REPUBLIC OF MALAWI
Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security
Agricultural Sector Wide Approach – Support Project – Additional Financing
ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK (ESMF)
DRAFT FINAL REPORT
Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security
Capital Hill
P O Box 30134
Capital City
Lilongwe 3
MALAWI
January 2012
Updated November 2013
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ii
LIST OF ACRONYMS v
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY vii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 13
1.1 The National Context 13
1.2 The Agriculture Sector 13
1.3 The Agricultural Sector Wide Approach Support Project (ASWAp-SP) 14
1.3.1 Project Development Objectives 15
1.3.2 Programme Components and additional activities 16
1.3.3 Description of sub-components 17
1.3.4 Project Implementing Agency 26
1.3.5 Project Cost Estimates 27
1.3.6 Proposed Project Administration and Management Strategy 27
1.3.7 Description of the Area of Influence 29
1.4 Rationale for the Environmental and Social Management Framework 29
1.5 Objective of the ESMF 30
1.6 Potential Users of the ESIA 30
1.7 Methodology in Preparing the ESMF 31
1.8 Constraints and Limitation of the Study 32
1.9 Organization of the Report 32
CHAPTER TWO: THE BIOPHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT 34
2.1 Introduction 34
2.2 Chitipa 34
2.3 Salima 36
2.4 Ntcheu 38
2.5 Mwanza 39
2.6 Chikhwawa 41
CHAPTER THREE: AGRICULTURE AND THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 43
3.1 General Situation 43
3.2 Agriculture 43
3.2.1 Agriculture and the Farmer Input Subsidy Program (FISP) 43
3.2.2 Agriculture and Marketing 45
3.2.3 Agriculture and Land Tenure 45
3.2.4 Agriculture and Forest Resources 46
3.2.5 Agriculture and Gender 47
3.2.6 Agriculture and Health, HIV and AIDS 52
3.2.7 Agriculture and Pest Management 52
CHAPTER FOUR: RELEVANT LEGISLATION AND THE WORLD BANK POLICY 54
4.1 Malawi Legislation Relevant to the ASWAp-SP 54
4.1.1 Policy Framework 54
4.1.2 Legal Framework 59
4.1.3 Administrative Framework 61
4.1.4 International Conventions 61
4.1.5 Agricultural Policies 61
4.2 Relevant World Bank Policies 65
4.2.1 Environmental Assessment (Operational Policy 4.01) 65
4.2.2 Pest Management (Operational Policy 4.09) 66
4.2.3 Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) 67
CHAPTER FIVE: ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT 70
5.1 Project Activities and the Impacted Environmental Components 70
5.2 Determination of Impacts 70
5.3 Determination of Mitigation Measures 71
5.4 Evaluation of Negative Impacts 71
5.5 Consultation with Relevant Stakeholders 71
5.6 Brief Summary of Key Impacts 114
5.6.1 Environmental Impacts 114
5.6.2 Social and Economic Impacts 114
5.6.3 Gender and HIV and AIDS Impacts 116
5.6.4 Pest Management Related Impacts 117
CHAPTER SIX: SAMPLE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING PLAN 119
6.1 Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) 119
6.2 Environmental and Social Monitoring Plan 131
6.2.1 Monitoring 131
6.2.2 Monitoring Indicators and Monitoring Plan 131
6.3 Implementation Arrangements for the ESMF 145
6.3.1 Definition of Roles and Responsibilities 145
CHAPTER SEVEN: CAPACITY BUILDING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING 147
7.1 Current Environmental Management Capacity 147
7.1.1 Environmental Capacity in the Agriculture Sector 147
7.1.2 Environmental and Social Management Capacity in other Sectors 148
7.2 Capacity Building and Training Requirements 153
7.2.1 Institutional Strengthening 153
7.2.2 Proposed Training and Awareness Programmes 157
7.2.3 National Level Awareness Raising 157
7.2.4 District Level Sensitisation 158
7.2.5 Community Level Training 158
7.2.6 Training Cost Estimates 159
7.3 Justification for the Capacity Building and Training 159
7.3.1 Environmental management training for the ASWAp-SP ESMF 159
7.4 Proposed Approach in Executing Training 160
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE SCREENING PROCESS FOR PROJECT SITES AND ACTIVITIES 161
8.1 Introduction to the Screening Process 161
8.2 Step 1: Screening of Project Activities and Sites 161
8.2.1 Screening of Project Activities and sites within the District Councils 162
8.2.2 Screening of Project Activities and sites within Town Councils 162
8.3 Step 2: Assigning the Appropriate Environmental Categories 162
8.4 Step 3: Carrying out Environmental Work 163
8.5 Step 4: Subproject Review and Approval 164
8.5.1 Review 164
8.5.2 Recommendation for Approval/Modification/Disapproval 164
8.5.3 Endorsement 165
8.5.4 Training for the Screening Process 165
8.6 Public Consultation and Disclosure 165
CHAPTER NINE: PARTICIPATORY MONITORING AND EVALUATION 167
9.1 Compliance Monitoring 167
9.2 Outcome of Monitoring and Evaluation 167
CHAPTER TEN: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 169
REFERENCES 173
