Central Africa

In order to achieve inclusive development for Africa, the African Development Bank has identified five priority areas (High 5s) that will guide  its Ten-Year Strategy (2013-2022).They are: Light up and power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. With regard to regional integration, the Bank Group's vision focuses on building a stable, integrated and prosperous continent comprised of competitive and diversified countries, with sustainable economies fully active in global trade and investments.

The Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) of the African Development Bank has undertaken an evaluation of the Congo Basin Forest Fund (CBFF), a ten-year program established in 2008. The CBFF aims at alleviating poverty and mitigating climate change by reducing the rate of deforestation in the Congo Basin through the efficient management of its forest resources.

The assumptions and risks identified at appraisal showed that the adoption of IPM methods by farmers, lack of integration of initiatives at the regional level and frequency of rainfall deficits were limiting factors for the success of the project. However, the institutional mechanism put in place by the project, the management methodology based on the participatory and decentralized approach through the implementation units and village brigades, collaboration between research, extension and plant protection institutions in the four beneficiary countries as well as the distribution of villages across a wide range of rainfall isohyets were likely to mitigate this risk. The retrospective logical framework matrix in Annex 6 shows the specific risks concerning project implementation and sustainability