<div><h4>Description</h4><p>The project aims to improve livelihoods, food security and climate and disaster resilience of selected rural communities in Atauro, Manufahi, Manatuto, Metinaro, and Oecussi. It will enhance resilience of agriculture-based communities through landscape management solutions that address water supply reliability and protect lives, farms and infrastructure from floods; and improve the productivity of farms and agroforestry through climate-smart approaches and enhance market linkages. The project follows a community-based approach where villagers plan and implement a combination of investments in water and rural infrastructure, agriculture and agroforestry, and capacity development. Government and village institutional capacity will be strengthened through technical support and training in infrastructure design and construction, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and landscape management. The project will support about 236,000 people by building 300 water, flood protection and rural infrastructure and by supporting climate-smart practices, landscape management, market linkages and capacity development.</p><h4>Impact</h4><p><p>Climate resilience, food security and economic opportunities of Timorese people improved</p></p></div>

Water Harvesting and Agriculture Value Chains Improvement Sector Project

Initial poverty and social analysis project number: 55139 -001 june 2021 timor -leste: agriculture improvement and water harvesting project this document is being disclosed to the public in accordance with adb's access to information policy. abbreviations adb - asian development bank covid -19 - coronavirus disease gdp - gross domestic product note in this report, refers to united states dollars. in preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the asian development bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. initial poverty and social analysis country: democratic republic of timor -leste project title: agriculture improvement and water harvesting project lendingfinancing modality: sector loan department division: serdseer i. poverty impact and social dimensions a. links to the national poverty reduction strategy and country partnership strategy timor -leste's strategic development plan 2011 -2030 targets the elimination of poverty and achievement of upper middle -income status by 2030. the key pillars of this strategy are infrastructure development, human resource development, institutional developm ent, and the development of productive sectors of the economy. the plan also highlights commitment to promote gender equality, women's rights, and women's empowerment. agriculture, tourism, and petroleum are identified as leading sectors in the country's d evelopment strategy. of these sectors, agriculture has the greatest potential for an immediate and widespread contribution to poverty reduction. approximately 70 of timor -leste's population live in rural areas. in 2014, an estimated 41.8 of the population lived below the national poverty line. one-third of the country's 65 sub- districts have an estimated poverty rate of greater than 50, and rural sub-districts tend to be poorer. the agriculture sector provides source of livelihoods for 80 of the populat ion. however, the agriculture's contribution to non-oil gdp has steadily declined from 32 in 2006 to 17 in 2019 and annual sectoral growth has been stagnant over the past decade averaging -0.3 between 2010-2019 . average yields of key crops such as rice, coffee, and maize, are far below the yields achieved in neighboring countries under similar conditions. in addition to declining agricultural output and productivity timor -leste is highly vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change. predicted inc reases in minimum, maximum and average temperatures together with increased irregularity of rainfall pose a significant threat to future agricultural potential. information on and knowledge about the impacts of climate change and the types of adaptation that will be needed are a community remain limited. the project seeks to respond to these challenges by focusing on poor women and men farmers located in four municipalities, providing them and their communities with the necessary resources to improve the harvesting, storage, and management of water; adopt climate-smart agriculture approaches to restore eco-system function; and increase the participation of the private sector in agriculture to expand the delivery of critical services to poor farming househol ds, especially for women.b. poverty targeting general intervention individual or household ti -h geographic ti -g non-income mdgs ti -m1, m2, etc. timor -leste is an agrarian economy. the country's small population and mountainous topography limit expansion of agriculture development, with only about 10 of the country's land area fit for agriculture. agriculture, including forestry and fisheries, provides a source of livelihoods for 80 of the 1.2 million population with two-thirds of all households having some form of agricultural holdings. the poverty headcount was 30.3 nationwide in 2014. the aiwhp covers the three central municipalities of dili, manatuto, and manufahi, and the enclave of oecussi. the poor are often the most vulnerable to the effects of flood and droughts as they usually depend on agriculture and live on the most exposed and marginal land. c. poverty and social analysis 1. key issues and potential beneficiaries. the aiwhp will have multiple types of beneficiaries due to better water management that mitigates drought impacts on people, property, businesses, and food security: i the general population within target areas; and ii agriculture market chains. 2. impact channels and expected systemic changes. impacts will be realized through reduced risks associated with droughts and floods to people, property, businesses and food security: i surplus water that could cause flooding stored for both social domestic water supply or agricultural irrigation for use during dry periods; ii water more efficient infrastructure that will lengthen the potential growing season and enable market oriented production increasing rura l incomes; employment opportunities during construction; iv improved eco-system function resulting from the implementation community -based natural resource management. 3. focus of and resources allocated in the transaction ta or due diligence. staff and consultant resources will be used to undertake more detailed poverty profiling of agricultural households and the extent to which land tenure issues are a constraint to improving productivity. decision making structures for identifying and designi ng project interventions that foster the involvement of women, men, and youth within a community will also be reviewed.ii. gender and development 1. what are the key gender issues in the sector andor subsector that are likely to be relevant to this project or program women play key roles in agriculture production, but male household heads typically assume full 2 responsibility for representing the h ousehold in farmer groups and cooperatives, which can lead to a reduced role for women in decision making at both the group and household level, leading to negative impacts on women's access to training and education to support production. results of a rapid analysis of the key gender issues will be used to inform: i equality of project benefits and opportunity sharing between men and women; ii systematic approach to reduce gender inequalities in aiwhp areas; targeted approach for poor women farmers; iv collection of sex disaggregated data and its benefits to monitoring and evaluation; v increased representation of women in decision- making bodies at all levels. 