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Contents

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Introduction

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

The Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP)

TCP Results at a glance

SO1: Contribute to the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition

Policy and strategic frameworks and governance mechanisms

Food security and nutrition programmes and information systems

SO2: Make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable

Natural resource management

Knowledge products and capacity development

SO3: Reduce rural poverty

Social protection and poverty reduction

Rural family farming

Empowerment of women

SO4: Enable inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems

Food safety, animal health and plant health

Agricultural and food systems

SO5: Increase the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises

Emergency preparedness and response

Enhanced resilience to reduce vulnerability to shocks (risk governance and safeguarding livelihoods)

Annexes

Annex 1: TCP Eligibility criteria

Annex 2: TCP projects closed in 2018, excluding TCPf

Annex 3: TCPf projects closed in 2018

Acknowledgements

This report was produced under the overall leadership of the Assistant Director-General, Programme Support and Technical Cooperation Department (PSD), Roberto Ridolfi, and the guidance of Gustavo González, Director, Business Development and Resource Mobilization Division (PSR). The report conceptualization was co-lead by Kazuki Kitaoka, Head of the Marketing, Outreach and Reporting Unit (PSRR) and Uwe Voortman, Programme Officer (PSD). The report production was coordinated by Cary Yungmee Hendrickson, Reporting Specialist (PSRR), The report was researched and written by Mauricio Torres Velásquez, Results Reporting Specialist (PSRR), with key inputs from the TCP team. Layout was provided by Heather Perreault and infographics were designed by Massimiliano Martino. The information presented is the result of contributions from across FAO, which involved numerous colleagues working at headquarters and in Regional, Country and Liaison Offices. The report would not have been possible without the valuable contributions and review provided by FAO Regional, Country and Liaison Offices, the Office for Corporate Communication (OCC), the Office of the Director General (ODG) and the FAO Technical Departments and Divisions. Particular appreciation goes to Nina Brandstrup, Vanja Bozic and Pablo Rabczuk for their invaluable guidance, support and inputs.

Foreword

The 2019 report presents the achievements and catalytic role of Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP)-funded projects that completed their activities in 2018 and provides information on the characteristics, typical interventions and results of the Programme.

The report covers 304 TCP projects for a total value of USD 78.3 million. These projects directly benefited more than 400 000 people and their communities, delivered more than 7 600 technical products and mobilized more than USD 190 million of additional resources, of which close to USD 50 million are being implemented through FAO.

The report also features a number of selected in-depth stories to highlight the tangible and lasting results of the TCP's work. There is evidence of results not only at the policy and institutional level, but also results at the level of smallholders, rural women and youth, who are now more resilient to climate shocks, generate farm and off-farm incomes and meet their livelihood needs.

The TCP has been playing its role in supporting Member Countries in achieving progress towards their Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Results demonstrate that the TCP can be an important element in addressing needs for technical assistance, forging new partnerships and testing and scaling up innovative areas of work to support more far-reaching and comprehensive initiatives related to the mandate of FAO.

Going forward, my vision for the TCP is that of a programme which is highly responsive and strategic in addressing the most pressing needs for technical assistance of our Members, fast, flexible and easy to access, while being fully transparent, results-based and effective.

At the national level, it will be important to ensure that the TCP continues to be used strategically, emphasizing its catalytic role, with government counterparts remaining in the driving seat. By linking the TCP to major initiatives, we aim to multiply resources invested. For example, in Afghanistan, a small USD 66 000 TCP contributed to the formulation of a USD 45 million World Bank project, including a USD 2 million technical assistance component implemented through FAO.

At regional and interregional levels, building on the expressed interests of beneficiary countries and using the TCP as seed money, there is an opportunity to induce investments in thematic areas/programmes with high potential to achieve major progress towards SDG targets, thereby further improving the efficiency and effectiveness of TCP assistance.

It is my commitment to continue to maximize the benefits of TCP for our member countries and to further improve how we report on the use and impact of TCP assistance.

Acronyms and abbreviations

ACIP II Agriculture Competitiveness Improvement Agriculture

AMR Antimicrobial Resistance Risk Management

APHOCASOR Association of Producers of Vegetables in Solar

APUS Association of Urban Producers of Sucre

ASA Arid and semi-arid area

ATER Technical Assistance and Rural Extension
B4FN Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition

BDEAC Development Bank of Central African States

CPF Country Programming Framework Development

DGE Directorate-General for Animal Husbandry

DRM Disaster risk management

ECCAS Economic Community of Central African States

ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States

EU European Union

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

FFS Farmer Field Schools

FMD Food and mouth disease

GAD Departmental autonomous government

GAM Municipal autonomous government

GCF Green Climate Fund

GEF Global Environment Facility

HACCP Hazard analysis and critical control points

ICRAF International Centre for Research in Agroforestry/World Agroforestry Centre

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development

INFOODS International Network of Food Data Systems

IPM Integrated Pest Management

IPPC International Plant Protection Convention

IUU Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (fishing)

KALRO Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research

MCS Monitoring, control and surveillance

NAIPs National Agricultural Investment Plans

NFA National Fisheries Authority

NFSP National Food Security Policy

NGO Non-governmental organization

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Organization

PNAUP National Programme of Urban and Peri-urban Project

PSMA Agreement on Port State Measures

RIV Research Institute of Vegetable Growing

SDG Sustainable Development Goal

SFERA Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation

SIDS Small Island Developing States

SME Small and medium-sized agricultural enterprise

SO Strategic Objective

TCP Technical Cooperation Programme

TCPf TCP Facility

ToT Training of trainers

UN United Nations

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

USAID United States Agency for International Development

WAW World Agriculture Watch

WFP World Food Programme

WHO World Health Organisation

Introduction

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

FAO is the specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Its goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. FAO’s vision is a world free of hunger and malnutrition, where food and agriculture contribute to improving the living standards of all, especially the poorest, in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner. With 197 Members and over 12 000 employees, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide and believes that everyone can play a part in ending hunger.

In 2016, FAO reviewed its Strategic Framework and prepared the Medium Term Plan for the period 2018–21 around five Strategic Objectives (SOs), which materialize its vision. The Strategic Framework is structured around the following SOs:

Contribute to the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition;

Make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable;

Reduce rural poverty;

Enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems; and

Increase the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises.

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, provide the general development framework in which FAO operates for an enhanced implementation of its mission. The 2030 Agenda in particular is a historic commitment to tackle poverty and hunger, promote the sustainable use of natural resources and address climate change through an interconnected set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), recognizing that issues concerning food, livelihoods and the management of natural resources cannot be addressed separately. As the custodian agency for 21 SDG indicators, spanning SDGs 2, 5, 6, 12, 14 and 15, and a contributing agency for six more (please see Figure 1), FAO plays a key role in supporting countries in measuring progress. FAO has the opportunity to take a leadership role in facilitating implementation of the 2030 Agenda in a number of areas linked to its custodianship.

While FAO’s core functions, actions, programmes and delivery mechanisms help to achieve outputs and outcomes, the transformational shift to achieve SOs and SDGs needs to happen within its Member States. Active engagement with partners, such as Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), governments, academia and research institutions, as well as, and in particular, partnerships with the private sector, are expected to play an expanded role under the 2030 Agenda. Partnerships enable coordinated action by multiple stakeholders to address the integrated, indivisible and interlinked nature of the SDGs. They are expected to help facilitate country access to means of implementation, including finance and investment, access to markets and technology, capacity development and policy support. FAO’s technical expertise and partnerships with other UN agencies will be called upon to play a unique role: providing and upholding intergovernmentally agreed norms and standards, monitoring commitments and tracking results and promoting institutional development as a trusted and neutral facilitator.

The Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP)

Created in 1976, the TCP allows FAO to draw from its own regular programme resources and respond to countries’ most pressing needs for technical assistance. Through the TCP, the Organization provides access to a wide range of technical expertise related to agriculture, food and nutrition, and plays an important role in knowledge-sharing, as well as exchange of experiences, good practices and lessons.

The Programme was originally designed to address the unforeseen and urgent needs that were not being addressed efficiently through more traditional channels of aid or regular programme activities, agreed upon through FAO’s biennial planning processes. In 2005, the FAO Governing Bodies decided to change the unprogrammed nature of the TCP. The funding criteria (see annex 1) were adjusted to require all projects to be aligned with the Strategic Framework of FAO and linked to agreed priorities reflected in the Country Programming Frameworks (CPF). In making these adjustments, it was emphasized that all assistance would continue to be demand driven by Member Countries, not FAO.

The TCP provides two broad types of support:

1. Development assistance to address areas related to FAO’s mandate and competencies that are covered by the Strategic Framework and the CPF; and

2. Emergency assistance to support early action, response and early rehabilitation in disaster or crisis situations.

The TCP appropriation for the 2018–2019 biennium amounts to USD 140.8 million, i.e. 14 percent of FAO’s Regular Programme budget. Funds for emergency projects (15 percent of total) and inter-regional projects (3 percent of total) are managed from headquarters, while the bulk of resources (82 percent of total) is allocated and managed by Regional Offices, in line with shares established by Governing Bodies (Figure 3).

A TCP project can have a budget of up to USD 500 000 and should be completed within 24 months. Simplified procedures apply to projects with a budget of below USD 100 000, also referred to as the TCP Facility (TCPf), which are typically limited in scope (e.g. specialized training, conduct of sector-related studies or assistance in the formulation of project proposals for donor funding).

