by women; practices that discourage women from owning certain types of livestock (e.g. cattle) and unequal distribution of household chores. These not withstanding there is an increasing number of women engaged in the poultry rearing industry where rural women mainly rear small scale free-range chickens while urban women are more involved in medium scale poultry production.
Predominantly a women’s activity, agro-processing is still done by traditional methods on a wide scale. The need to empower the women through better economic opportunities and more efficient ways of carrying out the household chores and reducing drudgery cannot be over-emphasised. Women bear a greater responsibility in feeding the family and as the traditional set-up imposes certain limitations on them, there is the need to build their capacity especially in agro processing, trade and easy access to potable water, where they have the comparative advantage in terms of skills so that they can adequately support their families.
5.6.2 HIV/AIDS
Large sections of Sierra Leonean communities have inadequate understanding of the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on food security and therefore, stigmatisation of households affected by HIV/AIDS is rife. Neighbours privy to the sero-status of infected community members frequently marginalise affected families, a situation which poses challenges to organisations responsible for the protection and promotion of nutrition and food security in many societies in Sierra Leone. The development of programmes that ensure diligent confidentiality which encourage Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) in rural areas can ensure appropriate targeting of vulnerable households and individuals to promote suitable nutrition for the affected. The welfare of vulnerable households can be further assured with the integration of safety net interventions and effective nutritional health education strategies that recognize household resource management as a pivot to equitable family food security.
5.6.3 Macro-level Impacts
Economic impact tends to be analyzed at two separate levels, the macro and the micro. Macro level indicators are widely used by economists and underpin many national and regional agricultural policies. Studies of economic impact at this level have shown not only that agriculture contributes significantly to national economies in poor countries, but that even in industrializing economies, agriculture remains important for poor people. In most developing countries, the majority of the poor depend on agriculture, and increases in agriculture income are an important indicator that economic growth is benefiting the poor. Even in fast growing economies such as China, growth in incomes from agriculture was evident before industrial growth.
5.6.4 Pro-poor impact
There is wider recognition that not all economic growth is ‘pro-poor’ growth. Agri-business can play a significant role in more inclusive growth by providing a market for the poor’s produce, by promoting greater productivity, and by making food and other agricultural produce available to the poor. Given the high proportion of poor people’s income spent on food, anything that affects price and availability is likely to have a positive economic impact on their lives.
5.6.5 Non-financial remuneration
The above is not to imply that agriculture employment is always exploitative, only to highlight some of the difficulties in understanding its relationship to economic development. Even wages may not be an indicator of economic impact. Family labor, remunerated through access to land and rights to social capital as much as through money, remains important in many regions, and to an extent explains the expectations of a paternalistic relationship some workers have as commercial growers. For example, amongst Ghana’s small pineapple growers employment on a neighbor’s farm is a form of apprenticeship, a way of staking a claim to land, a source of income, and a way of obtaining food and shelter, and although wages are lower on such farms compared to nearby commercial farms, the combination of benefits is preferred by some local people. Such situations are likely to arise under the project and these must be noted and extended.
5.6.6 Migrants
Most migrant workers come voluntarily to fill the demand for labor that cannot be met locally. The economic impact of such employment is probably most readily noticed in their home communities, and migrants may not benefit from advancements in the farming communities themselves. For instance, the squalid conditions of migrants farmers in Ghana is in part because they remit most of their earnings to their home villages.
5.7 Summary of Project Impacts
Weighing the general impacts of the project it can be discerned that positive impacts both socially and environmentally will outweigh negative impacts in the long term. The implication is that the participating communities and the country as a whole would benefit immensely.
With reference to the social and environmental matrix provided in Table 3, it could be seen generally that the project has few significant impacts on the social and physical environment. Issues of significant impacts as discussed earlier include the following:
5.7.1 Surface Water
Water bodies are generally used as sources of potable water by most rural communities in the country. A number of project activities are envisaged to impact on the streams/rivers in the project area. These include the construction of selected feeder roads, establishment of nurseries for cocoa and other tree crops, and the application of agrochemicals:
The construction of feeder roads will certainly involve the use of heavy machines that will create loose soil particles and flora debris. These under very heavy downpour depending on the exact location of road could lead to siltation and clogging of nearby water bodies. Additionally the roads themselves will be subjected to erosion and could end up silting the rivers. The heavy earth moving machines to be used during the construction process could accidentally spill oil, which could find its way into water bodies and the quality of the water will thereby be impaired.
The establishment of nurseries establishment entails clearing the land and this not only predisposes the site to erosion but exposes it also to the direct effect of sunlight, which in turn may exacerbate evaporation. Eroded soil particles would eventually find their way into water bodies ultimately affecting the physical and chemical characteristics of the water bodies.
Pesticides use at the nursery and on farms cannot be ruled out in the event of pest attack. These chemicals if misapplied or if accidentally spilled could find their way into the waters leading to pollution. In addition aquatic flora and fauna could be impacted upon negatively.
