Soon after the development of the strategic framework, IFDC began to work with several donors and African governments through their ministries of agriculture to apply the framework to specific national contexts and develop national action plans. Malawi was the first country in which the framework was applied and an action plan developed. In 2000, IFDC collaborated with Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI), Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A.; and Masdar Technology Limited (MTL), Eversley Hampshire, UK, and the Malawi Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation through the Malawi Agricultural Sector Investment Programme to develop the country’s action plan. The Department for International Development (DfID), European Union (EU), USAID, and the World Bank provided the funding for this initiative.

During the same year IFDC collaborated with the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA), the Nigeria Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), and the Food Security Office of the Presidency to develop the country’s action plan. The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), Sasakawa-Global 2000 (SG 2000), and USAID provided the funding for the Nigeria action plan.

In 2001 IFDC developed Ghana’s Action Plan for AIMs in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA). USAID, SG 2000, and the IFDC Africa Division’s Favorable Socioeconomic and Policy Environments (FASEPE) program funded by the Deutch’s Directoraat Generaal voor Internationale Samenwerking (DGIS) sponsored this initiative. The Crop Services Department of the MOFA and SG 2000/Ghana provided logistic and counterpart support.

In each case, the action plan was discussed and endorsed by stakeholders in a national validation workshop. The main achievements in each of these initiatives include the following:

1. Filled the knowledge gaps related to fertilizer, seed and crop protection product markets and financial services based on a comprehensive assessment of these sub-sectors.
    
2. Identified weaknesses in the areas of procurement, dealer networks, finance, market information, and regulatory systems, which hindered the efficient functioning of AIMs.
    
3. Proposed specific actions aimed at (1) strengthening the private sector through improved procurement practices, human capital development, improved access to finance and information, and (2) allowing the public sector to more effectively play its necessary roles by providing supporting public goods and services, creating a conducive policy environment, and designing and enforcing the legal and regulatory framework for input marketing and use. Consequently, each of these action plans includes recommended actions, identifies the specific roles of various stakeholders, and provides a five-year sequencing schedule of the proposed actions.

An input market project aimed at implementing Nigeria’s Action Plan for AIMs is scheduled to begin on October 1, 2001 with funding from the USAID mission in Nigeria. A similar project is currently under consideration by the USAID mission in Malawi. Finally, IFDC plans to develop action plans for Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia by the end of 2002.

Contact:  Dr. Balu L. Bumb--bbumb@ifdc.org or Dr. Georges Dimithe--gdimithe@ifdc.org

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