TCP results at a glance*

The 304 sampled projects reported on in 2018 benefited more than 400 000 people and their communities, including farmers and producers, livestock breeders, food business operators, displaced groups, government staff and other stakeholders. Technical assistance for capacity-building was a fundamental component across all project types and SOs. This included, resource mobilization and project preparation, substantiating and complementing strategic frameworks and policy decisions with technical assessments, international good practices and information systems, while using communication products and campaigns to build awareness and increase outreach for the projects. In other cases, piloting of approaches was achieved through upgrading government or non-governmental organizations’ facilities with equipment, software and expendables. Based on the project recipients’ needs, a variety of inputs for demonstration purposes were prepared and delivered, including seeds, capital goods and inputs for new and alternative farming technologies (such as greenhouses and irrigation systems). Implementation of emergency projects under SO5 also included the delivery of emergency kits, seeds, animals and other inputs, such as water tanks or vaccines. A summary of TCP outputs is presented in the figures to the right, and Figure 4 presents a typical approach taken by FAO in TCP projects.

Overall, the findings show that:

• TCP projects are aligned to FAO’s Strategic Framework and Country Priority Frameworks, demonstrating their high relevance to country-level needs and a strategic focus in partnering with FAO; TCP projects also frequently align with Regional Initiatives.

• Some projects show important catalytic effects even within their lifetime, and the convening power of FAO, incorporated within the TCP, is also seen as an important value added for driving action.

• TCP support has been found to be innovative, reflecting the added value of FAO’s work, as well as inclusive of gender equality considerations (75 percent of sampled TCP projects were gender sensitive).

The following subsections describe the project types, as well as the main outputs, achievements and catalytic results under each SO, as identified through the preparation of the report. TCP projects are considered to have a catalytic effect when they produce one or more of the following results:

• follow-up funding from the government, bilateral or multilateral sources for larger-scale activities in the same country;

• improvements in farming systems that lead to their wider diffusion and adoption by farmers and the private sector;

• improved and strengthened institutional capacities;

• timeliness in bridging a critical gap (e.g. emergency response, mitigation, preparedness projects);

• policy, legal and regulatory changes that facilitate the development of the agricultural sector;

• improved forms of collaboration at the regional and international levels.

Methodology

The Technical Cooperation Programme 2019 Report presents key results of 212 TCP projects (see Annex 2), and 92 TCPf projects (see Annex 3) operationally closed in 2018. These projects, implemented during 2015–2018, were sub-categorized according to their main objectives, outcomes and outputs, in observance of FAO’s Strategic Framework. FAO’s Reviewed Strategic Framework and Outline of the Medium Term Plan 2018–21, published in 2016, provide the reference point against which projects were aligned in their final year of execution.

The analysis features specific and in-depth results of a select number of projects according to their contribution to FAO’s SOs. The results of this analysis are drawn from four primary sources of information: project terminal reports and highlight sheets; TCP appraisal sheets; country annual reports; and interviews with FAO staff. Interviewed staff include lead technical officers, technical officers at FAO headquarters, budget holders and/or FAO country representatives responsible for 31 projects. Outputs were collected as reported in the logical framework matrices and terminal reports for the entire set of projects, and all figures included in this report are based on data extracted from the FAO Field Programme Management Information System (FPMIS).

Featured cases in this report were selected according to their achievement and technical and economic sustainability of results, as reported on in the performance assessment questionnaire. Some projects related to, and implemented in parallel with, the featured cases have also been included in the report.

The 304 projects reported on covered 130 countries and accounted for a total budget of USD 78.3 million. The distribution of the sample across SOs is comparable with historical patterns, and resource distribution among regions closely mirrors the agreed biennial allocations. The sample can, therefore, be considered representative in this regard.

Strategic Objective 1

Contribute to the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition

The TCP supports FAO’s work to effectively implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially ending hunger (SDG2). While the world produces enough food to feed everyone adequately, still many do not have the means to produce it. According to the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (FAO), more than 820 million people in the world are still hungry, and about 2 billion people experience moderate or severe food insecurity. In parallel, the emergence of overweight and obesity among all population groups, as well as diet-related non-communicable diseases, are major public health challenges.

FAO supports governments to commit explicitly and politically to eradicate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition, to implement inclusive governance and coordination mechanisms, to make decisions based on evidence and to implement effective policies, strategies and investment programmes.

For projects reported on in 2018, the TCP provided technical support for:

1. Policy and strategic frameworks and governance mechanisms

• Regional exchange and coordination mechanisms

• Regional and national plans and action plans on food security and nutrition

• Nutrition sensitive regional and national agricultural investment plans

2. Food security and nutrition programmes and information systems

• School food and nutrition educational interventions (also through SO3)

• Information and policy analysis, monitoring and early warning systems (also through SO2)

Under SO1, FAO delivered:

794 Communities supported/facilities upgraded

1231 Technical government staff trained

1 185 Non-government staff trained

120 Training sessions held

92 Outreach products created

99 Technical documents produced

35 Policies, programmes, strategies, action plans, legislation prepared

6 Full project proposals

14 Concept notes for project proposals

USD 63 709 619 mobilised

1.1 Policy and strategic frameworks and governance mechanisms

From a macro and institutional perspective, the TCP helps governments reach political commitments and a common understanding of problems and solutions at regional and national levels, to address the root causes of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.

Building on existing global guidelines and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, under Strategic Objective 1, the TCP works to promote policy and institutional change and stimulate nutrition-sensitive investments in food systems, as well as across sectors that are important for food security and nutrition, including agriculture, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, social protection and education.

Sectoral and cross-sectoral policy frameworks and investment plans and programmes, as well as legal frameworks to realize the right to adequate food, are stepping stones toward eradicating hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. The TCP provides technical support and develops the capacities of regional bodies and governments to deliver such policy and strategic frameworks.

Consultations with producers’ organizations, civil society and the private sector ensure ownership and soundness. FAO uses its global and regional work as a lever for raising political commitment and developing capacities at country level.

The exchange of experiences and capacity development among regional and national technical staff help build common knowledge on problems and solutions, which further strengthens the strategic frameworks and policies in place and helps optimize the allocation and use of financial resources.

Well-formulated, coordinated and inclusively consulted policies, programmes and investments can ensure that stakeholders across the entire system take action. Collaborative approaches to addressing shared issues and interests across countries can generate synergies and linkages and complement multilevel efforts.

The following results were generated by TCP projects:

The gender strategy for the implementation of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States’ plan for food security and nutrition was validated, and corresponding national plans were supported in Chile, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Honduras and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), and launched in El Salvador.

In Papua New Guinea, the Action Plan (2018–2022) for the National Food and Security Policy, as well as three provincial plans, were delivered.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation’s food and nutrition security framework was endorsed by national representatives of Member States and an action plan was delivered, while the institutional mechanism within the association for promoting regional food and nutrition was established.

In 2018, FAO operationally closed 24 projects for policy and strategic frameworks and governance mechanisms, totalling USD 4 188 083 and directly benefiting 31 countries:

• Afghanistan

• Bangladesh

• Bhutan

• Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

• the Central African Republic

• Colombia

• Congo

• Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Djibouti

• Dominican Republic

• El Salvador

• Ethiopia

• Gabon

• Grenada

• Guatemala

• Haiti

• Honduras

• Honduras

• India

• Kenya

• Maldives

• Nepal

• Nicaragua

• Pakistan

• Papua New Guinea

• Paraguay

• Sri Lanka

• Somalia

• South Sudan

• the Sudan

• Tunisia

• Uganda

TCP projects in this SO1 field provided:

In the Central African Republic, the Congo and Gabon, nutrition was mainstreamed in the national plans for food security and nutrition. Additionally, a regional agricultural investment plan (2017–2021) was delivered for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and an agricultural research master plan was adopted in the Congo.

National and regional partnership mechanisms for hunger eradication were established in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda. Following the endorsement of the Sudan’s National Agriculture Investment Plan, the African Development Bank signed a USD 41 million grant agreement to finance a public sector agriculture value chain development project in the country.

Project highlight:
Development of an action plan to facilitate the implementation of the national food security policy in Papua New Guinea (TCP/PNG/3602)

Malnutrition continues to be a serious issue in Papua New Guinea, imposing considerable social and economic costs on individuals, families, communities and the economy as a whole, and disproportionately affecting disadvantaged groups, such as women and children.

As a Member of the United Nations, the country is committed to ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture by 2030. Papua New Guinea joined FAO in 1975, and cooperation was strengthened with the opening of a country office in 2013. FAO assistance has aimed at achieving food security through environmentally sustainable local food production, and FAO assisted the Government to formulate a new National Food Security Policy (NFSP) Framework (2017–2027) to strengthen food and nutrition security in the future, replacing the NFSP (2000–2010).

According to the new NFSP, “Successful implementation of the policy will contribute to advancing the nation towards the Vision 2050 of being a smart, wise, fair and happy society, and achieving the global Sustainable Development Goal 2 to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.”

However, the capacity to formulate an action plan to facilitate the implementation of the new policy was lacking. A review undertaken of the previous NFSP (2000–2010) indicated that a key factor leading to poor policy implementation was the absence of a detailed budgeted implementation plan that allocated clear roles and responsibilities, particularly related to involvement and actions required at provincial and district levels.

A weak plan resulted in limited policy buy-in from provincial and district administrations, where priorities often varied from those articulated at national level. As a result, budget resource allocations at both national and subnational levels were low and erratic, leading to poor policy implementation. In addition, a serious need for improved coordination, both horizontally across sectors and vertically through the tiers of decentralized government administrations, was highlighted in a policy review.

Although the Department of Agriculture and Livestock is mandated to conduct policy analysis and formulation, it lacked the capacity to formulate a comprehensive budgeted NFSP action plan that would ensure the implementation and rollout of the new food security policy.