5.7.2 Air Quality
It is envisaged that local air quality could be temporarily and negatively affected by particular activities associated with the project. These are basically the construction of the feeder roads and spraying with Agrochemicals (weedicides/ pesticides)
The major impact on air quality is dust emission, which could lead to respiratory problems of animals and humans with continuous exposure. Another effect is its temporary impact on visibility of the vicinity of the roads being constructed. With the use of constructional machines, which invariably use diesel as sources of energy, CO2, NOx, SOx and CO could temporally pollute the ambient air.
The quality of air within areas being sprayed with the chemicals could be negatively affected through emissions of fine particles (vaporized agro-chemicals), which could invariably lead to bad odour. The area of the impact is usually localized but under windy conditions the chemicals may be blown over a longer distance affecting the quality of air there.
5.7.3 Flora and Fauna
The implementation of the project will carry with it a wide variety of negative impacts on flora and fauna.
Land preparation and clearing process and construction may destroy all kinds of plant. Habitats of some wild species of animals may be destroyed in addition to the destruction of some sedentary and near sedentary animals.
Dust particles generated during the construction and haulage of seedlings and other agricultural inputs on gravelled roads could lead to long term exposure of fauna species (humans and wildlife) and consequently lead to respiratory disorders in them. The plants impacted upon by the dust particles will have their photosynthesis disrupted through blockage of their stomata and consequently lead to poor plant growth and yield.
The application of agrochemicals in general stands to distort the ecological balance of the area through the disruption of the existing food chain. Human beings may develop complications either from drinking water that is polluted or from consuming contaminated food items by agrochemicals.
CHAPTER SIX
6. MITIGATION MEASURES
This chapter provides some proposals for mitigation of significant adverse impacts identified in the previous chapter and plans for ongoing management of the project to ensure that environmental impacts will be kept to the minimum throughout the lifetime of the project. The summary of project social and environmental impacts for which mitigation measures have been provided include the following:
▪ Surface Water management:
▪ Air Quality management:
▪ Management of Flora and Fauna:
▪ Management of Socio-economic impacts:
▪ Occupational Health and Safety:
▪ Land Management and Soil Erosion control
▪ Training and Capacity Building
▪ Sustainable Forest Plantation Management
▪ Improved Food Security
▪ Agro processing Chemicals Control and management
▪ Improved Crop Protection and Regulatory Unit
▪ Livestock Management
▪ Pricing of Agric Products
▪ Rural or Feeder Road Construction.
▪ Land Acquisition and Siting
▪ Public Involvement
▪ Project Management Support
6.1 Surface Water Management
The road contractor will be advised to ensure that the road is compacted with rollers and watering done regularly to avoid siltation/clogging of nearby water bodies from surface run-off. The road contractor is expected to construct side drains to help check the effect of storm water. The project will make funds available for regular road maintenance.
All heavy earth-moving machines engaged in constructional activities will be checked and serviced regularly to avoid accidental oil spillage, which might end up polluting surface water.
To prevent excessive evaporation, the nurseries will be sited at reasonable distances from inland water bodies. This is to ensure that enough vegetation is left as a buffer to provide shade for the water bodies. It will in addition help prevent loose soil particles from being washed into nearby water bodies.
In assessing the hazards of chemicals, the most important considerations are the toxicology of the agrochemical, their physical and chemical properties (volatility, solubility, stability) and routes by which organisms may be exposed to them. There are serious implications associated with releases of residual agrochemicals to surface and ground water. In the light of the above all agrochemicals will be handled and stored with the most care since poor handling and storage can cause pollution or affect yield. Their application will be done under the manufacturer’s specification and the applicant shall be clothed adequately with personal protection equipment (PPE) eg. Masks, Wellington boots, Overalls Extension officers will be engaged to train and supervise farmers in any chemical application (weedicides and insecticides) that might become necessary in the course of the project implementation.
6.2 Air Quality Management
Dust emission will be more pronounced during land preparation and clearing stages. Traffic flows on the feeder roads either for the supply of agricultural inputs or haulage of harvested crops is expected to add to dust emission. A wide range of respiratory diseases, including pulmonary fibrosis, obstructive lung disease, allergy and lung cancer could arise if dust is not properly controlled. Fortunately, all these sources will be minimal and intermittent. Regular watering as stated in the previous section will be applied to check dust emission. In addition, the use of protective devices such as nose masks, helmets and goggles will be strictly enforced.
Pollution of the project area of influence from vaporized agro-chemicals will be checked through proper handling and application. All necessary protective gadgets and clothing will be made available to farmers after they have been given the needed training.
6.3 Management of Flora and Fauna
Regular watering of the feeder roads will help reduce the effect of dust on photosynthesis and crop yield.
The effect of chemical usage on the lives of organisms in the project area is not expected to be significant. Timing will be considered seriously in any chemical application that might be done.
6.4 Management of Socio-economic Impacts
Influx of traders and middlemen to the participating communities is expected to rise as farmers begin to harvest their farm produce. The project will therefore put in place proper local marketing procedures to avoid being overwhelmed by middlemen and other traders.
Small-scale businesses are likely to spring up when farmers raise their capitals from sale of food crops. With time, social vices may increase in the communities. Measures will therefore be put in place to check the activities of both land encroachers and criminals.
