Economic policy reform support (EPRS)

The project will be implemented primarily by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Guinea Central Bank (GCB). The project will support the EPRP"s goals of liberalizing economic activities in Guinea"s agricultural sector and increasing private sector participation therein. Some 50 person-months of short-term TA will be provided to conduct economic and policy analyses and studies and provide on-the-job training, courses, and seminars in management, project and investment appraisal, business administration, and other areas supportive of EPRP objectives. Specific activities will include: reviewing the GOG"s comprehensive credit policy, working with the GCB and commercial banks to establish private sector lending criteria, and monitoring GOG implementation of EPRP credit programs. Short-term TA will begin immediately while a contract for long-term TA is being let. Long-term TA in economics, credit, agricultural economy, and statistics will focus on developing the capabilities of staff of the Ministries of Planning and International Cooperation and of Rural Development in the areas of economic data collection, analysis, and management and in the formulation of economic reform policies. The long-term advisors will also play an active role in meeting the GOG"s immediate information and policy analysis needs. Scopes of work for the long-term advisors will include, inter alia: for the economics advisor, forecasting the effects of present policies and evaluating the effectiveness of GOG reforms; for the credit specialist, helping the GCB implement a domestic commercial credit program and determine the credit needs of private investors in the agricultural sector; for the agricultural economist, surveying the agricultural marketing system and helping the GOG improve marketing procedures, services, and facilities; and for the statistician, identifying the kinds of data needed for project implementation and developing methodologies for data collection, analysis, and presentation. Amendment of 1989 identified agricultural policy reform as central to Guinea"s economic recovery and development, and provided TA and training primarily to the GCB, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MARA), and the Ministry of Health, the latter for an activity to assess food security needs and the impact of reforms on the urban poor. (Information taken from amendment of 7/15/92, PD-ABG-816). Grant amendment of 7/15/92 increases funding and extends the PACD to 8/96. The major activity will be to help MARA to establish the National Directorate for Agriculture (MARA/DNA) as an agricultural planning entity. Complementary assistance will be provided to GCB, the Ministry of Planning and Finance (MPF), the Counterpart Fund Management System (CFMS), and the National Directorate for International Cooperation (DNCI) to strengthen their capabilities to promote a policy environment favorable to private sector agriculture. (PD-ABG-816)