This TCP project supported the development of a concrete, budgeted action plan, which would enable the central government to roll out the new national food security policy framework to relevant sectoral agencies and local governments, as a follow-up to the policy formulation phase.

The process involved facilitating multistakeholder consultations to formulate the new policy and ensure that relevant government agencies provided inputs. Activities also included the strengthening of coordination and linkages with other relevant policy processes being undertaken in the country.

As a result of this process, a new ten-year National Food Security Policy Framework and a National Level Action Plan (2018–2022) were developed, after broad consultation with a wide range of stakeholders responsible for supporting food security and nutrition in the country. The project took advantage of consultation events to build local stakeholders’ capacity.

“We are grateful to FAO for financial and technical support,” said Mr Francis Daink, Acting Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Livestock.

The policy was also rolled out in three selected pilot provinces: Madang, Milne Bay and Simbu. During a series of workshops, stakeholders ranked the districts in each province based on a range of criteria (i.e. land potential, agricultural pressure, access to services, income from agriculture and child malnutrition) in order to select the most disadvantaged districts in which to target the pilot planning activities.

The project facilitated the development of provincial-level food security programmes/plans in the three provinces, and local planning workshops were held to overview the selected NFSP and identify and align relevant food security actions and programmes at provincial and district levels. All meetings were attended by a broad range of participants, including representatives from the districts of each province. Draft action plans for each of the three provinces were prepared, reviewed by stakeholders and validated.

However, the preparation process could not be informed by an analysis of the factors and foods affecting household food and nutritional status, and the Household Income Expenditure Survey datasets were not made available within the timeframe of the project.

With the Government placing greater emphasis on evidence-based policy-making and results-based monitoring, it is essential that the collection, systematization and management of data be improved in order to guide planning to strengthen resilience for food security and nutrition. Additional technical support would help build the necessary capacity to regularly collect, collate, analyse and communicate (gender-disaggregated) agriculture and food security statistics for the future.

Project title

Development of an action plan to facilitate implementation of the National Food Security Policy

Programme country

Papua New Guinea

Key results

The project allowed for consultations with over 100 key stakeholders on the action plan for the National Food Security Policy in Papua New Guinea.

Five focus group meetings allowed for the preparation of a draft NFSP action plan (2018–2022), which was validated through the participation of 40 key stakeholders in a national workshop.

Three provincial planning workshops were organized to prepare provincial plans for Madang, Milne Bay and Simbu provinces (covering three regions)

The action-planning process adopted by the project was inclusive, gender-sensitive and participatory, and the successful delivery of the NFSP action plan, as well as three provincial plans, is expected to contribute to a coherent national policy framework for food and nutrition security at national and provincial levels.

Expected catalytic effects

The plan will strengthen and build on existing relationships, help forge new partnerships and enable broad participation from stakeholders and the private sector in decisions that impact food security and good nutrition in the country. In addition, it will help provide the science, tools and technologies needed to build resilience to sustain the impacts of disasters and climate change, and enhance the quality of life for the most vulnerable communities.

1.2 Food security and nutrition programmes and information systems

The TCP assists governments to improve their understanding of the drivers of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in their specific contexts, as well as to develop the right tools to address them.

Emerging geopolitical, trade, environmental and urbanization trends have brought about new challenges, affecting the underlying causes of malnutrition. In many countries, agricultural censuses and surveys are not carried out as often as necessary, exclude information on food and nutrition security and, out of necessity, rely on projections or outdated data.

The understanding of new realities requires quality information and analyses, coherent frameworks of policies, programmes and investments and the leveraging of food and agricultural systems for better nutrition. The TCP works to help improve the capacities of governments and stakeholders to analyse trends in all forms of food insecurity and malnutrition, and to monitor and evaluate policies and programmes.

In partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), FAO provides data and analysis on all forms of malnutrition through the State of Food Insecurity in the World report. Global statistics presented in the report provide FAO Members with gender-disaggregated information on diets, nutrition and new areas of focus to support the design and monitoring of comprehensive cross-sectoral policies.

Projects implemented under the TCP also support the mainstreaming of nutrition in food and agriculture policies, programmes and investment plans at all levels to exploit opportunities and create incentives for food systems that produce positive nutrition outcomes.

FAO uses educational and social programmes as important catalytic tools that not only impact poor communities and consumers, but can also produce positive effects on local production systems, local economies and dietary habits. Many interventions are supported by communication strategies that encourage healthy cooking and eating habits for enhanced nutrition.

Following the implementation of TCP projects:

A national centre for the promotion of edible insect farming was built and equipped in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

A total of 550 backyard gardens and 33 primary school gardens (used as pedagogical tools for food and nutrition education) were established and strengthened in Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the scaling up of home and school garden pilots is being prepared in Myanmar, Nepal, Niue and Timor-Leste.

In 2018, 18 TCP projects for food security and nutrition programs and information systems were operationally closed, accounting for USD 3 512 454, which directly benefited 17 countries:

• Antigua and Barbuda

• Bangladesh

• Democratic Republic of the Congo

• El Salvador

• Grenada

• Guatemala

• Iraq

• Jordan

• Lebanon

• Nepal

• Niue

• Lao Peoples' Democratic Republic

• the Philippines

• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

• Timor-Leste

• Myanmar

• Viet Nam

TCP projects in this SO1 field provided:

The Parliamentary Front against Hunger was established in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Zero Hunger Trust Fund Act 2016 was enacted.

In Guatemala, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock developed an operational Food Price Monitoring and Analysis system, and the National Institute of Statistics of Guatemala improved the methodology for the preparation of the national agricultural survey.

The Iraqi National Food Security Committee is working toward a new food security strategy, for which FAO assistance has been requested.

Livestock sector information is now regularly available to inform policy-making in Viet Nam, thanks to the livestock monitoring platform developed and piloted.

Project highlight:
Promoting an integrated home garden and school garden approach for food and nutrition security in Asia (TCP/MYA/3505, TCP/RAS/3509)

Nutrition, food security and the elimination of hunger as a means to achieve overall economic development are priority issues in Asia and the Pacific, and there is growing recognition of the influence of nutritional status on schoolchildren’s health, growth and development. One of the easiest ways to ensure access to a healthy diet is food production in home or school gardens, which can further contribute to combating hunger, poverty and illiteracy.

Su Su Lwin, a 38-year-old woman and one of the project beneficiaries in Myanmar, participated in the education sessions and cooking classes organized by FAO in DaLa Township.

“Before this project I didn’t used to eat pumpkin but now I have learned about the nutritious values of this vegetable and have started to cook it regularly,” she said.

The Myanmar project established selection criteria for school and community gardens and provided project sites with technical backstopping and monitoring. A gardener was designated as garden caretaker, while being further supported by a project agronomist. School gardens were established and students were actively involved in their maintenance. Teachers were trained in agriculture, hydroponic crops and nutrition; the learning was also extended to 225 local community members.

Preliminary feedback suggests that community members are keen to learn about new agricultural techniques, such as hydroponic gardening. The testimony of beneficiaries suggests that the participants in agriculture training have improved knowledge about compost-making and innovative agriculture technologies that are water- and space-saving.

As consumption patterns shift towards a wider use of processed food among the peri-urban population, beneficiaries were also sensitized to the risks associated with the consumption of such products and food label usages.

Teachers in project sites facilitated a seven-day food diary with third and fourth grade students, in order to understand nutrition patterns. A manual on how to set up a hydroponic garden with key nutrition messages was developed. Key farmers received training in hydroponics, banana circles and cooking. Six sessions of cooking classes were held. School lessons integrated nutrition messages on a weekly basis.

A preliminary focus group discussion during a field visit with women and household members also indicated changes in certain dietary and cooking habits. Beneficiaries have reduced oil intake and used flavour enhancers that are healthier than traditional monosodium glutamate.

They also have learned to cut vegetables in large pieces and avoid the over-cooking of food in order to retain as many nutrients as possible, as well as to clean the vegetables before chopping to avoid food poisoning. Beneficiaries now also pay attention to the number of colours included during meal preparation for their children.

“During the cooking classes, I learned to add tomato at the end of cooking as in that way it [tomato] will not lose its precious nutrients […] I also add much less salt than before. Before the FAO project I didn’t know these things about cooking,” said Su Su Lwin.

Although many case studies of school gardens show their contribution to reducing hunger and improving nutrition, a lack of support from national policies or strategies has limited the expansion of these practices.

The TCP regional project aimed to develop sustainable, practical and replicable models for school garden-based learning and home gardens in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Timor-Leste as beneficiaries, while Bangladesh and Nepal supported the project by sharing their experiences.

The design of school and home gardens was based on FAO case studies and lessons learned, including the experiences gathered by IFAD, WFP and other agencies of the United Nations, which contributed to designing sustainable initiatives. The project prepared a guideline and training materials on how to start these garden projects in schools. Guiding frameworks for expanding school and home gardens were formulated and shared with participants in beneficiary countries.

In the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Timor-Leste, the project supported the preparation of national strategies on school gardens, as well as their governments’ communication and behavioural change strategies to raise awareness and promote initiatives for food security and nutrition.

While government staff from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic had a study visit to Bangladesh in order to learn how to use this initiative to fight hunger and poverty, a regional training and a number of workshops were conducted in Timor-Leste, including a training of trainers (ToT) on how to integrate nutrition in education curriculum, in order for kids to become agents of change at home.

Project titles

Promoting an Integrated Home Garden and School Garden Approach for food and nutrition security in Myanmar;

Regional Initiative for Zero Hunger Challenge: Promoting an Integrated Home Garden and School Garden Approach for food and nutrition security in selected Southeast Asian Countries

Programme countries

Bangladesh, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal and Timor-Leste

Key results in Myanmar

80 government staff members and teachers trained on agriculture, nutrition and hydroponic crops.