6.5 Occupational Health and Safety
Farming activities have several health implications for the people involved. Snakebites, cutlass wounds, eye and lung infections cannot be ruled out. Measures to be taken to address these include:
i. Establishment of Community Based Health Planning Services (CHPS) existing in some of the major communities should be extended to the rest of the communities to provide mobile health centers periodically.
ii. Due to the absence of established health centers, First Aid Activities should form part of all the training programmes related to the project.
iii. In the medium term, health centers should be established in the major communities.
iv. Mobility of health personnel should be improved. This include provision of motor bikes, Four Wheel Drive vehicles,, ambulances etc
v. Appropriate accommodation should be provided to entice health workers into the otherwise deprived and inaccessible areas.
vi. Road network should be improved to enhance health accessibility and delivery.
vii. Traditional herbalist in the localities should be identified, licensed and offered enhanced training to facilitate their health delivery services.
viii. Provision of protective clothing at the onset of the project and reinforcement/replacement seasonally e.g. safety boots, hand gloves, raincoats etc.
6.6 Land Management and Soil Erosion control
Land allocation should be monitored throughout the project implementation to eliminate middlemen.
i. In the immediate term, all land disputes must be identified and resolved completely.
ii. The role of Chiefs/Traditional rulers in land ownership should be well established to prevent unforeseen disputes.
iii. Appropriate farming practices should recommended improving land and watering management.
iv. Training and Capacity
v. Avoid indiscriminate bush burning
vi. Introduction of terracing and contour planting on steep slopes.
vii. Buffer creation along watercourses to prevent siltation of streams from soil erosion.
6.7 Training and Capacity Building
Training and Capacity Building should be mandatory for participants, irrespective of position in the society.
i. Training programmes should be project specific.
ii. Training modules should correspond with the need of the various phases of project implementation.
iii. Capacity Building must address identified needs of the beneficiaries
6.8 Sustainable Forest Plantation Management
1. Provision of viable planting materials (e.g. seeds, stocks etc.) must be provided at the right time to obtain quality/vibrant seedlings.
2. Establishment of the nurseries should take cognizance of the planting season to avoid over maturing of seedlings before planting.
3. Planting should be done at the right time and all management practices applied. E.g. weed control, pests and diseases control, fertilizer application etc.
6.9 Improved Food Security
In the short term, food production is expected to increase and mitigation measures should include:
▪ Provision of improved storage facilities
▪ Processing of farm produce e.g. Garri, maize grits/flour etc.
▪ Training in storage techniques should be included in the training schemes.
▪ Access roads to marketing centers or routes should be improved or provided.
▪ In the long term, processing of dominant produce from the alternative livelihood schemes should be considered snails, mushroom etc.
6.10 Agro-processing Chemicals Control and Management
These wastes will be controlled or treated with standard mitigation measures. For example, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices currently used by the Crops Division of MAFs will be improved at the Provincial and District levels. Cleaning and cooling water will be sterilized and recycled. Sanitary wastes will be treated in septic tanks. Organic solid wastes will be used as stock feed or fertilizer. On balance, these enterprises are unlikely to have a significant impact on the surrounding environment. Project level EIA recommended.
Vaporised Agro-chemicals have properties that are potentially harmful to man and to many beneficial species. In assessing the hazards to men the most important considerations are the toxicology of the agro-chemicals, its physical and chemicals properties (volatility, solubility, stability, etc.) and the routes by which humans and animals may be exposed to it. These may include exposure of third parties or workers following spillage or other accidents, from exposure during spraying, or contact with used containers.
In order to ensure sound management of pesticides through regular monitoring, inspection and training, it is proposed to strengthen the existing Crops Division of MAFs. The expected interventions include the provision of training courses for pesticide dealers and applicators and extension personnel/ inspectors; and the provision of equipment and laboratory to conduct sample analyses and field monitoring. Other interventions include the organisation of educational programmes on the safe and efficient use of pesticides, and the establishment of pesticide data banks
In the long term, it is expected that there will be over-use and misuse of pesticides. This would have negative impacts on the environment. These impacts could be avoided if the training is environmentally sensitive. Beneficiaries of the training package should concentrate mostly on pesticide dealers and Farmer Associations. Other agencies should also benefit from such training
The following measures would avoid potential problems related to agro-chemical use:
1. Use more effective, low-toxicity, nonresidual pesticides;
2. Provide technical training to farmers, especially in relation to integrated pest management;
3. Apply the relevant standards on pesticide formulation, dosage rates, application methods, safe interval periods, and maximum permissible residue levels;
4. Farm plantation management should closely supervise safety procedures, and should prescribe safe handling and application methods, dosage, timing, frequency of application, disposal of surpluses, packing materials, and cleaning of equipment;
5. Fertilizers should be applied in split dosage to minimize losses, e.g., annual dosage to be split into 3-4 applications; the use of slow-release fertilizers would be preferable from an environmental point of view;
6. Judicious application of fertilizers (as practiced around the stem of the palm) greatly reduces the runoff and seepage of residues into drains;
7. Circular weeding around the stem base greatly reduces the residual runoff of herbicide residues into drains; the blanket spraying of herbicides should be avoided;
8. Maintenance of soil cover reduces runoff and leaching of chemical residue into drains; the spillage of herbicides in drains should be avoided;
9. Timing, climate (wind direction, rains) and season should be taken into account in foliar spraying of agro-chemicals;
10. Regular clearing (preferably manual or mechanical) of drains would avoid the accumulation of excessive weeds and the creation of breeding sites for mosquitoes;
11. Selection of pesticides, consideration should be given to the acute and residual toxicity, the rate of degradation in soil and water, and the toxicity of degraded components;
12. National laws pertaining to prohibited chemicals, and guidelines on pesticides should be followed;
13. Monitoring of water quality by testing from physico-chemical changes in the water and pesticide residues to be included in the EMP; existing water quality standards as set for the uses by the agencies should apply;
14. Chemicals for pest and disease control should only be used when the outbreak has reached the threshold level. If applications are necessary, judicial usage of the right chemical at the correct concentration and in the correct manner should be practiced.
