DR Congo, November 2023
Working week on developing Concept Notes of NRDS II in DRC
Background
During the period from 1st to 11th November 2023, a team from the CARD Secretariat visited DRC to meet with key stakeholders active in the rice sector and to facilitate the organization of the working week on the development of the NRDS II concept notes. The meeting with the key actors of the rice value chain took place in Kinshasa during the period from 2nd to 3rd November. During this period, the CARD Secretariat team was able to meet with JICA, IFAD, ENABEL, the Permanent Secretary of the Agricultural Ministry and a private individual. As for the development of the Concept Notes, it was held in Kisantu during the period from 5th to 10th November 2023. The Working Week for the development of the NRDS II concept notes follows the validation of NRDS II, in March 2023, process of which was endorsed by CARD. Following the validation of the NRDS II, it appeared urgent to proceed with the development of concept notes in order to facilitate the implementation of the strategy. Several actors among the rice value chain were present during the Working Week in particular, representatives of the public sector as well as the non-governmental sector.
The overall objective of the Working Week is on the one hand the identification of the segments in the value chain that are poorly taken into account in the ongoing interventions (revision of the SIEM) and on the other hand the elaboration of concept notes based on the strategic axes defined in the revised NRDS as well as on the segments of the value chain that are poorly taken into account.
Methodology and Opening Ceremony
To achieve this objective, the methodological approach chosen was based on a participatory and inclusive approach divided into three key phases: (i) The first phase was devoted to the opening ceremony and the sharing of the different tools to be used for the development of both the SIEM and the concept notes. Added to this was the sharing of information on the monitoring and evaluation system set up during phase II of the CARD; (ii) The second phase was devoted for the elaboration of the various concept notes through working group followed by a plenary session of presentations of the results and (iii)The kick off meeting of the Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) baseline study.
Key outputs/Results
After presenting the approach, an application exercise was carried out using data from DRC. During this exercise, participants were asked to come up with project ideas following the presentation of the gaps. On the basis of this first proposal, the CARD secretariat has revealed its own proposals. Following this, a cross-analysis was carried out which resulted in the selection of seven project ideas which served as a basis for the preparation of the concept notes.
After agreeing on the concept notes to be developed, the participants were divided into Three groups to develop the draft concept notes. The results of the main draft concept notes are summarized in the table below:
| Concept notes | General objectives | Specific objectives |
| Project to support the governance of the rice sector | Contribute to restoring the necessary trust between stakeholders involved in the rice sector in order to increase their participation and ownership in the implementation of the Strategy | SO1: Promote the principle of subsidiarity in the implementation of the NRDS 2. |
| SO2: Facilitate the organization and involvement of rice value chain actors in the implementation of NRDS 2. | ||
| SO3: Make public investments more efficient, particularly those relating to the development of hydro-agricultural infrastructure. | ||
| Project to support the mechanization of rice cultivation | Contribute to the modernization of rice cultivation through the effective and efficient use of mechanization by rice farmers in order to increase their labor productivity. | SO1: Locally available agricultural machinery and equipment adapted to the needs of producers and support services. |
| SO2: Improve producers’ access to equipment and promote the effective use of machinery and equipment adapted to their needs. | ||
| SO3: Reduce post-harvest losses. | ||
| Project to support the competitiveness of the rice sector | Contribute to bringing to market quality rice in sufficient quantity. | SO1: Promoting processing systems favorable to territorial economies. |
| SO2: Promoting marketing systems adapted to rice market development | ||
| Improving Access to Quality Seeds Project | Contribute to the improvement of the productivity and incomes of rice farmers | SO1. Making quality seed available |
| SO2: Make rice seed accessible at all sites in selected clusters | ||
| Irrigated Rice Promotion Project | Contribute to the improvement of the resilience of paddy production in the project area | SO1: Rehabilitation and development of new irrigation schemes; |
| SO2: Intensifying/supporting rice production; | ||
| SO3: Have a sufficient number of qualified personnel available for the intervention | ||
| Project to improve soil fertility, access to fertilizers and plant protection products | Improving Rice Productivity and Production in Targeted Rice Development Hubs | SO1: Facilitate access to fertilizers and plant protection products; |
| SO2: Promote the rational use of fertilizers and plant protection products; | ||
| SO3: Promote good practices in the use of fertilizers and plant protection products for high rice yields; | ||
| SO4: Strengthen the capacities of rice farmers for the rational management of fertilizers and plant protection products | ||
| Project to support the development and extension (promotion) of technological innovations in the rice sector | Contribute to the improvement of the productivity and incomes of rice farmers | SO1. Supporting the development of technological innovations |
| SO2: Supporting the popularization of technological innovations in the production area |
Way forward
At the end of the working group session and the technical validation of the concept notes, it was decided to proceed within a week to the proofreading of the documents and to start the search for their funding.
