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Egis International
- Programme Director
Guyancourt
2008 - 2012
Description: PREDIVAC
Projet de Renforcement et de Diversification des Filières Agricoles aux Comores
Sector : Rural and Local Development
Reference person: Frédéric BOURDILLAT - Egis International - Project Director
Tel : + 33 1 39 41 51 73 Fax: + 33 1 39 41 57 44 Mobile : + 33 6 48 65 50 66
Mail : Frederic.BOURDILLAT@egis.fr
PREDIVAC is a rural and local development project financed by the French Development Agency (A.F.D) with an EURO 5 millions in initial financing over 5 years.
Some operations were co-financed with the help of the ``Programme de Coopération Décentralisée au Comores'' funded by E.D.F. (see http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/documents/case-studies/comoros_pcd_fr.pdf), A.D.B. and F.I.D.A. - Every co-financed action was implemented under the supervision of PREDIVAC as the greatest donor of the operation.
The objective of the project aims to increase the incomes of rural people through two (2) sub-projects.
→ Our first purpose was to provide support (i) to the building-capacity of the SNAC (Syndicat National des Agriculteurs Comoriens) (institutional, operational, administrative and financial support), (ii) to the commercialisation of agricultural products (organise and improve the channels for supplying, distributing and marketing foodstuff in urban centers [population pool], assistance to farmers in organising the collective commercialisation of their products [collection points or bush markets], export development of food crops and cash crops, development of trade relations on Comoros' domestic market, Mayotte Island, neighboring countries and international market and to help implement concrete actions to achieve sustainable development solutions to niche markets), (iii) to access credit through the institutional micro-finance (the traditional banking system refuse to give loans to farmers because they have no guarantees) to obtain money which is necessary to develop the farms with news investments. The creation of a guarantee funds by the S.N.A.C. in the main micro-finance institutions have authorized some farmers to get credits, (iv) to increase agricultural production (improvement of production techniques and supply chain management of farm input ...), to diversify agricultural production, to organize rural markets, to support the development and expansion of export market for agriculture products at all levels (food products and cash crops), (v) to provide powerful scientific and technical support for agricultural production and to encourage good farming practice [vanilla -"organic agriculture certification obtained and is commercialized to export with fair trade label] , ylang ylang essential oil [70% of the SNAC's production of ylang ylang oil is sold in Extra S or Extra class], onions, tomatoes, bananas, pineapple, manioc, taro ...- (stepping up of counter-season production, diversification of agricultural products with the implementation of irrigation systems, to provide farmers with agriculture inputs corresponding with the needs and technical training for farmers). For these actions, the skills of 5 agricultural technicians (SNAC's employees) have been upgrading through professional agricultural training in an Agronomic Institute in Madagascar (in Comoros, there is no agronomic training) and we have requested the support and assistance of CIRAD-IO (International Cooperation in Agronomic Research for Development in Indian Ocean-Reunion Island).
The results of these actions are (1) to elaborate the strategies that will result in actions for a more sustainable agriculture, (2) to preserve the environment and natural resources (for example in Comoros, the use of water and the protection of the fragility of the soil without structure), (3) to promote small agricultural farms, (4) that the elected members of farmers organisations who were trained constitute a plate form of exchange and dialogue that aims to develop a partnership between the private sector and associations. They must become the driving force of the agricultural economic development and establish a groupe that will be organised along the lines of a "think-tank" / a working party to negotiate with the political institutions about the definition of the future agriculture policy, (5) the increasing recognition by producer organizations grants values to channels (or supply chains) and connects farmers with consumers. These values chains highlight the interdependence of production, transportation, dealing and marketing of agricultural products.
The improvement of the coordination of the activities of the various actors (e.g. compagnies) in the chain allows to reduce costs transaction, helps to ensure quality and product safety and stimulates design marketing strategies. Producer organizations are considered as playing an important part in increasing the value generated throughout the chain, such as ensuring that the quality of products is in accordance with the required demand. They can also get the support of other stakeholders and help farmers to negotiate a fair share of the total profit generated.
In Comoros, with the F.I.D.A.'s help funds, the S.N.A.C. has adopted this new concept on 3 (three) experimental sites (2011) and the first results were encouraging.