|Date |Chemical Used |Area Covered |Quantity Used |Quantity Left (Stock) |Name of Sprayer |
| | | | | | |
Note: these depend on the recommended dosage specified by the chemical companies in the safety data sheet..
The application of agro-chemicals will be carried out under manufacturer’s specification and the applicants shall be clothed adequately with personal protection equipment (PPE). Management will ensure that the workers use these protection equipment (e.g. masks, Wellington boots, uniform etc
6.11 Livestock Management
To mitigate against this impact, supplemental feeding using crop straw and agricultural by-products should be supported under the Project. Wastewater from intensive livestock farms comprises urine, feces, flushing water from the pens, and sanitary wastes from the farm workers Such wastes are high in organic matter, ammonium, and malodorous gases.
To mitigate the potentially harmful discharge of such wastes to the environment, wastewater will either be treated in septic tanks, and the treated water released to field irrigation, or sent directly to fermentation tanks to produce methane gas. Solid wastes include excrement, feed residues, solid wastes from personnel, and boiler cinders. The organic solid wastes, after drying, can be used as fertilizer, or could be added to the fermentation tanks for methane production. The small amount of boiler cinders can be used for road surfacing. To overcome the odor problems, proper ventilation of gases is needed and pens should be at least 200 m away from residential areas.
6.12 Pricing of Agric Products
The price paid to suppliers is clearly a major part of the economic impact of sourcing, and sections of the agriculture industry have been criticized for paying prices less than the cost of production or encouraging systems where middle men exploit small growers. Many free trade advocates argue that low prices are a result of interference in markets that encourage misplaced investments and prevent growers from receiving a proper return on their investment. As mitigation measures, therefore, the project management will introduce safety nets that guarantee a minimum price, and the domestic private sector will be encouraged to invest in inventory credit and similar systems that can smooth prices in the market, improve grower incomes and credit access, and reduce food losses. There is a long, well-documented history of mistrust between growers and vendors revolving around issues such as price fixing, grading and weighing. In some cases, simple steps such as accurate measurement scales or improved packing have had positive impacts in terms of financial and social capital. In other instances such as those involving major commodity traders, only lengthy legal action initiated by government agencies has stopped practices that have a negative economic impact on producers. The above recommended measures should avoid such legal actions.
6.13 Rural or Feeder Road Construction
The stabilization of embankments by mechanical compacting and revegetation soon after construction will avoid erosion along the side of the roads. The installation of culverts, bridges, and other civil works will avoid disruption of surface hydrology and natural drainage.
Mitigation measures to be implemented during the construction of the roads include:
▪ avoiding pollution of soils, water, and air by effluents or emissions from construction equipment;
▪ providing adequate sanitary and waste disposal facilities in labor camps and affected communities;
▪ filling in and landscaping the borrow pits, which may become breeding sites for animal vectors for human diseases; providing prophylactic and curative drugs for laborers exposed to such vectors; and
▪ providing compensation for the loss of land and land uses, including crops. The allocations for these measures should be included in the budget for the road construction. Standard national road design and construction safety guidelines of the road sector should be applied.
6.14 Land Acquisition and Siting
An important first impact in many locations is the acquisition of land. Land purchases that are regarded as unjust are common in many developing countries. In addition to creating a legacy of bitterness that may last for generations, they can disrupt economic development by forcing local people out of traditional economic activities, creating cultures of dependency between communities and the company, discouraging productivity, and fomenting instability and corruption. In contrast, where land is acquired in ways that local communities regard as fair, this can have a positive effect by encouraging a sense of common interest and enabling the company to build strong social capital. The decision to build a facility for growing and processing generates opportunities for construction and service providers, and companies make choices about how much such contracts will contribute to local economies. Therefore, in considering economic impacts we should be aware of the different implications of technologies where all parts and expertise are imported compared to those that have a greater local component or those where there is a clear strategy to increase local inputs over time.