2. does the proposed project or program have the potential to contribute to the promotion of gender equity andor empowerment of women by providing women's access to and use of opportunities, services, resources, assets, and participation in decision making yes no the aiwhp entails eliciting long term, planned land use changes, based on decisions made by community -level groups on agriculture, water, and natural resource management farmer groups. sustained implementation support to such groups has the potential to br ing about structural changes in women's participation in decision making and control of assets. community level discussions on all proposed gender designs and possible entry points will be explored during due diligence.3. could the proposed project have an adverse impact on women andor girls or widen gender inequality yes no the project seeks to address issues of gender equality and inclusion of women in terms of access to resources and participation in decision making. 4. indicate the intended gender mainstreaming category: gen gender equity egm effective gender mainstreaming sge some gender elementsnge no gender elements . participation and empowerment 1. who are the main stakeholders of the project, including beneficiaries and negatively affected people identify how they will participate in the project design. the project will be executed by maf. beneficiaries will be people, property, business and agriculture adversely affected by the impacts of climate change in aiwhp targeted areas. other private sector entities are local contractors involved in construction and in maintenance and repair of community infrastructure. while no significant negative effects are envisaged, there may be some loss of privately -owned assets although physical works comprise construction and improvement of water control infrastructure. social impact studies and measurement of any losses will be carried out during project preparation. 2. how can the project contribute in a systemic way to engaging and empowering stakeholders and beneficiaries, particularly, the poor, vulnerable, and excluded groups what issues in the project design require participation of the poor and excluded the project involves community based and community wide activities such as the preparation and implementation of community -based natural resource management plans and support to various community groups. decision making conducted by community groups needs to be inclusive by ensuring women, youth, and other vulnerable groups are not excluded. this will be done as part of the social safeguard studies during the project preparation. 3. what are the key, active, and relevant civil society organizations csos in the project area what is the level of civil society organization participation in the project design h information generation and sharing h consultation l collaboration na partnershiphigh level through: village committees comprising community -based women and youth groups will be involved in processing activities through their engagement in local surveys, consultation workshops and focus group discussions. 4. are there issues during pr oject design for which participation of the poor and excluded is important what are they and how should they be addressed yesnoproject activities such, as water management infrastructure improvements and the adoption of climate-smart agriculture approaches, will involve participation of the poor and excluded as a key part of project design. iv. social safeguards a. involuntary resettlement categorya b c fi 1. does the project have the potential to involve involuntary land acquisition resulting in physical and economic displacementyesno the construction of water management infrastructure will require some land acquisition, the extent of which is not 3 yet known and will be determined during project preparation and the final categorization will be assi gned accordingly. a resettlement plan will be prepared that identifies compensation and mitigation measures. for the improvement of irrigation schemes very little resettlement is envisioned. 2. what action plan is required to address involuntary resettlement as part of the transaction ta or due diligence process resettlement plan resettlement frameworksocial impact matrix environmental and social management system arrangement none b. indigenous peoples category a b c fi 1. does the proposed project have the potential to directly or indirectly affect the dignity, human rights, li velihood systems, or culture of indigenous peoplesyesno 2. does it affect the territories or natural and cultural resources indigenous peoples own, use, occupy, or claim, as their ancestral domain yesno 3. will the project require broad community support of affected indigenous communities yes no 4. what action plan is required to address risks to indigenous peoples as part of the transaction ta or due diligenc e process indigenous peoples planindigenous peoples planning framework social impact matrix environmental and social management system arrangement none v. other social issues and risks 1. what other social issues and risks should be considered in the project design creating decent jobs and employmentl adhering to core labor standards labor retrenchment l spread of communicable diseases, including hivaids increase in human traffickingl affordability increase in unplanned migrationincrease in vulnerability to natural disasterscreating political instability creating internal social conflicts others, please specify 2. how are these additional social issues and risks going to be addressed in the project design aiwhp preparation activities required to address these will be confirmed in the report and recommendation to the president linked document - summa ry poverty reduction and social strategy. bid documents will provide core labor standards clause for contractors to abide by the country's the labor legislation and international conventions as signed on by the country ilo cls conventions. monitoring and reporting on core labor standards will be required as part of the contract due diligence. for adherence to mitigation of spread of communicable diseases, appropriate clauses will be provided in the bid documents for works contractors who employ local people and may bring workforces from outside the immediate project area. issues of affordability may arise with charges for use of irrigation water and will be addressed in training and support of water user groups.vi. transaction ta or due diligence resource requirement 1. do the terms of reference for the transaction ta or other due diligence contain key information needed to be gathered during transaction ta or due diligence process to better analyze i poverty and social impact, ii gender impact, participation dimensions, iv social safeguards, and v other social risks. are the relevant specialists identified yes no 2. what resources e.g., consultants, survey budget, and workshop are allocated for conducting poverty, social, andor gender analysis, and participation plan during the transaction ta or due diligence a total 4 person-months of international social safeguard consultant is allocated to conduct assessment on impacts, consultations, and document preparations.

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Agriculture Improvement and Water Harvesting Project: Initial Poverty and Social Analysis

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