On the island of Grande Comore we have no ground water, nor surface water (rivers, lakes) and it's an obligation to create water reserves for the agriculture during the dry season to grow food crops and for market gardening (production in counter season).
The lack of employment opportunities for young people encourages large scale-emigration to richer countries. The development of the agricultural sector could be an opportunity to provide jobs to young people and indirectly to create jobs in other sectors. We have also decided to support and to facilitate the implementation of a rural training set-up with Rural Association and Family Centers (in French: Maisons Familiales Rurales - http://www.mfr.asso.fr). This association implements a rural training programme for young people who are out-of-school and unemployed, a programme fully adapted to the specific situation and its needs.
On this assignment and the implementation of all these actions, the increase of the farmers' income was based on adding value to their products through improving operational efficiencies of the farm marketing' products and the distribution channel.
This mission consisted in promoting a positive environment to develop and expand the small family farm structure.
→ the second purpose was to facilitate the development and reducing the isolation of the north of Anjouan Island (so to improve the quality of life, to contribute to economic development and to increase the income of the population) with the implementation of two measures :
local development : with measures to promote economic and social development (school construction, Construction of a dispensary, development of irrigated areas (installations, equipments and management of irrigated sectors), action in support for cattle farming (health, reproduction and food)
open up Jimilime's area : the construction of an asphalt road with a length of about 10 km (with 800 meters of difference in altitude and a section of road on 4 km with slopes which are between 15 to 18%). The tasks related to maintenance (the drainage structures and engineering structures installed) were to be provided by the community stakeholders. About the roadway, the maintenance was to be realized by local public authorities and maintenance of drainage and sewerage realization were to be carried out by the population in the framework of THIMO project (Travail à Haute Intensité de Main d'Oeuvre)
As a cell coordinator, I have :
- the responsibility of the technical and financial oversight as well as the budgeting and management of resources and to verify that the financed actions have been properly carried out
- provided crucial support for local project owners, delegated project management, project management and works
- acted as the mediator between the main actors of the project (two ministries - agriculture, Land-Infrastructure and Transport- and the Anjouan's Autonomous Island Governorate as contracting authorities (the clients), two delegated contacting parties, contract contractors, companies / Engineering consulting firms which realized works / studies, suppliers, donors of funds, the main final recipient of the implementation of the project
- organized field Support and the field missions (evaluation and support missions)
- performed the monitoring and evaluation of the project
- contributed to the establishment of a consultation framework
- provided internal and external communication about and during the project and its reporting near of with decision-making bodies and agencies
- provided a support to the Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture
- defined and written the P.A.I.A.C. (Projet d'Appui aux Investissements Agricoles aux Comores). The French Development Agency (A.F.D.) has approved, validated and financed (euros 0,75 M.) this project.
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CFFPA les Sardières Bourg en Bresse (01-Fr)
- Trainer & education officer
2007 - 2008
Company Centre de Formation Professionnel et de Promotion Agricole « les Sardières » Position Trainer and education officer
Supposed translating in English
Agricultural Vocational Training and Promotion Centre
Description: educational programme for youth and adults in agricultural training
Reference person: Mr. Director - C.F.P.P.A. les Sardières
79 avenue de Jasseron
01.000 -Bourg en Bresse-
Tel. +33 4 74 45 50 81 - Fax. +33 4 74 22 10 03 - mail : cfppa@sardières.fr - email: cfppa@sardières.fr
Funders : French State and Rhône-Alps Region
- Managing and Operating Farm Enterprise Trainer (BTEC National Diploma Advanced);
- Continuing Vocational Training : Supervising Trainees to support them in the elaboration of their technical and economic feasibility study to facilitate the initial establishment of young farmers with the objective to get subsidies to help them on the first five years of their setting up.
