National and International Policies and Policy Instruments in the Development of Agroforestry in Chad

The potential of agroforestry to improve livelihoods and mitigate climate change and environmental degradation has been widely recognized, especially within the context of climate-smart agriculture. However, agroforestry opportunities have not been fully exploited because of several reasons, among which are adverse policies and legislations. However, many countries do not have a full understanding of how their policy and institutional environment may affect agroforestry development. We aim to fill this gap by looking at the particular case of Chad. The method used included examining data from: (i) literature reviews of important national and international polices, strategies, and legislation governing access to land and trees, among which are ‘La Loi 14’, Chad’s 2010 poverty reduction strategy paper, draft zero of the National Environmental Policy, (ii) interviews and focus group discussions with NGOs, government officials, and farmers, and (iii) surveys with 100 households. Results show that Chad has no specific agroforestry policy but opportunities for agroforestry can be found in some of the above-mentioned policy documents and government strategies. Most stakeholders interviewed had positive attitudes towards agroforestry, but uptake of the practice is handicapped by poor understanding of the forestry law by farmers and forestry officials. Gaps in existing laws give room for rent-seekers to collect individual (USD 272–909) and collective (USD 36–1818) access fees to trees on both forest and farmland. We propose that the government of Chad should unmask elements of agroforestry in existing policies and policy instruments to demonstrate its importance in responding to livelihood and environmental challenges in the country.

Somalia

This Joint Staff Advisory Note on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper discusses that Somalia has made noteworthy progress since 2012 to recover from decades of conflict and state fragmentation. The country has succeeded in rebuilding core state capabilities and organized two democratic national elections in 2012 and 2017. Somalia has now reached the stage where it seeks to fully reengage the international community and is requesting debt relief through the heavily indebted poor countries initiative. The authorities developed the Ninth National Development Plan (NPD9) through a highly consultative, participatory process that ensured full country ownership. The macroeconomic policy objectives of NDP9 are to promote economic growth in an environment of low inflation, sustainable fiscal and current account balances, and healthy foreign exchange reserves. The IMF staff recommends updating framework to incorporate greater support for poverty reduction and additional financing from development partners during the interim period. The IMF staff supports the authorities’ commitment to issuing new Somali shilling banknotes, while maintaining de facto dollarization.

Reform of the Fund's Policy on Poverty Reduction Strategies in Fund Engagement with Low-Income Countries - Proposals

Poverty reduction strategies (PRS) are central to Fund-supported economic and financial programs in low-income countries (LICs). The joint IMF-World Bank’s Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative introduced the PRS approach and established documentation requirements centered on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). The PRS approach has also been a cornerstone for the Fund’s concessional financing, currently the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), and has been extended to the Policy Support Instruments (PSI), the non-financing instrument for LICs, with PRS documentation serving as the operational framework for development of strategies to promote growth and reduce poverty under Fund-supported programs.