6.15 Public Involvement
During the design of the Project, efforts have been made to involve participation of the beneficiaries in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the project. A social base line survey outlining key issues for public involvement has been conducted, and a plan for indigenous peoples has been prepared. Additional efforts to involve the public in a more active way are required. The personnel given the task to implement the Project must be trained in development communications to be able to know how to communicate with the community effectively. During the planning and implementation phases, considerable time needs to be allowed to explain verbally the concept and objectives of the Project to the people, especially when the majority of them are illiterate. Dialogue, meetings and group discussions should be held with the local community leaders, the longhouse committee, influential people, younger members of the community and the more reticent members of the community. During these functions, the concept, objectives and benefits of the Project, target dates, work mechanisms and work schedules should be discussed and agreed upon. During implementation of the Project authorized staff (scheme manager) should discuss work programs and targets for the month or year with the people, particularly women.
6.16 Project Management Support
To ensure positive impacts of the project management support, all supplies must be done timely at every stage of the project implementation. All supplies should be monitored to ensure that they get to the intended beneficiaries. Support should be revived periodically to cater for emerging needs and also to identify and eliminate wastage.
CHAPTER SEVEN
7. Monitoring Plan
Results of the social and environmental impacts that were predicted suggest monitoring programmes that will provide additional data for further refinement of the mitigation measures proposed. The monitoring programme will track the performance of the various components of the project.
7.1 Surface Water
It is proposed that surface water monitoring will be conducted on a quarterly basis for all the water bodies identified in the project area. Parameters such as pH, conductivity, turbidity and suspended solids will be analyzed from samples collected. Other factors will include dissolved oxygen, nutrients, COD, BOD and total faecal coliform bacteria. Sampling and analysis of run-off water will also be carried out to ensure early detection of agro-chemical contamination. Results of analysis shall be compared with international standards in order to make an informed decision.
7.2 Air Quality
Air quality monitoring will be conducted at the project site at least once every quarter within the project area of influence. This will only involve measurement of dust levels using dust deposit gauges. In addition to helping to safeguard the health of organisms including humans, dust levels will be used as a guide for road and foot track maintenance.
7.3 Erosion and Sediment Control
Erosion and sediment loss will be monitored through regular inspection of project area especially access roads and foot tracks. Visual assessment conducted on routine basis will provide evidence of where control measures need to be implemented. Re-vegetation or maintenance of any disturbed area will be implemented as soon as safe and practicable. Table 4.shows the proposed monitoring programme.
Table 4: Proposed Environmental Monitoring Program
|Environmental Segment |Monitoring Items/Indicators |Monitoring Frequency|Layout of Monitoring Points |
|Air Quality |SO2, TSP, dust, other pollutants |Twice a year. |Around agro-processing plants |
|Surface Water Quality |Temp., pH, SS, total hardness, DO, |Twice a year. |Monitoring cross sections on each|
| |permanganate index, BOD5, NH3, nitrate, | |river upstream and downstream of |
| |phenol, cyanide, chloride, arsenic, Cr6+, Cu, | |the discharge locations. |
| |oil, pesticides, fluoride. | | |
|Small Scale Irrigation Water |Flow, temp., pH, chloride, S, Hg, Arsenic(As),|Twice a year. |Observation points at head works |
| |Cr, Cu, Zn, fluoride, cyanide, oil, volatile | |and middle section of the main |
| |phenol | |canal. |
|Soils |Cd, Pb, Mercury (Hg), As, Zn, Cr, pH, F, |Twice a year. |Observation points on farmland |
| |chloride, pesticide residues | |around potentially polluting |
| | | |agro-processing plants. |
|Crops, Fruit and Vegetables |Chemical fertilizer, pesticide residuals, and |Once a year. |Crops collected from areas around|
| |pollutant residuals | |monitored plants |
|Sanitary Wastewater Discharges|Flow rates, pH, COD, BOD, SS |Once a day, for 3 |Discharge point |
| | |days each month | |
|Intensive Livestock Farms |PH, SS, BOD, COD, NH3-N, Flow rate. |For three |General drainage outlet from farm|
|Wastewater Discharge | |consecutive days | |
| | |each month. | |
|Fruit and Vegetable Processing|Flow rate, pH, SS, chloride, COD. |For three |Drainage outlet for whole plant. |
|Wastewater Discharge | |consecutive days | |
| | |each month. | |
|Other Agro-processing |Flow rate, pH, SS, BOD, COD, soluble total |For three |Drainage outlet for whole plant. |
|Wastewater Discharges |solids |consecutive days | |
| | |each month. | |
|Noise |Leq (equivalent audible weighted sound level) |Once each season |Source, plant boundary and |
| | | |surroundings |
7.4 Costs of Mitigation Measures
Impact mitigation and management costs money and it is obligatory for the project implementers to make available funds for such measures. A summary of some of the important cost lines for mitigation is shown in Table …… below.
