This article was published in La Revue, the magazine in French by theGuinea Country Office – No 2, January 2008.
January 7, 2008 — “The suffering that the populations of the Madina Woula CRD (Prefecture of Kindia) have never succeeded in getting rid of since the colonial era is definitely the difficulty to cross the River Kolente.” These comments were made by the president of the (CRD for Communauté rurale de développement) during the recent supervision mission of the Second National Rural Infrastructure Project (PNIR II).
The project’s objective is to improve basic infrastructure and to promote sustainable management and maintenance systems to benefit populations in targeted rural areas. It is co-funded by the World Bank
The Tamisso Leg
The construction of the bridge is planned on the Kolente River in the District of Tamisso, CRD of Madina Woula. According to Mr. Mara, Prefect of Kindia, this sub-prefecture is one of the economic nerves of the prefecture for which it plays a breadbasket role.
Unfortunately as there is no bridge on the Kolenté River, the hardworking populations of the sub-prefecture cannot deliver their products and get economic spin-offs in return. He elaborated by saying that the construction of the bridge is the best means for poverty alleviation in the area. The Prefect stated building the infrastructure would also address security problems. Because it is an enclosure and the natural boundary with Sierra Leone, the zone was used as the front door during the 2001 rebel attacks.
The Timbi–Madina Leg
This leg started with the visit to the headquarters of the Fouta Djallon Farmers’ Federation (FPFD). The objective of this organization, which is 70% composed of women, is to produce potatoes, onions and tomatoes to meet both domestic and regional needs. Since the establishment of the organization in 1992, potato production, which was 500 tons per year in the 80s, has increased to 16,000 tons per annum presently. The requirements of the sub-region are about 100,000 tons a year.
Due to the lack of adequate storage facilities and to the degradation of feeder roads for crop transportation, farmers sometimes lose 20 to 40% of the crop. Therefore, there is a pressing need to improve not only the state of feeder roads but also to build storage facilities. This is the main goal of the Component C of PNIR II (see box below).
The Director of the Department of Transport said in his speech at Timbi-Madina: “The construction of this platform is crucial for Timbi-Madina but also for the Guinean economy. Hence, it will allow a better preservation, mitigate post-harvest losses and offer better packaging for commercialization. All this will stimulate the development of export and avoid underproduction and overproduction and improve farmers’ revenue ultimately.”
One of the important elements of the visit relates to the frank and interesting discussions around this component of the PNIR II held among the prefectural and local authorities, the federation of farmers, who are the main beneficiaries, and the technicians of the project.
The Minister of Agriculture underlined that his presence was the clear evidence of the importance attached by the Government to the processing and development of the agricultural production of farmers. According to him, supplying the market with highly valued agricultural produce is a prerequisite for the country’s sustainable economic growth.
After these exchanges at the headquarters of the Fouta Djallon Farmers’ Federation, the mission visited several potato farms, existing storage facilities and the site selected for the construction of the future platform.
The Soyah Leg
The third leg of the field visit culminated in the inauguration of a school at Soyah in the prefecture of Mamou. On this occasion, the populations of the Soyah CRD expressed their happiness about the infrastructure from which they benefit. The Director of the Department of Transport of the World Bank for Africa said: “In coming to Soyah I realize the importance of this project. I am happy for the children of Soyah who will no longer have to travel long distances to study.
Their school, thanks to this achievement through the PNIR II, will have appropriate numbers of pupils for each classroom. Additionally, labor-intensive building of feeder road in the region will help reduce poverty by creating local jobs. I would like to invite you to make the best use of these infrastructures. To you, pupils of Soyah, I hope you will be spurred on by this good environment to work hard so that you can open the doors of the best universities.”
After the cut of the inaugural ribbon, the team of the World Bank, which included Siaka Bakayoko, Country Manager in Guinea, and Siele Silvé in charge of the PNIR II, offered school materials to the pupils.
In conclusion, the high level team of the World Bank took advantage of the important mission to confirm the significance of the PNIR II for recipient populations. They are hoping that undertakings made will be fulfilled by all the parties involved. The mid-term review mission scheduled for April 2008 will be an appropriate occasion to assess the progress made in this direction.
Tabara Sakho Barry, Communications Associate
The Project includes three components:
The Rural Roads component will achieve all season access to the rural populations, through rehabilitation of intermediate level, local roads, and support road sector management reforms.
The Emergency Reconstruction component seeks to assist rural populations in war-affected areas, in restoring basic social services through the reconstruction of damaged, or destroyed public buildings.
The Pilot Commercial Infrastructure component will assist rural professional organizations, and economic groups, exploit export and domestic opportunities for market oriented growth, through the construction of improved logistical support facilities.
RSS