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Department of the Var
- Independent Consultant
2004 - 2007
Company Free lance expert Position Independent Consultant
Description: Support Services to Farmers
Reference person: Philippe PONCET (see contact details supra)
Financial Resources : services invoiced
- Advising farmers to realize business plan to ensure over time the development of the activities of the agricultural holding and to use it as an instrument to get loans for investment and subsidies allocated by the agriculture authorities for rural development in France
- To support farmers in the areas of financial accounting, management and budget preparation
- To support farmers (breeders and grain farmers) to assist them to complete their grant application form in the framework of CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) to get subsidies (compensatoty allowances for area, etc...) according to their agricultural productions
- To provide advice to a farmer according to his need. Advice is provided on a case-by-case (essentially basic computer skills training).
- To support farmers to understand and carry-out the measures of the Luxembourg agreement (1999) where the new CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) has introduced, firstly, the decoupling of the subsidies and secondly, introduced the notion of conditionality according to which the decoupled subsidies are paid providing that the farmer respects the good agricultural and environmental conditions;
- In Cameroon (department of the Haute Sanaga), in the framework of the setting up of an industrial farm (450 ha of fallow land / new land) and with the objective to cultivate corn and soybean, I have contributed with a local consultant firstly to identifying and determinate a cartography of all the parcels of land depending on the type of soil and the topography, secondly I have realized the draft business plan for the first cultivation of 200 ha (first stage of the operation) and finally, to prepare a plan at an operational level on the earth roads to access land plots.
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French Foreign Ministry
- Technical Assistant & Project Manager
2001 - 2004
Sahelo Sudanian area
Company French Foreign Ministry Position Technical Assistant
Project Manager (PAOP)
Description: * Rural Development - To provide support for the restructuring of the rural areas
Reference person: AHOURDET DJAPANIA - Head of department - Chadian Agricultural Ministry
Tél. +235 66 00 00 00 - +235 52 01 02 03
Funders : French Foreign Ministry - Priority Solidarity Fund
Given the central role of Farmers Organisations in the agricultural sector, the success of the structuring and organisation of the rural society implies greater support to increase professionalism in the agricultural world.
This Project (PAOP = Projet d'Appui aux Organisations Professionnelles Rurales) contributed to this support.
The budget of this project was EU 1 million.
The objectives were :
- The capacity-building so that each rural and agricultural organizations carry out their missions efficiently and with transparency, to be representative, to take active roles in decisions-making in order to be effective and acknowledged by the civil society and the representatives of the institutions
- Strengthening local farmers' organizations that were involved in different sectors (livestock, food crops and market gardening, cereals (rice, millet, sorghum), peanuts, manioc, sesame, cowpea, gum Arabic, ....) but also transversal structures (initiatives focusing on local development) and women's organizations ...
- To support the emergence of national and regional federations. To establish good governance and functioning effective structures. To promote the emergence of representatives from a civil organisation for political and economic dialogue
- To involve these structures in the technical discussions, political debates, with the State and in a framework of integrated and participatory planning approach, involving public and private stakeholders including civil society and economic operators
- To promote private operators which are able to provide quality services as and when requested.
As a cell coordinator, I have :
- insured the coordination of the project based on decisions taken by the Bureau consistent with the decisions of the Executive Committee and the objectives of the Project
- ensured technical, administrative and financial management of the project
- been in charge of managing and supervising a team of 11 people (with an experienced cadre of national staff and one international technical assistant)
- managed tools which are made available to the staff so that they can
do their jobs effectively
- managed financial funds ;
- implemented actions (animation, training, and information) in their respective territories
- Outreached project activities are carried out for target groups
- Negotiated with professional organizations bringing their ideas for new projects and also prepared the project work plans and budgets, the reports, tender dossiers, draft contracts
- coordinated actions undertaken by monitoring and evaluating cell
- managed the relationship between the agency and the government, local governments, NGOs and other development projects
- Insured management of the Priority Solidarity Fund (FSP) in accordance with, and closely linked to The Service de Coopération et d'Action Culturelle (Ambassade de France / SCAC) and the French Development Agency (AFD).
- Written of activity reports (quarterly, yearly).
For the French Embassy (SCAC) and after IMF and World Bank pressure (on the Chadian State) and what arrived after the stringent implementation of the structural adjustment plan, which has caused a decade (and more) of retrenchment of the public spending and a restructuring in government services which was followed by the liberalisation of the cotton sector and the privatisation of the cotton factories (ginning factory; cotton oil-mill). This sector has been going through an unprecedented crisis which caused complication for the cotton producers of the East of the Sudanian area. In doing so, I was involved in meetings that the World Bank conducted for the elaboration of a rural development accompaniment programme for contributing to strengthening traditional sectors and the diversification of the agricultural production.