225 beneficiaries trained in agriculture, in addition to specific training for women.

225 hydroponic gardens set up on household compounds.

21 nutrition-training events and 6 cooking demonstrations carried out.

Key results in Asia

60 relevant government staff trained on integrating nutrition in school curricula and home gardens (12 per country).

60 teachers trained on nutrition (15 per country).

15 recipes developed for school meals which use produce from school gardens.

12 integrated school gardens established and/or strengthened.

12 school subjects incorporated nutrition.

Catalytic effects

The Government of Myanmar showed interest in continuing to work multisectorally and using schools as the epicentre for future programmes. A project proposal was drafted for the next steps in close collaboration with the Government.

Results from pilot initiatives were shared with the governments of the beneficiary countries to contribute to furthering the development of national strategies, along with plans for scaling up. Three concept notes were prepared in Myanmar, Nepal and Timor-Leste.

Strategic Objective 2

Make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable

Sustainable agriculture is at the core of the SDGs and the TCP works to sustainably improve agricultural productivity to meet increasing demand, ensuring a sustainable natural resource base and improving income-earning opportunities.

Rapid structural transformation, rural transition and related changes in food systems have increased the demand for food, feed and biofuel. The increased demand, which requires significant growth in production of crops, livestock and fish, needs to be sustainably met by addressing the challenges of a changing nature and the intensity of competition for natural resources.

The TCP projects promote cross-sectoral initiatives, dialogue and collaboration, and international and national governance mechanisms and policy instruments relevant to sustainable agriculture, with particular emphasis on the development of capacities.

For projects reported on in 2018, the TCP provided technical support for:

1. Natural resource management and sustainable production

• Initiatives to enhance production and productivity

• Institutional and producer association strengthening

• Institutional and capacity strengthening

• Resource-efficient production pilots

2. Knowledge products and capacity development

• Participation in international governance mechanisms

• Capacity-building for implementation and enforcement

• Institutional preparation and capacity-building

• Conduct of pilots

Under SO2, FAO delivered:

1 446 Communities supported/facilities upgraded

5 879 Technical government staff trained

42 345 Non-government staff trained

1 699 Training sessions held

2 148 Outreach products created

429 Technical documents produced

115 Policies, programmes, strategies, action plans, legislation prepared

12 Full project proposals and 14 concept notes for project proposals

USD 45 571 000 mobilised

2.1 Natural resource management

Supported initiatives seek to manage natural resources and ecosystems sustainably and improve resource-use efficiency, through multiprong production systems that simultaneously perform ecological, economic and social functions.

Through TCP projects, FAO has introduced sustainable production technologies, such as recirculating aquaculture systems, climate-smart and zero-tillage technologies for genetically improved farmed Tilapia, national forest inventory and monitoring protocols and the mechanical return of crop residues to farmer fields.

Following the implementation of TCP projects:

The water reuse unit on a beneficiary fish farm in Armenia resulted in decreased water consumption and a more than doubling of fish productivity in less than one year. The project demonstrated that the environmental sustainability of the Ararat Valley could be maintained with the right approach to fish farming and when all fish farmers adopt the new technology (as is expected in the future).

In 2019, Azerbaijan inaugurated the reconstructed Research Institute of Vegetable Growing (RIV), expected to increase the production of healthy seed potato in the country and reduce the import of planting material.

Climate-smart and zero-tillage technologies contributed to the improvement of local crop production, ecological consultation and the livelihoods of farmers in China.

Angola and Ecuador now have updated information related to available forest resources, providing decision-makers with an enhanced understanding of both the economic and environmental potential of forests.

The sustainable management of genetic resources and reintroduction of milk performance recording enhanced dairy cattle breeding and husbandry practices in Moldova.

A total of 13 regional forest investment programmes were developed and validated in West Africa, and United Republic of Tanzania drafted a National Forest Policy to replace the previous policy from 1998.

In 2018, 32 projects for natural resource management were operationally closed for a total of USD 8 584 580, directly benefiting 27 countries:

• Albania

• Angola

• Armenia

• Azerbaijan

• Benin

• Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

• Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Cabo Verde

• Cameroon

• Chad

• China

• Cuba

• Ecuador

• Egypt

• India

• Iran (Islamic Republic of)

• Jamaica

• Lebanon

• Myanmar

• North Macedonia

• Republic of Moldova

• Senegal

• Sierra Leone

• Tajikistan

• United Republic of Tanzania

• Tokelau Islands

• Uzbekistan

TCP projects in this SO2 field provided:

Project highlight:
Spreading disease-free potato seed production (TCP/AZE/3503, TCP/AZE/3402)

The seed industry in Azerbaijan still contains major remnants of the former Soviet system, under which state seed units operate with a top-down, centrally controlled approach and with little focus on the needs and demand side of the economy. Analyses have shown that farmers need immediate access to available superior crop varieties in order to improve the market.

Key challenges in the country have remained, including weak infrastructure for agricultural research, variety testing, seed production, quality assurance and effective marketing and distribution. Control mechanisms needed to be simplified in order to undertake more effective protection against critical diseases. Previously, an average of 30 percent of seed was discarded during field inspections, primarily because of the lack of means to ensure the quality of the seed produced. At the outset of the TCP project, seed legislation had to be reviewed and improved, while consultation was necessary with key beneficiaries to establish priorities and policies for seed development and regulations.

In 2013, the TCP supported a pilot project to develop disease-free seed potato production. Azerbaijan has good growing conditions for both seed and table potatoes, which are a staple crop in the Azerbaijani diet. Each year, 186 000 tonnes of potato seed are needed, and most farmers multiply their own seed or buy imported seed (or table potatoes) from other countries. However, imported seed is not controlled for quality, assistance for which the Government and the national agricultural research system requested TCP support.

A new scientifically based system for the production and multiplication of disease-free seed potatoes could contribute to enhanced food security, rural development, sustainable livelihoods and environmental integrity, by building the capacities of national counterparts in disease-free seed potato production system and disease testing, increasing potato productivity, and reducing dependence on expensive imports of seed potatoes from other countries.

While FAO developed a layout of the laboratory facilities for virus analysis, the Government renovated and equipped a number of rooms in the RIV. A 200 m^2 greenhouse was also constructed in the vicinity of the institute.

The project procured the basic equipment and expendables needed to train local researchers and technicians in tissue culture and virus detection. Training conducted at various levels for scientists, technicians, advisers and farmers promoted a coordinated and participatory approach to disease identification and testing and disease-free seed potato production. During a field day held in Gadabay district, farmers said it was the first time they had ever had a chance to evaluate new potato varieties. For them, high yield and resistance to disease and pests are important criteria in variety selection.

Technical assistance was also provided for the official testing and demonstration of 19 new varieties introduced from Europe and for the development of a regulatory basis to establish a national seed potato certification system. Of these, the following 11 varieties were recommended for inclusion in the national catalogue: Belarossa, Catania, Jelly, Concordia, Julinka, Elfe, Farida, Fabula, Red Scarlet, Sifra and Sylvana. New potato varieties tested and selected in the framework of the project helped produce 25–40 tonnes of potato per hectare on average, which was nearly 100–200 percent more than the national average. A farmer-based potato seed multiplication and certification system for early generation materials was also established.

The TCP project supported a review of seed legislation and institutional roles in the sector and drafted proposals for improvement, which were developed and discussed in a policy debate with stakeholders. An update of the seed policy document formulated in 2014 (also with FAO support under project GCP/INT/123/MUL “Seed Sector Development in Countries of the Economic Cooperation Organization”) was conducted, and a national action plan for its implementation was developed. Draft seed regulations were also prepared on “Variety testing, registration and protection” and “Seed quality control and certification”. A farmers’ seed demand survey covering 652 farmers was undertaken to understand the crops and varieties grown, as well as the seed supply formation, thus informing the project design.

Around 400 individuals (technicians and farmers) received training in various aspects of seed production, processing and marketing through field days, study tours and formal training, using the project-equipped facilities of the seed control points in Ismayilli and Salyan regions.

A second project continued the work of the TCP in the potato seed sector by providing support for the improvement of the current seed policies and legislation. The project established a synergy with the Agriculture Competitiveness Improvement Project (ACIP II), funded by the World Bank, which provided support in developing the designs for seed and variety-testing laboratories, prepared a list and technical specifications for laboratory equipment and supported capacity-building activities, as well as for other subsectors.

The Ministry of Agriculture constructed 12 regional laboratories, while the project provided the Guba regional seed certification laboratory with the necessary equipment. The ACIP II procured and installed equipment in nine other laboratories; the remaining two laboratories will be equipped by an IFAD project.

Project title

Development of disease-free seed potato production support to seed sector development in Azerbaijan

Programme country

Azerbaijan

Key results

Approximately 20 researchers and technicians, 40 variety testing specialists and seed inspectors and 200 farmers trained.

Disease-free seed potato production set up in a selected pilot zone.

Basic seed-quality testing equipment for training purposes provided to the Guba regional seed certification laboratory.

50 seed specialists trained in internationally accepted seed testing and certification procedures and rules.

400 technicians and farmers trained in various aspects of seed production, processing and marketing.

Catalytic effects

The Government of Azerbaijan expressed interest in the outputs of the project and requested additional assistance in the formulation of a larger-scale project. With the support of FAO, and funding from the FAO–Azerbaijan Partnership Programme, implementation of this project will begin soon.