Summary of Costs of Mitigation Measures
|Proposed Mitigation |Cost of Mitigation |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
7.5 Checklist for Monitoring
A checklist to assess the rate of progress of the project should include the following:
• Rate of progress of the project
• Performance of participants
• Institutional performance
• Water bodies
• Livelihood schemes
• Administration of the fund
• Biodiversity (flora and fauna)
• Socio-economic activities
• Infrastructural development
• Roads development
• Incidence of wildfire
7.6 Community Responsibilities and Involvement
The performance of the participating communities could be monitored through the following identifiable roles and responsibilities:
• Land preparation
• Nursery establishment
• Planting
• Cultural practices (weed, pest and disease control fertilizer application)
• Wildfire control
• Control mechanisms against illegal harvesting
7.7 Role of Stakeholders
The role of the stakeholders could be assess through the following:
• Each institution should develop their respective monitoring and work plans
• Identifying individual specific roles
• Budgeting, expenditure and auditing annually
• Establish reporting channels
• Effective consultation and collaborative programmes
• Satisfactory deployment of equipment and personnel for adequate programmes
• Achievement of target set in the work plan
7.8 Household Incomes
The following indicators could measure changes in household income:
• Current total household incomes
• Number/size of shops acquired
• Number of new houses built
• Number of cars bought
• Number of schools
• School enrolment and level of educational status reached
• Number of children acquiring vocational skills
• Types and patterns of prevalent diseases
• Literacy level
• Improvement in social amenities eg boreholes, schools, electricity, post office, communication centers etc.
• Improvement in road network
7.9 Rehabilitation and Maintenance of Feeder Roads and Tracks
This will improve transportation, movement of people and goods and general communication links. Improvement in access to schools, medical facilities, social gatherings etc.
However the influx of wokers could lead to:
• Social vices such as sexual promiscuity, robbery etc.
• Quality of forest reserve could be disturbed as noise from road equipment and users will scare off wildlife.
• Vegetation loss will be inevitable.
• Siltation of water bodies as a result of road rehabilitation works could lead to water quality, quantity and river flow problems.
7.10 Publication of Leaflets, Handbooks and Guidelines
• Posters should be considered alongside the publication of Leaflets, Handbooks and Guidelines
• Contents of publication must be rich in pictures.
• The content of the publication should easily be understood and if possible should run pre-publication trials in the target localities.
• Content should be rich in local examples.
7.11 Nursery Establishment and Laboratory Equipment
Nursery should be upgraded or reviewed periodically in other to include:
i. Indigenous species
ii. Rare medicinal species
iii. To attract wider varieties of wildlife into the rehabilitated forest.
iv. To diversify the economic importance of the forest.
Similarly, the laboratory equipment should also be upgraded periodically to enhance the expected nursery activities.
7.12 Training Courses on Nursery Establishment and Management
Training courses on nursery establishment and management should be revised periodically to cater for emerging issues associated with the project implementation. Frequency of the courses should be regular eg. annually to ensure adequate understanding of the beneficiaries.
There should be monitoring programmes to evaluate and ensure proper adaptation of the project concept.
7.13 Timing and Phasing of Activities
For successful implementation of the project timing and phasing of activities should depend on the following:
• Sensitization phase and the readiness of the participants.
• Supply of input duration
• Periodic review of project cycles.
7.14 Financing and Costs
For judicious and sustainable funding of the project, monitoring plans for financial and cost activities may include the following:
• Budgeting and release of funds should meet certain criteria e.g. time frames, justification etc.
• Review of audit reports
• Disbursement surveys must be conducted among participating farmers periodically.
7.15 Reporting
For effective coordination of activities and streamlining of activities, reporting plan may include the following:
• Situational report
• Quarterly report
• Annual report
The attached Appendix ……..provides a checklist summary of indicators for monitoring at most critical sections of the project at its different stages specifically looking at such issues as steep slopes and sharp curves, valleys, water courses and low-lying areas susceptible to erosion / sedimentation respectively.
For a better practical use, the checklist is divided into sections for pre-construction, construction and post-construction monitoring. It is significant to note that this checklist has been developed with particular reference to the provisions made in the Special Specifications for the Contractor.
7.16 Implementation Strategy
The implementation programme has been scheduled in order of priority and phased into short, medium and long term strategies.
7.16.1 Short and Medium Term
1. Strengthening the Crop Protection Unit to take on the larger role of Environmental Occupational Health and Safety.
2. Training and awareness creation. The objectives of the training shall include:
1. Education Farmers Associations and all project implementers on the environmental management plan and the implementation of the Action Plan;
TABLE : IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY
| |Target/ |Estimated Budget |Responsible Institution/ |
|Mitigation Measures |Objectives |(¢) |Agency |
|Surface Water Management | | | |
|Air Quality Management | | | |
|Management of Flora and Fauna | | | |
|Management of Socio-economic impacts | | |PMU |
|Occupational Health and Safety | | | |
|Land Management and Soil Erosion | | | |
|Training and Capacity | | |PMU |
|Sustainable forest Plantation Management | | |CEF |
|Improved Food Security | | |MAFs |
|Agro processing Chemicals control and Management | | | |
|Improved Crop Protection and Regulatory Unit | | | |
|Livestock Management | | | |
|Pricing of Agric Products | | |MFI |
|Rural or Feeder Road Construction | | |Feeder Roads Dept. |
|Land Acquisition and Siting | | |MAFs/L |
|Public Involvement | | |PMU |
|Project Management Support | | |PMU |
MAFs: Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security
PMU: Project Implementation Unit
CEF: Commission on Environment and Forestry
MTI: Ministry of Trade and Industry
Annex 1: Stakeholder Consultations
As part of the requirement for the preparation of the ESMP, consultations were held with various stakeholders in Freetown. The limitation of these consultations to Freetown was mainly due to time constraints and also due to the fact that the proposed activities under the programme are not location specific.