APPENDICES 175
APPENDIX 1.1: ASWAp-SP COMPONENT 2 (REORGANIZED FOLLOWING DISCUSSIONS OF 16/11) 175
APPENDIX 1.2 LIST OF INDIVIDUALS/INSTITUTIONS CONSULTED AND TO BE CONSULTED ………………………………………………………………………...176
APPENDIX 1.3: ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SCREENING FORM 178
APPENDIX 1.4: GENERAL EIA PROCESS IN MALAWI (FROM EIA GUIDELINES 1997, EAD) 183
APPENDIX 1.5: ENVIRONMENTAL RULES FOR CONTRACTORS 184
APPENDIX 1.6 PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL CHECKLISTS FOR ASWAP-SP 187
APPENDIX 1.7 SUMMARY OF WORLD BANK SAFEGUARDS POLICIES 189
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LIST OF ACRONYMS
ADD Agricultural Development Division
ADMARC Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation
AEDC Agriculture Extension Development Coordinator
AEDO Agriculture Extension Development Officer
AEZ Agricultural Ecological Zones
AF1 First Additional Financing
AF2 Second Additional Financing
AGRES Agriculture Gender Roles and Extension Support Services
AISP Agriculture Input Subsidy Program
ASWAp Agricultural Sector Wide Approach
ASWAp-SP Agricultural Sector Wide Approach Support Project
ATCC Agricultural Technology Clearing Committee
AVO Agriculture Veterinary Officer
CAADP Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program
CFA Core Function Analysis
CLRCO Chief Lands Resources Conservation Officer,
CSA Common Services Assessment
DAHLD Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development
DHS Demographic and Health Survey
DEC District Executive Committee
DAES Department of Agricultural Extension Services
DADO District Agriculture Development Officer
DEA Director of Environmental Affairs
EA Extension Area
EAD Environmental Affairs Department
EIA Environmental Impact Assessment
EMC Executive Management Committee
EMP Environmental management plan
EPA Extension Planning Area
ESIA Environmental and Social Impact Assessment
ESMF Environmental and Social Management Framework
EU European Union
FAO Food Agriculture Organisation
GDP Gross domestic Product
GoM Government of Malawi
IGA Income Generating Activities
IHS2 Integrated Household Survey 2
IMF International Monitory Fund
IPM Integrated Pest Management
ISCRAL Scheme for the Conservation and Rehabilitation of African Lands
ISP Input Subsidy Program
LHTC Land Husbandry Training Centre
LRCO Land Resources and Conservation Officer
MAWTCO Malawi Agricultural Warehousing and Trading Company
MBS Malawi Bureau of Standards
MDTF Multi-Donor Trust Fund
MEGS Malawi Economic and Growth Strategy
MGDS Malawi Growth and Development Strategy
MIWD Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development
MLGRD Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development
MoAFS Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security
MIT Ministry of Industry and Trade
MTPW Ministry of Transport and Public Works
MPRS Malawi Poverty and Reduction Strategy
NAC National AIDS Commission
NHBG National Herbarium and Botanic Gardens
NRCM National Research Council of Malawi
NCE National Council for the Environment
NEAP National Environmental Action Plan
OPC Office of the President and Cabinet
PDO Project Development Objective
PLRCO Principal Land Resources Conservation Officer
PMP Pest Management Plan
RA Roads Authority
SADC Southern African Development committee
SALRCO Senior Assistant Land Resources and Conservation Officer
SAFEX South African Commodity Exchange
SLRCO Senior Land Resources Conservation Officer
SPGI Sustainable Productivity Growth Initiative
SWAp Sector Wide Approach
TCE Technical Committee on the Environment
WB World Bank
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction
Agriculture is the single most important sector of the Malawi economy, contributing about 38% of value-added to GDP, employing 85% of the workforce, and contributing 80% of foreign exchange earnings in 2006. Agriculture continues to be the primary source of livelihood for the estimated 80% of the country’s poor who are based in rural areas. Sustained improvements in agricultural productivity and stable food supplies remain essential for reducing high rates of malnutrition and poverty in Malawi.
Maize constitutes the main staple food and accounts for 92% of total cereal grains area. Approximately 85% of the total area planted to smallholder crops is taken up by maize. Small-scale irrigation schemes support the production of green maize, rice and horticultural crops (especially tomato and onion). However, over 95% of smallholder maize production is rain fed.
Over the last decades, Malawi has regularly suffered from climatic shocks, resulting in severe food gaps and malnutrition, especially among rural people. Agricultural productivity is threatened by the declining soil fertility associated with physical, chemical and biological degradation, smaller land holdings and increasingly frequent droughts and floods, as a result of climatic change.