The RIV initiated a programme for the multiplication of plantlets from the tissue culture facility to mini-tubers under greenhouse conditions established through the project. Reducing the cost of production, this system enables year-round production and the adoption of phytosanitary standards.

The Government provided financial support for the reconstruction of the RIV, including the infrastructure for disease-free seed potato production that was designed under the TCP project. The improved facilities have been re-inaugurated as the Research Institute of Vegetable Growing, and Potato and Vegetable Seeds Production Complex. The facilities are expected to increase the production of healthy seed potato in the country and reduce the import of planting material. FAO continues to support the formulation of national export promotion strategies for agricultural products in the country.

Sustainable production

FAO’s TCP works on supporting the piloting, testing and scaling up of practices by producers to sustainably enhance products and increase productivity and production.

Sustainable and efficient provision of goods and services is affected by low productivity and production capacity, leading to industry stagnation and decline, trade imbalances, low income and threatened food and nutrition security. Insufficient agricultural education, along with diseases and high vulnerability to climate change, threats and crises, are the main factors limiting agricultural growth. Yet agricultural development is affected by a lack of appropriate strategy, policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks for the sustainable growth of agriculture.

The TCP’s projects strengthen the capacity of institutions to promote the adoption of more integrated and cross-sectoral practices that sustainably increase production and address climate change and environmental degradation.

FAO uses a wide arrange of tools and methods for sustainably enhancing agrifood production, with a strong focus on producers.

Supporting producers as key partners to become agents of change and innovators enables them to achieve higher production and productivity in a sustainable way. Farmer Field Schools (FFS), demonstration crops, study visits, technical guidelines, and awareness-raising on resource efficiency, climate change and food safety are among the main tools to enhance production. Improved technologies and practices help producers reduce food waste and losses all along the value chain, increase the efficient use of natural resources (water, energy, soil nutrients), reduce deforestation and degradation, and better manage natural resources in the face of climate change.

Successful implementation of improved practices increases production and the productivity of traditional and diversified products, ensuring a richer and more diverse food base and improved nutrition. FAO identifies, safeguards, promotes and supports Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems.

Following the implementation of TCP projects:

A newly established collection vineyard in Armenia, containing around 300 local varieties of grapes, will support the management of grape genetic materials, while the phylloxera-free rootstock contained in the mother vineyard will ensure greater stability in grape production.

Whitefly population was reduced, after which farmers experienced increased crop quality and yields in the Gambia; the Ministry of Agriculture is already leveraging this development to address issues associated with the biological control of mango fruit fly and fall armyworm.

The improved capacity of the National Plant Protection Organization in Moldova is expected to reach a broad range of beneficiaries.

The food and nutrition security of some 5 110 farm families in the four cooperative farms supported in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was improved through integrated crop-livestock farming systems.

Further resources from other development partners, such as the Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC), were mobilized for the development of value chains in agriculture, livestock and fisheries.

In 2018, 63 TCP projects for sustainable production were operationally closed, totalling USD 18 262 950 and directly benefiting 42 countries:

• Armenia

• Bangladesh

• Belize

• Benin

• Cabo Verde

• Cameroon

• Chad

• Côte d'Ivoire

• Cuba

• Democratic People's Republic of Korea

• Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Djibouti

• Eritrea

• Fiji

• Gabon

• Gambia

• Ghana

• Guatemala

• India

• Kenya

• Kyrgyz Republic

• Lao Peoples' Democratic

• Republic

• Lesotho

• Marshall Islands

• Mauritania

• Mauritius

• Nauru

• Nepal

• Niue

• North Macedonia

• Pakistan

• Republic of Moldova

• Rwanda

• Sao Tome and Principe

• Senegal

• Seychelles

• Sierra Leone

• Sri Lanka

• United Republic of Tanzania

• Sudan

• Uzbekistan

• Zambia

TCP projects in this SO2 field provided:

Project highlight:
Promoting better access to animal feed for small farms in Gabon (TCP/GAB/3504)

Gabon imports more than 400 billion FCFA (Central African CFA Francs) of food products per year, more than 60 percent of which are animals or animal products. The production of animals that require a low quantity of inputs (ruminants) is only possible in Haut Ogooué, Ngounié and Nyanga; for the rest of the country, the production of monogastrics (especially poultry and pigs) is too dependent on animal feed, for which availability and prohibitive costs prevent farmers from engaging in animal husbandry.

“If you don’t have the good feed, you cannot have good results,” says Alvina Doris Ntsame Akono, a breeder of chickens who lives in Oyem in the province of Woleu-Ntem in northern Gabon. Alvina is a member of the Woleu-Ntem cooperative. For financial reasons, Alvina left high school, and a friend helped her discover the profession of breeder. In a few months, she found a passion for raising animals and was quickly entrusted with the management of a farm with 15 pigs, which allowed her to follow her passion and gain a full-time job. Thanks to FAO’s work in the TCP, Alvina, together with more than 100 breeders, was trained to produce feed for her animals.

At the time of the project start, the only supplier of animal feed, who was also a livestock producer, had a profitable business out of feed production. The monopolist was able to benefit from being vertically integrated and having control over the market, which they used to outperform competitors in the livestock market.

Through this project, FAO initiated a dialogue to identify solutions to the market situation. Although the producer who held a monopoly over animal production was reluctant to work with FAO at first, the TCP project team showed the potential of allowing other livestock producers to grow, which would instead allow him to focus on supplying them with animal feed and increasing feed production. In return, the monopolist trained small producers in remote areas, where operations were not profitable, to make hand-crafted animal feed.

The project supported the Directorate-General for Animal Husbandry (DGE) through a census of livestock farmers in Gabon and the establishment of a database for improved information management. With the establishment of a well-equipped animal feed unit at the DGE, the project trained more than 100 breeders on the manufacture of animal feed. “Thanks to the support and training of FAO, I chose to start the breeding and production of broilers,” said Alvina.

The project also helped farmers develop the capacity to operate in the animal feed production business and take advantage of economies of scale. Since the potential producers were so scattered, stakeholders in the project decided to develop cooperatives in specific locations. Around 100 farmers were trained on the functioning of cooperatives, which led to the creation of three regional cooperatives (Estuary [COOP-E], Ngounié and Nyanga [COOP-2N] and Woleu-Ntem [COOP-WN]), all of which drafted and adopted a strategic development plan. These action plans can also provide a roadmap to help the DGE in its role of promoting this form of agricultural enterprise.

To ensure the provision of the capital goods necessary for animal feed production, FAO provided the design for grinding machines to the Institute for Technological Research, which manufactured them with the support of local producers. The initiative allowed the birth of a small local industry, and machines produced in the pilot were delivered to the three cooperatives for the manufacture of animal feed.

The project trained the breeders and enabled them to achieve an incredible economic transformation. “I benefited from training in managing cooperatives and developing strategic plans. The study trip has helped me more than anything else has. That is why I started the food manufacturing business. We now have an animal feed mill, and we want to industrialize. People started to trust us and place big orders,” said Olle Biwole Maurice, President of the Woleu Ntem Breeders’ Cooperative.

With these newly acquired skills, cooperatives are able to manufacture their own feed for their animals in a structured and beneficial organization. One of the three cooperatives now produces fish feed, is engaged in fish farming to support its members and has built alliances with other producers to obtain maize (a key input for animal feed production). “For us, the most essential input is the corn, which is provided by another cooperative also supported by FAO,” said Alvina.

A new policy dialogue to incentivize maize production locally has also been stimulated. Although mainly intended for the production of beer, the initiative will additionally benefit the animal feed sector. “We are venturing into the production of corn and soybeans. We will increase agricultural production in Woleu Ntem,” said Olle Biwole Maurice.

Finally, although women have generally remained in the minority in terms of management positions in some of the breeder cooperatives, COOP-2N has women at the helm of the vice-presidency, general secretariat and general treasury, and in COOP-E, the general treasurer of the cooperative is a woman.

Project title

Support for the promotion of small farms through better access to animal feed in Gabon

Programme country

Gabon

Key results

The operational capacity of actors involved in the production and analysis of animal feed was strengthened, while farmers improved their animal feeding based on good practices on the basis of available local feed resources. Specific results included:

• 107 beneficiaries trained in feed production techniques.

• Two feed production units installed.

• Inventory and classification of animal feed systems developed.

• Geolocalized information system on farms and food resources established.

• Two production sites installed and a site provided with equipment but not installed.

• Farmers connected with two laboratories for bromatological analysis and providers of feed-demand analysis.

• Four animal feed composition tables prepared, based on locally available resources.

• Six training sessions for livestock breeders organized.

Catalytic effects

During the Mouila ceremony, when COOP-2N inaugurated its headquarters in southern Gabon, many breeders joined the cooperative, increasing the number of members from 25 to more than 90 by the end 2017.

The creation of a national association for the feed industry is currently in progress.

A dialogue on partnership between FAO and the BDEAC and mobilizing resources for investment in agriculture was held in 2018. An investment agreement for the development of value chains in agriculture, livestock and fisheries, where FAO would be the implementing partner, is currently being negotiated.

2.2 Knowledge products and capacity development

Under Strategic Objective 2, FAO’s TCP works on promoting the use of knowledge and information for evidence-based decision-making. While training to institutions strengthens capacities to collect data and produce evidence for decision-making, support for strategic knowledge products helps directly identify and address local or national issues.

Rapid changes and transitions in food systems call for evidence-based and well-targeted policy responses. The design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of different government policies and strategies require reliable and up-to-date statistical data on different aspects of the agriculture sector. However, statistical production in the field of agriculture and livestock is mainly characterized by the absence or obsolescence of structural data.

The preparation and technical implementation of data collection projects require multidisciplinary human capacities, information and communications technologies, equipment, and supporting strategic, legal and operational frameworks.

