Angola

Support to Artisanal Fishing in Ambriz

Title:   00011123 - Support to Artisanal Fishing and Community Reinforcement of the Productive Sector in Ambriz and Environs   Task Managers: Ms. Kamia Carvalho and Ms. Gabriela Nascimento

Project Documents Support to Artisanal Fishing and Community Reinforcement of the Productive Sector in Ambriz and Environs (Project Document)

Duration:	3 years –February 2005 to December 2007
Budget Amount:	US$ 2.850.000
SOF:	TRAC 1.1.1 and TRAC 1.1.2
Key achievement	The current socio-economic conditions in Ambriz do allow the development of some productive activity. In order to make artisanal fishing activities sustainable, the project has to include the establishment of an autonomous and vertical-positioned unit, which will provide services and basic supplies to fishermen, including fish storage, processing and marketing facilities.
Modality of Execution:	NEX: Institute for the Development of Artisanal Fishing, Ministry of Fisheries
Site	Caxito (capital of Bengo province) and Ambriz municipality
Contact Persons	António Joaquim (Project Co-ordinator)- 923 609001

Brief Description:

Taking into account the former project and in order to support the government in the restoration of the productive sector of the local economy, this project aims at: i) revitalizing the fishing and agricultural activities, income generation activities, community capacity building, agriculture and salt production; ii) building capacity of female hawkers and/or inhabitants of Ambriz Municipality through actions of capacity building in business management; iii) supporting and building capacity of the fishermen’s Cooperative (Sanga-Kia N’Ganga) in the management; iv) creating integrated projects (communal projects) in the selected communes providing infrastructures linked to access to water, education, health and basic sanitation to the resident communities; v) supporting and building capacity of IPA staff working for the project. With this project, the community rehabilitation of Ambriz Municipality shall have as its main focus the baseline indicator of the number of jobs and creation of sustainability at the community level in order that at the end of the project the foundations would be laid for local development. The final result of the integrated project shall create strong partnerships between State institutions and their social partners.

What has been achieved?

Fisheries Component: i) completed the process of formalization of the Fishermen cooperative with the publication on the Government Gazette. With the cooperative created will possible to better organise the fishermen and strengthen its internal structure in order to create an enabling environment for the election of the new managers and be ready to manage, jointly, the unit with private entrepreneur and revitalizing the fishing activities in municipally through the establishment of additional 30 micro enterprises that will be included in the Fishermen Cooperative . ii) finalized the construction of the infrastructure near of the fisher process unit. It will be allow following the recommendation of FAO consultants and creating more condition to better process the fisher. iii) Public tender was launch to hire local or foreign private entrepreneur to manage the fishing support infrastructure in collaboration with the fishermen cooperative. iv) carried out a warehouse for fuel storage, cooperative headquarters, a water reservoir, rehabilitation of access road to operational unit. v) carried out understanding protocols with Centres of Professional Training (10 youth from Ambriz are having training on full time basis during six months in learn institution to capacity mechanics, electricians, etc). vi) undertaken a Mid Term Evaluation of the project in order to re orient the project according with its weaknesses and strong points.

Micro Credit Component:  i)completed the cycle of training for the women beneficiaries of the project with the register of activities and type of material that they will use. The methodology of the training was prepared by FAO consultant and was given by Senior Officer from IPA.  ii) Contacts were made with Banco Sol that will finance, part of the Micro Credit, that recommended that the Ambriz municipality and the Fishermen cooperative to be the surety for the women that will be the beneficiaries of the micro credit. iii) friendly groups receive micro credit to allow them to improve own business.

Agriculture Component: i) established the agriculture cooperative with support of National Institute of Agriculture (IDA) methodology. This cooperative allows the creation of around 50 micro enterprises (household farmers) each of one with a minimum of 1 ha. In a total of 100 ha, already 50 ha are ready to be used after have been clean with a heavy machine rented to Mecanagro. ii) carried out training on cooperative organization and support to strengthen community agriculture or agricultural micro enterprises was addressed to farmers and done by IDA officers. iii)  a weather  station was established with support of Ministry of Agriculture, to facilitate and anticipate the better cultures in liaison with the climate conditions.

Salt production Component: i) start up the rehabilitated of 1 hectare of saline with support of FAO with food for work. Start the preparation of formalization of the salt production cooperative and contacts with Banco Sol for the micro credit. ii) UNDP CO should contact WFP to continue its support on food for work modality for this component, if it does happens there is an enormous risk for the communities involved in.

Capacity Building of Municipality Administration Component: i) carried out various training activities manly on ICT for the employees of the municipality and some communes. ii) to promote greater awareness about the utility of the project and its actions the PMU continue to provide technical and logistical support to various components, including monitoring of progress and promoting greater coordination among the Municipality, communes and the local partners such as FAS and WFP. 

Construction of basic services infrastructure Component: all infrastructures planned to be done through FAS memorandum with UNDP in the project are almost finish and will be given soon. The schools, health post constructed will be given with all furniture and have as average 40 places per room and will be used for primary and secondary classes in two periods of time (morning and afternoon).

Lessons Learnt:

- The Mid Term Evaluation shows that all partners should be more involved in the project action in order to anticipate the end of the project and avoid weakness.

-  The communities beneficiaries should be more involved on the activities that will result in theirs benefit in order to have better impact;

-  Is necessary to enlarge the project staff with more community/cooperative specialists to avoid delay in the implementation of some activities;

-  Increase the interface of the various stakeholders in order to better identify synergies;

-   Ensure strong working relationships can be built amongst the institutions in the project and the Municipality to increase and strengthen the partnership work;

-  Make all efforts to implement the recommendations made by the mid term project evaluation;

Constraints and bottlenecks:

-   Low human resource capacity at level of the cooperatives members and at level of municipal and provincial administration; 

-   Low involvement of Ministry of Fisheries regarding the Public tender that was launched to hire private entrepreneur to manage the fish process unit;

-   The situation of the roads that difficult, some times, the implementation of activities on time;

-    Lack of involvement of different partners;

-    Stop of WFP support in food for work.

Implementation rate in 2005: around 90%