During recent years, the Government’s central policy has been to promote maize production, primarily by a large-scale input subsidy programme for fertilizers and improved maize seeds. In this regard, more than 60% of the current investment budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MoAFS) is allocated to the input subsidy programme, targeted at small-scale farmers. This programme, coupled with an above average rainfall, resulted in significant maize production increases during the 2005/06 and 2006/07 agricultural seasons.
Project description
The development objective of the ASWAp - Support Project (ASWAp-SP) is to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of investments in the agricultural sector, aimed at food security and agriculture-led economic growth. The project will strengthen (i) institutional capabilities necessary to develop and implement a harmonized and aligned investment framework leading towards a full-fledged SWAp in the agricultural sector; (ii) land, water and nutrient use efficiency of maize based rain-fed cropping systems; and (iii) resilience of the maize supply system to cope with climate and market induced risks and shocks.
The project is already financed by an IDA credit, a GEF Grant and a Kingdom of Norway Grant. A first additional financing (AF1) was approved in March 2012 to respond to the request from the Government of Malawi (GoM). A second additional financing (AF2) is proposed based on a Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) established to pool contributions from various donors as a joint effort to improve harmonization, alignment and donor coordination in the agricultural sector in Malawi. The Bank is the administrator of the MDTF. The core concept is to reduce the number of agricultural projects with similar objectives by jointly support the existing ASWAp-SP which is implemented using country systems by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MoAFS). The breakdown of contributions from the donors to the MDTF is as follows: European Union (28,890,000 Euros); Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (220,000,000 Norwegian Kroners); United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (14,175,000 British Pounds); Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Ireland (14,000,000 Euros); Flanders International Cooperation Agency (5,300,000 Euros); and United States Agency for International Development (US$2.5 million).
The ASWAp-SP has four components: Component 1: Institutional Development, will strengthen the capacity of the MoAFS to develop and implement systems for management of the sector and to establish a Sector Wide Approach (SWAp); Component 2: Sustainable Smallholder Productivity Growth, is aimed at sustainable increase of land, water and nutrient use efficiency, in maize based smallholder production systems; Component 3: Project Coordination is aimed at ensuring efficient use of resources, in accordance with the project’s objectives and procedures and, Component 4 Improvement and maintenance of unpaved rural roads.
The objective of AF2 is to scale up on-going activities with particular attention to: (a) Strengthening MoAFS administrative systems, particularly at the district level with a stronger focus on monitoring and evaluation systems; and strengthening MoAFS's capacity to implement the ASWAp; (b) Enhancing FISP organization and implementation, monitoring and evaluation, with a stronger focus on maize and legumes seeds availability; (c) Increasing the nationwide coverage of research and extension activities to reach out to more farmers and to increase FISP payoffs and sustainable impact on smallholders; and (d) Improving the efficiency of agricultural research and extension services while promoting a more pluralistic approach to delivering these services.
In addition, the AF2 will also help develop the following additional activities: (a) Diversification of the maize-based production systems by: (i) extending the current research and extension approach to increase the adoption rate of selected technologies, diversified crops (cereals, roots and tubers, pulses and leguminous, agro-forestry products, etc.) and livestock production by farmers; and (ii) improving crop production and marketing, and ensuring availability of sufficient certified seeds to meet increasing demand both within and outside of FISP; (b) Improve the agricultural business environment and promote agribusiness partnerships in support of agricultural diversification with a more market oriented agriculture and integration into agricultural value chains and regional markets; and (c) Improve market access to the most productive agricultural areas through the improvement and sustainable maintenance of feeder roads.
The ASWAp-SP, which is targeted at subsistence farmers throughout Malawi, has an estimated total cost of US$215.7 million, US$58.2 million from the original project, US$30.0 million from AF1 and US$127.5 million from AF2. The project is expected to be implemented until June 30, 2017.
ESMF Rationale and Objective
The Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) has been prepared as a guide to the screening of the proposed ASWAp-SP activities for negative environmental and social impacts, which would require attention prior to project implementation. The ESMF outlines a number of strategies, which include:
· A systematic procedure for participatory screening for project sites and project activities for environmental and social considerations;
· A step by step procedure for forecasting the main potential environmental and social impacts of the planned project activities;
· A typical environmental management plan for addressing negative externalities in the course of project implementation and operations within environs;
· A step by step monitoring and evaluation system for implementation of mitigation measures and;
· An outline of recommended capacity building measures for environmental planning and monitoring of the project activities.
In addition, a Pest Management Plan has been prepared and disclosed to guide and mitigate pesticide utilization and to promote integrated pest management.
Strategy for the Environmental and Social Management Framework
The environmental and social impact assessment involved the:
i. Review of existing national biophysical and social conditions through field investigations and literature review;