The objectives of the stakeholder consultations include the following:
▪ To verify and harmonize information on the proposed project and its perceived impact on the environment.
▪ To provide opportunities to the various stakeholders to discuss their opinions and concerns.
▪ To collate and manage expectations and misconceptions about the project.
▪ To verify the significance of the environmental, social and health impacts perceived by stakeholders, and
▪ To inform the process of developing appropriate mitigation plan.
Stakeholder consultations were held in Freetown between 3rd to 10th November, 2006 with the following:
1. Hon. Dr. Sama Sahr Monde, minister of Agriculture and Food Security
2. Hon. Dr. Kadie Sesay, Minister of Trade and Industry
3. Dr. James Caesar Boima, Minister of Works, housing and Technical Maintenance
4. Mr. E. K. Alieu, Ag. Director General, Ministry of Agric. and Food Security
5. Mr. Syrin S. Jusu, Ag. Director of Environment
6. Mr. David Fonnier, Director of Feeder Roads
7. Dr. Ibrahim M. O. Shamie, Head, Crop Protection Unit
8. Harold Seesay – I/C Plant Quarantine, Lungi Airport
9. Dr. Aloysius C. Lahai, Asst. FAO Representative
10. Mr. Joseph Koroma, Head of UNIDO Operations
11. Mr. James Sackey, Country Manager, World Bank
Discussions were based on issues enumerated above. As indicated, there was not enough time to move to the rural areas to consult with the Paramount Chiefs and the citizens about the proposed project. It is hoped, however that this will be done before the final report is prepared.
Annex 2: CHECKLIST FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT for agricultural development
|Farm Lands |YES |NO |NOT KNOWN |
|A: Are there farm lands in the project area | | | |
|B: Will proposal result in more or improved farm lands | | | |
|C: Will proposal result in less or damaged farm land | | | |
| Soil Erosion |
|A: Will proposal help to prevent soil loss or erosion | | | |
|B: Will proposal directly cause or worsen soil loss or Erosion | | | |
|C: Could proposal indirectly lead to practices that could cause soil loss or | | | |
|erosion | | | |
|D Is it necessary to consult a soils scientist? | | | |
|Slope Erosion |
|Does proposal involve modification of slopes? | | | |
|Will proposal affect stability of slopes directly or indirectly? | | | |
|Could proposal cause people or property to be located where existing unstable | | | |
|slopes could be a hazard? | | | |
|Is it necessary to consult a geotechnical engineer? | | | |
|Surface Water Availability |
|Do surface water resources exist in project area? | | | |
|Is information available on present and future demands on water resources as a | | | |
|result of the project | | | |
|Will proposal help to increase or preserve available surface water supplies | | | |
|Will proposal increase demand or cause loss of available surface water | | | |
|Is it necessary to consult a hydrologist | | | |
|Surface Water Quality |
|Is current data available on existing water quality | | | |
|Will proposal lead to additional natural or man made discharges into surface water| | | |
|Will proposal help to improve or protect surface water quality | | | |
|Could proposal cause deterioration of surface water quality | | | |
|Is it necessary to consult a water quality expert | | | |
| | | | |
|Ground Water Availability |
|Do ground water resources exist in project area? | | | |
|Is information available on demands on ground water resource as a result of the | | | |
|project? | | | |
|Will project help to increase or preserve available ground water supplies? | | | |
|Will project increase demand or cause loss of available ground water? | | | |
|Is it necessary to consult hydrologist? | | | |
|Ground Water Quality |
|Is information available on present water quality | | | |
|Will project cause any natural or man-made discharge into ground aquifer | | | |
|Will project help to improve or protect ground water quality | | | |
|Could project cause deterioration of ground water quality | | | |
|Is it necessary to consult a hydrologist | | | |
|Air Quality |
|Is information available on existing or air quality? | | | |
|Will project produce any air emission directly? | | | |
|Will project help to reduce existing air pollution sources? | | | |
|Could project lead to practices that worsen air quality | | | |
|Could project lead to a change in engine or fuel use that could cause serious air | | | |
|problem? | | | |
|Is it necessary to consult an air quality specialist? | | | |
|Noise |
|Is noise now a problem in project area ? | | | |
|Will project help in reducing undesirable noise conditions? | | | |
|Will project cause increases in noise generating conditions? | | | |
|Could project cause movements of people to high noise level locations | | | |
|Aquatic Ecosystems |
|Are there any aquatic ecosystems in the project area such as rivers, streams, | | | |
|lakes or ponds, which might be considered significant? | | | |
|Will project affect the use of these systems for human consumption? | | | |
|Wetland Ecosystems |
|Are there any wetlands ecosystems in the project area such as marsh, swamp, flood | | | |
|plains, or estuary which might be considered significant | | | |
|Will project affect the use or condition of such wetlands | | | |
|Terrestrial Ecosystems |
