Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper PRS III (2013-2015).

The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) is a cross-sectoral national strategy paper of the Republic of Guinea. It applies to the period 2013-2015. Its main objective is to accelerate and diversify growth in order to reduce poverty and inequalities and create jobs, with a multiplier effect on the level of revenue and the quality of life of the people, with a view to reaching Millennium Development Goals.
In the area of food security, the PRSP provides that the Government’s strategic objective is to durably increase agricultural production and contribute to food and nutritional security. In this labor-intensive sector, the first stage will be to rapidly reach food autonomy and promote exports and agribusiness. The action will focus on: (1) more food stability by the production of foodstuffs. In the context of this action, particular emphasis will be placed on support for small food producers (via better access to the resources they need in order to produce) and on the involvement of women and the young in the process of production and management of resources; and (2) reinforcement of the means of prevention and management of crises and natural catastrophes, via the establishment of an early alert system together with a geographic information system on food security and the constitution of backup stocks. In addition, an action will be directed toward: (1) better nutritional care for vulnerable populations; (2) the fight against micronutrient deficiencies and support for the creation and equipment of rehabilitation centers; (3) reinforcement of nutritional support to vulnerable groups (pregnant women, children under 5, people living with HIV); (4) promotion of nutritional education; and (5) better control of the sanitary quality of food and water via reinforcement of the capacities of analytical laboratories and improvement of the distributional channels for food and reinforcement of the cold chain. The fight against food and nutritional insecurity also will include the establishment of social safety nets (monetary and non-monetary transfers), notably, and the expansion of the school cafeteria program.
The PRSP also provides for growth sustainability. In this area, it notes, among others, that with the goal of preserving the environment and fighting against its degradation, the Government has established a National Environmental Policy. The implementation of this policy will permit: (1) integration of the environment in development policies, plans, programs and projects, as well as in the decision-making process; (2) contribute to protection of the environment by implementing international conventions; (3) the offer of a healthy life for the people while at the same time creating employment opportunities; (4) reinforcement of the management capacity of the different actors while at the same promoting activities that can generate lasting employment; and (5) reduce obstacles and threats that weigh on the coastal zone, in order to improve the quality of life for ecosystems and the people.
The document also provides for equity and equality measures noting that they should support the capacity of women to make their own choices in life. Consequently, according to the document, the main challenges for the Government are: (1) advancing the equal participation of women and men in decisions relative to sustainable development policies; and (2) assuring the independence of women and their effective participation in decision-making at all levels of the country’s development process.
Another objective of the document is to support local communities’efforts and projects centered on the fight against poverty. The PRSP aims to prepare the country to enter into the dynamic of decentralization by creating conditions for its success. To this end, the following specific objectives are provided: (1) reinforce the fabric of the country with structures based on local communities; (2) reinforce the capacities of local development organizations; (3) raise the rate of microfinance penetration to 25% by 2015; (4) accelerate and extend the program for multi-functional platforms in all regions and prefectures, which would allow the poorest women to benefit from the results of the program; (5) undertake community micro-projects targeting women; (6) accelerate and generalize programs that aim to create micro and small enterprises to offer to women in the poorest households; (7) assure better targeting of policies to economically empower women in urban and rural areas, where the most marginal social groups are concentrated; and (8) support the development of agricultural cooperatives.
The document also notes that particular attention will be paid to small farmers and vulnerable groups (women, unemployed youth, men and women farmers without land of their own). In connection with employment policy, new programs to install young farmers, livestock breeders and fishermen will be established in regions and prefectures, according to local specificities. These programs address rural youth that will have to be trained and helped to stay in their areas, giving them the chance to contribute more productively to the development of the country. Further, the Government intends to promote agricultural development along two strategic axes: (1) the promotion of products for import substitution; and (2) increased production of products for export.
Further, the PRSP provides for these specific goals: (1) improve and secure agricultural, animal, water and forestry production systems on a durable basis and protect the environment; (2) improve the quality of agricultural services and support producers’ organizations; (3) improve the competitiveness of agro-industrial sectors on national markets, as well as their sub-regional and international exports; (4) increase the rate of agricultural mechanization; (5) develop irrigation and rehabilitate land to increase and secure the domestic production of rice; (6) put fertilizers and improved seed at the disposal of small farmers; (7) create a financing fund for the agricultural sector (including subsidies for the processing of agricultural products for small producers); (8) build at least 1,500 km of rural roads per year; and (9) rehabilitate 3,000 km of rural roads.
For its implementation, the PRSP highlights the need of reinforcement of the involvement of all sectoral actors (state, including local communities, and non-State and PTF) in the context of sectoral dialogue and aims to integrate and involve communities so that they play a key role in development management.