FAO provides capacity-building on statistics, geospatial information, maps and qualitative information to underpin the extent, quality, use and productive capacity of land, water, forests, oceans and inland waters. Upgraded skills enable beneficiaries to assess the impacts of agriculture, forestry and fisheries on natural resources, to monitor agrifood variables and to evaluate how practices improve agriculture production and productivity. Analytical capacity feeds the preparation of strategic knowledge products to be used by national and regional institutions in order to make evidence-based decisions. Accurate and timely data may reduce disease incidence, increase production, reduce impediments to trade and increase access to markets.

FAO plays an important role in developing global standards, methods and tools for food and agriculture statistics. The availability and quality of standardized national data allow for international comparability and interoperability across different statistical domains. Among others, FAO supports the World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2020 and specific initiatives, such as the International Network of Food Data Systems (INFOODS).

Following the implementation of the TCP projects:

Burkina Faso scheduled the second General Census of Agriculture, a nutrition survey and a national livestock survey for 2018. The Gambia conducted a livestock census instead of a survey, for which the results were validated in 2017. By 2018, Guinea was technically ready to carry out its national census of agriculture and livestock. Tunisia announced that the general census of agriculture and fisheries would take place from October 2018 and that results would be ready by November 2019. The Government of Tunisia also requested FAO to support the development of an observatory of agricultural exploitations. The United Republic of Tanzania initiated the National Annual Agricultural Statistics Sample Survey Data Collection in 2017, and the results were expected to be ready in 2018.

In 2018, 24 TCP projects for knowledge products and capacity development were operationally closed, totalling USD 5 907 999 and directly benefiting 17 countries:

• Angola

• Bhutan

• Burkina Faso

• Comoros

• Congo

• Gambia

• Guinea

• Kenya

• Micronesia (Federated States of)

• Morocco

• Namibia

• Samoa

• Senegal

• South Africa

• Tunisia

• United Republic of Tanzania

• Vanuatu

TCP projects in this SO2 field provided:

Senegal uses an original approach to collect information at the farm level, using the methodological framework of World Agriculture Watch (WAW) adapted to the context of the region.

In Kenya, the 2018 food composition tables informed the agronutrition strategy and infant-feeding analysis.

Routine fisheries data collection was strengthened in all the member countries of the Fisheries Committee for West-Central Gulf of Guinea.

The information collected by means of the Rapid Vulnerability Assessment tool informed the GEF-funded project “Enhancing Climate Change Resilience in the Benguela Current Fisheries System”.

Project highlight:
Updating the Kenyan food composition tables to improve nutrition (TCP/KEN/3503)

Food composition data inform nearly every aspect of nutrition and, therefore, represent a fundamental tool for basic knowledge to improve health, food security and nutrition. Food composition tables were first published in Kenya in 1993. By 2015, and considering the many changes and advancement in knowledge on food composition since 1993, the use of the previous dataset compromised the work of the authorities by constraining them to work with incomplete and outdated information under an unfriendly presentation.

The TCP project was developed to review and update the food composition tables. This process began with a desk review and stakeholder consultations to take stock of the quality of available food composition data. Representatives of relevant ministries, research organizations, academia and development and implementing partners formed a national steering committee to guide the review process.

Through consultative meetings, it was realized that technical capacity in food composition data was low for the programme officers who were to be tasked with this activity. The project supported the Ministry of Health to send a Ministry officer to Wageningen, in the Netherlands, for a postgraduate course in food composition data to gain the necessary technical knowledge to coordinate the review and update of the Kenyan food composition tables. A training on food composition tables was also undertaken in November 2015.

While the update project initiated with other funds in 2014, the bulk of the work was carried out using TCP resources. Nonetheless, the process also benefited with support from other partners. For example, the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry/World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) contributed to the analysis of three fruits that were also of interest to their programme, while the Nutrition and Health Program Plus (NHP+), funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), supported the design and printing of the Kenyan Food Composition Tables publication. The project biodiversity for food and nutrition (B4FN) also contributed to the analysis of the information.

In-kind support, such as software and facilities from other stakeholders, also helped advance the research. In particular, the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), through a letter of agreement with FAO, ran the B4FN project, which also supported the project work. The KALRO provided a liaison office to facilitate collaboration and coordination on food composition work.

The project sampled and collected food from across the country and obtained food analysis information from the universities participating in the steering committee. The 62 foods analysed and 28 nutrients selected for analysis were complemented with the completion and update process of the information available in the 350 food entries of the 1993 version. As a result, the new Kenyan food composition tables have 623 food entries, of which 99 percent has complete information.

The Kenyan food composition tables of 2018 were developed following international guidelines from INFOODS. All food data collected was cleaned, verified and compiled using the INFOODS compilation tool.

As a network of food composition experts, INFOODS works to improve the quality, availability, reliability and use of food composition data. Not many countries have the tables, and not many have up-to-date tables. FAO and INFOODS provide guidelines, standards, compilation tools, databases, etc. Other countries can download food composition tables from the public website for reference.

The results of the new version of the Kenyan food composition tables were disseminated through workshops for the 47 counties in Kenya. The updated information was also used for preparing the publication “Kenyan Food Recipes 2018”, a recipe book of common mixed dishes, as prepared by communities, with nutrient values. The book contains 522 raw and cooked foods and 142 recipes developed using the ingredients available in food composition tables, and taking into account the relevance to current utilization at community level, the method of preparation and ingredient uniqueness. The book has drawn considerable attention.

Although the tables are an important improvement to inform local policies, they should be continually updated. A policy brief was prepared for policy-makers of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation on the existing gaps in terms of nutritional contents, and on how to use the food composition tables for the next policy projects. The updated information will guide both county and national governments on the operational priorities they need to focus on when implementing food-based approaches to reduce the burden of malnutrition in the population and support nutrition-sensitive agricultural production.

The results and importance of the project, as well as the role of FAO, are widely recognized. Members of the steering committee have received requests from many other potential beneficiaries and stakeholders, including other development partners, such as (WFP). According to the technical officers of the project, Kenya and West Africa were the last to receive support for this kind of project. However, other potential beneficiaries have continued to request support in this field, as remarked upon by the project’s officers, noting that not continuing this work “would be a lost opportunity.”

Project title

Support government in the review and technical update of Kenya food composition tables

Programme country

Kenya

Key results

623 foods entered in the Kenyan food composition tables.

Publication of the Food Composition Tables 2018.

Publication of the Kenyan Food Recipes Book.

Catalytic effects

More than USD 40 000 mobilized from the EU, ICRAF and USAID, as financial resources to advance the project and related products.

The project has enjoyed global recognition and was awarded a recognition certificate. Together with the members of the steering committee, the updated Kenyan food composition tables are being used to analyse the country’s nutrition situation through scientific papers with the collaboration of technical officers.

In line with the project, a proposal to survey food consumption in Kenya was developed by the Kenyan Medical Research Institute.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation has prepared the agronutrition strategy, which prioritizes food production with specific nutrients.

The Ministry of Health is exploring the use of the updated food composition tables for infant feeding tables to reduce malnutrition.

Implementation of policies and international instruments

FAO’s TCP under Strategic Objective 2 works on promoting the effective integration of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in international governance mechanisms, as well as strengthening the capacity of institutions to implement policies and international instruments that foster sustainable production and address climate change and environmental degradation.

Major resource-use efficiency improvements and conservation gains will have to be achieved globally in order to meet food demand, as well as halt and reverse ecological degradation.

Addressing the challenges threatening food and nutrition security requires integrated policy approaches at both national and international levels. International cooperation has an important role to play, since many resources upon which the agriculture sectors depend — such as water, fish stocks, forests, and ecosystems — are transboundary in nature.

Addressing transboundary issues requires the promotion of coherent and effective national and international governance in order to overcome major deficiencies in global and national governance mechanisms, regulatory systems and monitoring and accountability frameworks.

The support provided by FAO enables national strategies and action plans to be aligned with international conventions and agreements. Governments and relevant actors are strengthened to implement and enforce measures and actions needed to address identified gaps and constraints, and identify priorities to move forward. Such measures include legal reforms, institutional and operational frameworks, enhanced monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) systems and market-related measures.

FAO supports the development and implementation of, and adherence to, international conventions and agreements, such as: the 2030 Agenda; the Second International Conference on Nutrition; the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030; the World Humanitarian Summit; the Paris Agreement on climate change; the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA); and the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing.

Following the implementation of the TCP projects:

The capacity of the governments of Guinea, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Surinam and Thailand was strengthened to govern the fisheries sector in a manner that effectively deterred, combated and eliminated Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Indonesia, Thailand and Viet Nam developed operational manuals for the pilot application of aquaculture planning and management tools as per the regional Blue Growth initiative.

The Regional Front for the Fight against Hunger and the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament are stronger and more efficient in implementing sustainable policies on food, agriculture and sustainable development.

In 2018, 22 projects for implementation of policies and international instruments were operationally closed, totalling USD 4 440 993 and directly benefiting 35 countries:

• Azerbaijan

• Bhutan

• Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

• Cambodia

• Cuba

• Dominica

• Dominican Republic

• El Salvador

• Fiji

• Gabon

• Guatemala

• Guinea

• Guyana

• Honduras

• Indonesia

• Kazakhstan

• Kyrgyz Republic

• Lao Peoples' Democratic Republic

• Mozambique

• Myanmar

• Nicaragua

• Palau

• Papua New Guinea

• Paraguay

• Philippines

• Somalia

• South Africa

• Sri Lanka

• the Sudan

• Suriname

• Tajikistan

• Thailand

• Tonga

• Vanuatu

• Viet Nam

TCP projects in this SO2 field provided:

Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines developed National E-agriculture Strategies. El Salvador, Paraguay and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines developed a Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Climate Change Adaptation programme for the agriculture sector. Haiti updated its National Action Plan on Adaptation and Bolivia (Plurinational State of) formulated two legal regulations on DRM. Honduras developed a proposal to set up an agroclimatic observatory, while Bolivia (Plurinational State of) and Paraguay assessed the Agricultural Stress Index System at the country level.

Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Philippines applied the concept and practices of forest landscape restoration, conducted orientation events and carried out assessments to guide the formulation of action plans.

Project highlight:
Minimizing the risks of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (TCP/INT/3603, TCP/PNG/3502, TCP/SRL/3603)

The practice of IUU fishing depletes fish stocks, puts legal fishers at an unfair disadvantage, applies further pressure on the sustainability of marine ecosystems, distorts competition and constitutes an impediment, as well as a deterrent, to private sector development, and weakens coastal communities, particularly in developing coastal States and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). In addition, IUU fishing is increasingly associated with organized criminal behaviour, such as tax and financial crimes, abusive labour and slavery, human trafficking, smuggling, and the dumping of toxic waste at sea.

Rough estimates indicate that the global annual value of IUU fishing is between USD 10 billion and USD 23.5 billion, representing between 11 and 26 million tonnes, which is equivalent to one-sixth to one-third of reported global catches.

Trade and market measures have been used to reduce opportunities for IUU fishing activities, based on the extent of such activities taking place in the origin countries. The European Union (EU) enacted Council Regulation Number 1005/2008 to prevent the flow of IUU fisheries products in and out of the EU, and in June 2014, the EU adopted Decision 2014/C 185/02, advising the Government of Papua New Guinea that it risked being identified as non-cooperative in the fight against IUU fishing (i.e. the issuance of a yellow card). The EU is Papua New Guinea’s most significant market in terms of total tuna exports, for which total canned tuna exports to the EU were 15 867 tonnes in 2010 (valued at around EUR 37 million [or USD 41.5 million] annually). At the industry level, a ban would have likely resulted in immediate economic and social impacts, with a consequential loss of millions of dollars and massive loss of jobs for an estimated 10 000 people directly employed in the processing sector alone.

Similarly, the EU Council issued a yellow card to Sri Lanka in 2012, followed by a red card by in October 2014, banning the import of raw and processed fish.

With the support of TCP projects, awareness-raising of IUU fishing and the implementation of specific measures to curb IUU fishing were carried out in Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka, in order to have the negative listings lifted. Specifically, these projects strengthened policy, legal and institutional frameworks for fisheries management, monitoring, control, surveillance and enforcement to address IUU fishing, through the review of fisheries legislation and conduct of training activities.

In the case of Papua New Guinea, the project undertook a comprehensive review of fisheries and related legislation and provided technical recommendations and advice, which resulted in the preparation of a draft fisheries and aquaculture management bill. The bill is now under consideration by the relevant authorities of the Government. The project also supported the development of a draft of the national fisheries MCS strategy.

In Sri Lanka, 19 officers were trained on vessel monitoring systems and electronic reporting. An international consultant also conducted a residential training course on vessel monitoring systems and electronic reporting, including practical sessions.

In an effort to address IUU fishing systematically, the EU and 34 countries deposited instruments of adherence to the PSMA, which entered into force on 5 June 2016. The objective of the PSMA is to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing by preventing foreign fishing vessels engaged, or believed to be engaged, in IUU fishing from using ports and landing their catches.

Many of the state parties to the agreement acknowledged having faced constraints in the implementation of the PSMA, including shortcomings in national policies and laws, weak institutional and operational capacities, and poor cooperation and coordination at national and regional levels.

Three TCP projects assisted 14 countries in the formulation of national strategies and action plans to address the requirements of the PSMA and related instruments and mechanisms to combat IUU fishing. The implementation of the national strategies and action plans will require additional resources and technical assistance.

Each strategy was developed through country-led, national-level multistakeholder workshops. With the assistance of FAO, stakeholders reviewed existing national policies, legal frameworks, institutional set-ups and MCS systems and operations against the provisions of the PSMA and related instruments and mechanisms. Through the workshops, participants ascertained the necessary measures to improve compliance and identified capacity-building needs and opportunities for synergies with other relevant initiatives.

At the request of the host countries, representatives of neighbouring countries, such as the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati and Nauru, participated in selected workshops. Intergovernmental organizations, such as the International Labour Organization, the International Maritime Organization, the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency for the Pacific Islands and the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre participated in selected workshops. Their participation contributed to further identifying opportunities for synergies with relevant national and regional initiatives.

Project titles

Technical assistance for the formulation of national strategies and action plans to improve compliance with the PSMA

Support for minimizing the risks of IUU fishing in Papua New Guinea under FAO’s Blue Growth Initiative

Capacity-building to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing

Programme countries

Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, Guinea, Guyana, Mozambique, Myanmar, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Sudan, Thailand, Tonga and Vanuatu

Key results

Valuable technical advice and support to the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) in Papua New Guinea provided, in particular advice and inputs to address issues related to the yellow card issued by the EU.

Capacity of the monitoring, control and surveillance group of the NFA increased in terms of the recruitment of additional inspectors and enforcement officers.

Increased capacity of the Government of Sri Lanka to fight IUU fishing through the training of 311 stakeholders, including officers from the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Department of the Attorney General, Sri Lanka Navy and Department of Coast Guard.

Legal framework amended, sanctions strengthened and improved fleet control in Sri Lanka.

Better knowledge gained of what is needed for the effective implementation of the 14 PSMA countries.

A total of 438 people, representing national institutions and other stakeholders, trained.

Drafting of 14 strategies and action plans supported.

Catalytic effects

The project GCP/INT/313/SWE, “Support for the implementation of the PSMA and related instruments to combat IUU fishing”, provided additional funds to Sri Lanka’s project.

Technical assistance accounting for USD 10 million was approved through the project PGM/MUL/2016-2021/PSMA, to support the implementation of the PSMA.

The TCP projects successfully contributed to the removal of the yellow card placed by the EU on Papua New Guinea, the removal of the EU red card for Sri Lanka and Guinea, and the removal of the EU yellow card on Thailand.

Strategic Objective 3

Reduce rural poverty

The challenge of achieving SDG 1 to end poverty in all its forms is a huge endeavour, and the work of the TCP under the Strategic Objective 3 addresses the rural dimension of poverty. Despite rising per capita incomes, slower progress in poverty reduction is expected, with persistent inequality and a grim nutritional outlook. Worsening prospects for stable and remunerative employment, particularly for youth, pose a challenge in eradicating extreme and persistent poverty and reducing inequality in rural areas.

At the country level, TCP work under FAO’s Strategic Objective 3 aims to strengthen capacities to design, implement and evaluate gender-equitable multisectoral policies, strategies and programmes to end poverty. At the farmer level, assistance empowers the rural poor to access productive resources, services and markets, as well as productive employment and decent work opportunities among youth and women. Further support is provided for enhanced access of the rural poor to social protection systems.

For projects reported on in 2018, TCP support was tailored to meet:

1. Equal opportunities for women

2. Employment for youth

3. Opportunities for migrants and displaced people

4. Productive integration of ex-combatants

5. Enhanced capacities for rural families

6. Social protection

Assistance covers:

1. Institutional policy frameworks

2. Institutional capacity-strengthening

3. Technical capacity-building

4. Linkage to value chains

5. Access to credit

Under SO3, FAO delivered:

629 Communities supported

999 Technical government staff trained

7 442 Non-government staff trained

334 Training sessions held

242 Outreach products created

68 Technical documents produced

37 Policies, programmes, strategies, action plans, legislation prepared

6 Full project proposals and 11 concept notes

USD 9 823 988 mobilised as of 31 December 2018

3.1 Social protection and poverty reduction

The TCP projects under Strategic Objective 3 provide advice and assistance to governments to gather information and better design multisectoral poverty reduction policies, with expanded coverage of social protection to the rural poor. Interventions support institutional organization and capacity-building, helping rural organizations and institutions strengthen and carry out collective action for poverty reduction.

The rural sector is where agriculture and social protection policies meet, and where both have great potential for synergies. Experience has shown that social protection alone cannot address all the constraints faced by rural households. While social protection can assist rural people to fight poverty, agricultural opportunities provide sustainable means to overcome the poverty trap of food insecurity and malnutrition.

Well-articulated and better coordinated and informed institutional frameworks enhance the effectiveness of rurally focused social and economic programmes, which can help bring opportunities for poor households. These include providing increased access to land and water resources, inputs, financial services, advisory services and markets to upgrade from subsistence to commercial agriculture. Within commercial agriculture, households can reallocate their labour to on-farm activities, invest in human capital development and increase their participation in social networks, which constitute an important source of informal risk management. Strengthened adaptive capacities increase the resilience to climate change and other shocks or threats.

Under SO3, TCP action in 2018 built on the experience of past work, including opening up the cooperative sector to new beneficiaries to learn from international good practices for the planning, coordination and monitoring of agricultural, resilience and social protection programmes. International initiatives, such as the WAW, have also informed TCP’s work. Organized by the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development, FAO, the Government of France and IFAD, the WAW has improved the understanding and use of agricultural diversity and rural transformations to inform and facilitate policy dialogue.

Following the implementation of TCP projects:

Goat farming in São Tome and Principe introduced good breeding standards and will help reduce dependence on imported animal feed in the future. This will also support increased consumption of goat meat, which contributes to the food security and nutrition of the population.