|Are there any terrestrial ecosystem in the project area such as forest, savanna, | | | |
|grassland or desert which might be considered significant | | | |
|Will project affect the use or condition of such system | | | |
|Endangered Species |
|Is the existence of endangered species in the project area known? | | | |
|Will project affect the habitat of any such species | | | |
|Migratory Species |
|Do migratory fish, birds, or mammals use the project area? | | | |
|Will project affect the habitat of such species? | | | |
|Beneficial Plants |
|Do non-domesticated plants occur in the prayer area which area used or sold by | | | |
|local people? | | | |
|Will project affect these species by reducing their habitat in any way? | | | |
|Beneficial Animals |
|Do non domesticated animals occur in the project area which area used or sold by | | | |
|local people | | | |
|Will project affect these species by reducing their habitat in any way | | | |
|Pest (Plants and Animals) |
|Are there currently any problems with pest (plants or animals) in the project area| | | |
|Are there any plants or animals in the area which might become pests because of | | | |
|ecological changes brought about by the project? | | | |
|Will project improve increase he habitat for such species? | | | |
|Disease Vector |
|Are there known disease problems in the project area transmitted through sector? | | | |
|Will project increase vector habitat? | | | |
|c. Will project decrease vector habitat or provide opportunity for control? | | | |
|d. Are there clinics or other disease control programmes in operation or planned | | | |
|for he area? | | | |
|e. Is it necessary to consult a public health officer? | | | |
|Resource / Land Use |
|Are lands in he project area intensively developed? | | | |
|Will project increase pressure on land resources? | | | |
|Will project result in decreased holdings by small land owners? | | | |
|Should a land use planner be used? | | | |
| Energy Sources |
|Will project increase demand for conventional energy sources? | | | |
|Will project create demand for other energy sources? | | | |
|Distribution Systems |
|Will project enhance the equitable distribution of agricultural and /or | | | |
|manufactured products? | | | |
|Will project increase demand for certain commodities within or outside he project | | | |
|area? | | | |
|Will project result in decrease in production of certain vital commodities? | | | |
|Employment |
|Will project increase the rate of employment? | | | |
|Will project remove job opportunities from the area? | | | |
|At-Risk Population |
|Are the adverse impacts of the project unequally disturbed in the large | | | |
|population? | | | |
|Have the at-risk groups been identified? | | | |
| | | | |
| |
|Existing Population |
|Are there currently any people living in or near he project area? | | | |
|Will project affect people in or near the project area? | | | |
|Has liaison been established with the community? | | | |
|Will community participation in projects design and implementation be necessary? | | | |
|Is it necessary to consult a sociologist? | | | |
|Migrant Populations |
|Are there currently any mobile groups in the target population? | | | |
|Will project result in the movement of people in or out of the area? | | | |
|Is it necessary to consult a sociologist? | | | |
|Cultural and Religious Values |
|Are cultural characteristics unique to the project area understood? | | | |
|Will project adversely affect religious and /or cultural attitudes of area | | | |
|residents? | | | |
|Are there special superstitions or taboos that will affect acceptance of the | | | |
|project? | | | |
|Tourism and Recreation |
|Is there at present a significant degree of tourism in the area? | | | |
|Is there unexploited tourism or recreation potential in the area? | | | |
|Will project adversely affect existing or potential tourist or recreation | | | |
|attractions? | | | |
SUMMARY OF ESTIMATED IMPACT MAGNITUDE
|NO. |AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT / FACTOR |+2 |+1 |0 |-1 |-2 |
|1 |Farm Lands | | | | | |
|2 |Soil Erosion | | | | | |
|3 |Slope Stability | | | | | |
|4 |Surface Water Quantity | | | | | |
|5 |Surface Water Quality | | | | | |
|6 |Ground Water Quantity | | | | | |
|7 |Ground Water Quality | | | | | |
|8 |Air Quality | | | | | |
|9 |Noise | | | | | |
|10 |Aquatic Ecosystem | | | | | |
|11 |Wetland Ecosystem | | | | | |
|12 |Terrestrial Ecosystem | | | | | |
|13 |Endangered Species | | | | | |
|14 |Migratory Species | | | | | |
|15 |Beneficial Plants | | | | | |
|16 |Beneficial Animals | | | | | |
|17 |Pests (pants and animals) | | | | | |
|18 |Disease Vectors | | | | | |
|19 |Resource Land Use | | | | | |
|20 |Energy Sources | | | | | |
|21 |Distribution Systems | | | | | |
|22 |Employment | | | | | |
|23 |Air-Risk Population | | | | | |
|24 |Existing Population | | | | | |
|25 |Migrant Population | | | | | |
|26 |Cultural and Religious | | | | | |
|27 |Tourism and Recreation | | | | | |
Estimated Impact Magnitude -2 -1 0 +1 +2
-----------------------
[1] Voices of the Poor, World Bank, 2000 and State of the Ghanaian Child Report, Ghana National Commission on Children, 2002
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E1527
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