The French authorities did not agree with this programme (about both the future of the cotton sector and the programme accompaniment) because about this programme, all the activities were under the control of State institutions contrary to the objectives of our project. About cotton policy, the opinion of intuitions' differed on another point.
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Department of the Var
- Director
1994 - 2001
Company A.D.A.S.E.A. du Var Position Director
Association Départementale pour l'Aménagement des Structures des Exploitations Agricoles du Var
Supposed translating in English
Departmental Association for Improving the Structure of Agricultural Holdings.
Description: Service Office to Agriculture
Reference person: Yves JULLIEN (ex ADASEA's President, today member of the board of Var C.A.)
- Tel. +33 4 94 50 54 50 - mail : contact@chamagri.fr
Alain BACCINO (President of the Var Chamber of Agriculture) (see http://www.ca83.fr/)
Financial Resources : French State (for actions authorized implement under State's delegation), Region of Provence Alpes Côtes d'Azur, Departement of Var , E.U. (for the last three ones: provision of public services and subsidies) and services invoiced for realization of private services.
- Responsible for the structure
Adviser to the President on choices and strategic orientations;
Implementation of the policy defined by the Board meeting and reporting to the organs of management
Manager of the relation with other key partners (agricultural administration, Communities, banks) and FO's and representation of the organization to ad hoc committees concerning rural development policy of the department
- Person in charge of the administrative and financial activities
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Ministry of Agriculture-General Secretariat
- Chief technical advisor
1988 - 1991
Company French Ministry for Cooperation and Development Position chief technical advisor in rural education
Description: Agricultural initial and further vocational training- adult rural education-
Support for cooperative sector reform- Advice to authorities about the definition of the new agricultural development in the framework of the structural adjustment.
Reference person: Tel. + 237 22 28 35 27 / + 237 22 02 11 42 - please ask to contact Mrs EDOU
Financial Resources : Fund for Aid and Cooperation (FAC)
- Responsible for coordination, structuring and monitoring training programs in the agricultural college ;
- To design short training modules for the personnel from the Rural Development and Natural Resources
- In charge of project coordination « computer training for the personnel from the Rural Development and Natural Resources »
- To participate and advise the Cameroonian Ministry of Agriculture in the international negotiations with donors and International Financial Institutions about the structural adjustment policy and more particularly the reform of the coffee and cocoa sector, the future of new assignments to public agricultural agency services and that of the agricultural education because all the graduate students (BTEC, Master's Degree) were absorbed into the Cameroonian Public Service.
- Involvement in the Working Group to draft a new cooperative law (law adopted by Parliament in 1992) and a law for the associations. ;
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Cameroon's Ministry of Agriculture
- Education Officer
1984 - 1988
Date Schools for the Training of Specialists in Cooperation (in French : E.F.S.C. Ebolowa)
Company French Ministry for Cooperation and Development Position chief technical advisor in rural education
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Cameroon's Ministry of Agriculture
- Trainer
1978 - 1984
Date Schools for the Training of Specialists in Cooperation (in French : E.F.S.C. Ebolowa)
Company French Ministry for Cooperation and Development Position chief technical advisor in rural education
Reference person: Tel. + 237 22 28 35 27 / + 237 22 02 11 42 - please ask to contact Mrs EDOU
Financial Resources : Fund for Aid and Cooperation (FAC)
As Education Officer
- Training programs (teaching by objectives) have been developed to improve training according to the best adaptation to the employee and the work context and monitoring and project/program evaluation results to this a new customized training
- responsible for the educational supervision with 21 trainers
As trainer
- management and rural economy trainer ;
- Responsible for practical training periods ;
- monitoring marketing systems (especially in the cocoa and coffee sectors) ;
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Agricultural Vocational Training and Promotion Centre
- Trainer
1977 - 1978
Location Agricultural Vocational Training and Promotion Centre (Saint Flour 15-Fr)
