The Samoa Agriculture & Fisheries Productivity and Marketing (SAFPROM) project (P165873) overall Project Development Objective (PDO) is “to increase the productivity and access to markets by selected producers, to improve management of targeted productive natural resources and, in the event of an Eligible Crisis or Emergency, to provide an immediate response to the Eligible crisis or Emergency”. The project was declared effective in December 19, 2019 and was launched on March 5, 2020 on the island of Savaii where close to 800 people participated in the launch of the project.

SAFPROM continues the work started under the Samoa Agriculture Competitiveness and Enhancement (SADCEP). SAFPROM’s development project objective is to increase the productivity and access to markets by selected producers, to improve management of targeted productive natural resources and, in the event of an Eligible Crisis or Emergency, to provide an immediate response to the Eligible crisis or Emergency. Co-funded by both World Bank (USD 19.95 million) and IFAD (USD 3.6 million), SAFPROM’s total value is USD 23.55 million. The projects implementation phase is from December 2019 until June 2025.

SAFPROM is divided into four main components. IFAD co-finances goods, works, non-consulting and consulting services, operating costs, trainings and workshops under components 1.1, 2 and 3 as per the Financing Agreement dated 12 August 2019. World Bank co-finances all the other components of the project.

Component 1: Strengthening National Institutions (USD 10,660,000) focuses on creating an enabling environment to increase productivity and market access for farmers and fishers as well as small private sectors along the targeted value-chains. It targets the strengthening of the institutional capacity gaps of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) and its stakeholders through training and capacity development programs. The capacity building plan of the Ministry includes elements to integrate climate adaption into technical approaches to climate resilient mixed tree-crops farming systems. To encourage more female farmers/fishers, the project will also work with groups, including the Women in Business Development Incorporated, respective Samoa Farmers Associations and Samoa Women Association of Growers, to identify gender-specific constraints and activities to mitigate them. Component 1 further focuses on two sub-components; sub-component 1.1 which deals with institutional capacity of the Ministry through infrastructure and training for crops and livestock and sub-component 1.2 focuses on strengthening management of the region’s shared oceanic and coastal fisheries.

Component 2: Strengthening the performance of selected value-chains (USD 9,530,000) emphases increasing on-farm productivity of fruits, vegetables, tree crops and livestock. It also looks to promote productivity of households who wish to upgrade to semi-commercial status and promoting sustainable fisheries options for fishing households and organizations. In addition, it provides the platform to strengthen linkages between those farming and fishing households and other value-chain actors. This component is divided into two main sub-components; sub-component 2.1 looks to improve infrastructure to enable the effective implementation of the value chain and sub-component 2.2 looks to improve productivity for farmers and fishers at the subsistence, semi-subsistence and small-scale levels through the Matching Grants Program (MGP).

Component 3: ASCD establishment and project management, M&E and communications (USD 3,360,000) targets the establishment of the ASCD within MAF. This new division will be responsible for the coordination of SAFPROM as well as the wider-sector inclusive of other projects to ensure that the Ministry achieves its overall strategic direction and goals as per the sector plan. A Sector Coordinator at the Assistant Chief Executive Officer (ACEO) level and four Principal Officers staff the division. The Principal Officers include Financial Management, Procurement, Monitoring & Evaluation and Safeguards. In addition to the above positions, other project related positions will be added to ensure that SAFPROM is given the opportunity to succeed.

Component 4: Contingency Emergency Response Component (USD 0.00) of the project, supports a request for the re-allocation of funds to support the emergency response plan of the Government should there be an emergency. The CERC Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) requires a Project Operations Manual (POM), acceptable to the Association, for the implementation of the Contingency Emergency Response Plan.

Coordinated by the Agriculture Sector Coordination Division, SAFPROM is implemented mainly by the technical divisions (Crops, Livestock and Fisheries). Its implementation of the Matching Grants Program (MGP) is also greatly dependent on the support from the Samoa Business Hub (SBH) and the Development Bank of Samoa (DBS) as well as other Government Ministries and Institutions.