The register of rural farmers in El Salvador was expanded through new projects. This served as the basis for identifying target beneficiaries for the development of new projects, some of which have been funded through the Green Climate Fund, which also supports the WAW, as a catalytic financing instrument.

In 2018, 14 projects for social protection and poverty reduction under SO3 were operationally closed, totalling USD 3 881 920 and directly benefiting 11 countries:

• Colombia

• Egypt

• El Salvador

• Guatemala

• Indonesia

• Malawi

• Nicaragua

• Paraguay

• Peru

• São Tome and Principe

• Yemen

TCP projects in this SO3 field provided:

Better negotiations among all actors in the seaweed value chain in Indonesia helped raise the purchase price in East Sumba from IDR (Indonesian rupiah) 6 000/kg up to IDR 18 000/kg (from USD 0.42/kg up to USD 1.25/kg), depending on the quality of the seaweed.

Findings informed the development of the National Agriculture Investment Plan (NAIP) and the National Social Support Programme in Malawi.

The assessment and promotion of the agricultural cooperative sector helped it grow in Cameroon, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Malawi.

Project highlight:
Strengthening sustainable rural extension services for family farming in Latin America (TCP/RLA/3601)

Rural poverty is multidimensional and requires differentiated responses. Rural families need to increase their income and improve their livelihoods, as well as to have more participation and representation in the life of their communities.

To address rural poverty, rural extension services need to have a broad vision and go beyond agricultural technology. Rural extension, in addition to working to achieve changes in the productive systems of the most vulnerable, contributes to accessing markets, improving food security, reducing restrictions in the financial system, helping mitigate environmental vulnerabilities, and increasing the representativeness of poor rural people in political and social arenas.

Transforming conventional practices is a fundamental role of rural extension. Providing services and promoting a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach, stimulating the adoption of new participatory methodological approaches and using local knowledge are key elements of extension. Likewise, introducing institutional adjustments to decentralize and delegate functions to local levels, where the extension agents refocus their role as facilitators, strengthens the sustainability of the model.

“Field Schools allow us to learn by doing. In an experiential and participative way, we develop our talents and exchange knowledge with farmers. With the Field Schools, I have had a change of attitude, and my life has changed. I now arrive happier to my home. I know how to treat my wife and my children kindly, as well as the community members of my locality. The facilitator needs to be a happy, dynamic and proactive person, who helps and teaches, while exchanging knowledge.” Roy A. Vilcayauri Segura, facilitator peasant (Talento rural).

Nevertheless, extension systems in the region are characterized by a lack of coordination, not only internally among the actors in the system, but also within the education and research sectors. Furthermore, while public policies should stimulate innovation processes and have a wide target beneficiary group, women continue to receive less access to extension services.

Finally, assessing the impact of rural extension services has remained focused solely on valuing production levels achieved, instead of measuring the well-being or welfare of the beneficiaries they support.

In Peru, a project provided support for the regulations on extension under the National Institute for Agrarian Innovation. As part of the intervention model for the promotion of family farming, the farmer extension training and accreditation methodology was updated and a pilot training of rural farmers as facilitators of Field Schools of Agriculture was carried out. The pilot trained, evaluated and pre-accredited about 15 rural farmers, such as Roy, to be rural providers and leaders of rural extension services in the districts of San Andrés de Tupicocha, province of Huarochirí, Lima, in agreement with the Rural Agricultural Productive Development Program (Agro Rural) of the Ministry of agriculture and irrigation, the Social Development and Compensation Fund project and the National Assessment System — Accreditation and Certification of Educational Quality.

“This pilot training and certification experience of yachachiqs [Quechus word for local leaders on smallscale agriculture leaders who know and teach] as Field School Facilitators should continue to be offered to other rural locations. It would ensure not only a better employability of these rural talents, but guarantee a wide range of peasant leaders who are able to bring timely technical assistance and quality to family farmers” (Alberto García De Romaña, Senior Consultant for the project).

The project designed and validated models of integrated rural services for priority areas not only in Peru, but also in Colombia, Guatemala and Nicaragua, leveraging the experiences gathered from the project “Strengthening of the national extension and communication system for development” (TCP/PAR/3403) in Paraguay. The implementation of these services was then tailored according to each national context.

Overall, the project contributed to the definition of criteria for the formulation of national plans to strengthen extension services. The institutions responsible for rural extension services in the region were strengthened in their capacity to support family farming, which in turn has improved: “In the case of guinea pigs, an association has been formed in San Juan de Pacota, and its members are working as a team. We started with 32, and now we have 200 guinea pigs, which are already being sold. Thanks to this methodology, the association is making big profits.” Gustavo V. Aquino, facilitator peasant (Talento rural)

Project title

Strengthening rural extension systems for family farming

Programme countries

Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru

Key results

Colombia formulated a comprehensive model of Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (ATER), assumed by the Rural Development Agencies and the Territorial Renewal Agencies.

In Guatemala, the operating model of the Municipal Agencies of Rural Extension was completed, which included support for the development of a plan for the model and a methodology for integrating the local extension system and locally articulated plans.

In Nicaragua, a model and implementation of a participatory innovation system was designed and discussed in meetings with recipients of extension services . The project contributed to the participatory innovation system of the Nicaraguan Institute of Agricultural Technology and training in participatory methodologies, communication for development, and information and communication technologies.

Support to the regulations governing the extension function and the training and accreditation methodology for peasant extension agents was provided in Peru.

Catalytic effects

In Guatemala, Nicaragua and Peru, critical contributions to the extension models were made, especially in aspects prioritized by government counterparts. In Guatemala and Peru, the proposed models were validated through pilot experiences that helped gather evidence for their scaling up to public policies. Knowledge management and systematization of experiences of comprehensive rural extension services were promoted through spaces for exchange of experiences on ATER that brought together policy-makers and specialists from each country and region and helped each country systematize the experiences and lessons learned in rural extension. Furthermore, a guide was prepared and validated through a regional workshop to establish monitoring and evaluation systems for rural extension services.

In Guatemala, the project implemented some activities to support interventions in rural extension services in the department of San Marcos with the programme “Mesoamerica without Hunger”, and in Peru it coordinated actions to promote the programme of facilitator peasants with the project “Sierra y Selva Alta” supported by IFAD.

3.2 Rural family farming

The TCP works to assist rural families in accessing well-integrated public policies and instruments that enable them to achieve greater and more comprehensive development in productive, commercial and social protection aspects.

In the countries with the highest poverty levels, such a challenge is rooted in: (i) the lack of economic integration of the areas furthest from economic centres; (ii) the scarce presence of the government in rural areas to serve the most vulnerable populations; (iii) the lack of coordination among different types of productive, welfare, educational and social policies; and (iv) the weak presence of support services for institutional, social or technological innovation, entrepreneurship, decent employment and associations, especially oriented towards youth; and (v) the vulnerability of rural populations to climate change.

During the period analysed, FAO assisted with the development of agreements and the preparation of strategies, policies, guidelines and programmes to improve the poor rural people’s access to, and control over, a set of services, finance, knowledge, technologies, markets and natural resources. Projects also provided concrete opportunities for the poorest family farmers to gain competitive access to regional markets for agricultural products.

Supported family farmers are able to secure food not only for themselves, but also for their communities, with the potential to generate surpluses through trading, additional income and access to new services. Family farms can be a source of employment for others in the community and further stimulate economic activity beyond the farm gate, cascading into a stimulus for poverty alleviation and economic security.

Peri-urban agriculture programmes have been supported by TCP action, which fosters food systems linking rural farmers to cities, and which has been proven to be a mechanism with enormous impact for rural poverty alleviation and agricultural development.

Extensive support has also been focused on strengthening regional communities and assisting in the creation of regional dialogue platforms for cross-support and mutual learning across FAO members in the region.

Following the implementation of TCP projects:

Regional policy dialogue to foster rural and family agriculture was promoted in the Latin American region through the Second Innovation Forum for Sustainable Rural Development (2016), the Regional Seminar on Agro-ecology (2016), and the Regional Seminar on Rural Services for Sustainable Rural Development, as well as through the strengthening of dialogue platforms and missions within the Central American Integration System.

Support for peri-urban agriculture in Bolivia mobilized public resources for a total of USD 536 000 between 2017 and 2018.

In 2018, 7 projects for rural family farming were operationally closed, totalling USD 2 049 000 and directly benefiting 16 countries:

• Algeria

• Belize

• Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

• Colombia

• Costa Rica

• Dominican Republic

• El Salvador

• Guatemala

• Haiti

• Honduras,

• Mauritania

• Morocco

• Nicaragua

• Panama

• Paraguay

• Tunisia

TCP projects in this SO3 field provided:

A strategy for the production and commercialization of vegetables in regional markets was prepared and approved by the Protected Environments Commission of the Chorotega Region in Costa Rica. The experience of shade houses for growing vegetables informed the TCP project in the Dominican Republic, in which ten learning centres in the provinces of Monte Plata, Hato Mayor and El Seibo led to the construction of 72 small infrastructures for agricultural initiatives. A total of 314 supported farmers in the Dominican Republic marketed their produce directly, and nearly half of them also supplied their products through social programmes.

Project highlight:
Integrating urban and peri-urban agriculture to the sustainable development of the departments of Oruro, Potosí, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba and Pando (TCP/BOL/3606)

As a child, Juan Salamanca Velásquez accompanied his father from the department of Oruro to Cochabamba to exchange chuño (freeze-dried potato) for corn. As he waited, he observed with wonder the carrots and vegetables that were not produced in the highlands at that time. Juan is a farmer from Caracollo, an Oruro municipality in Bolivia where cold weather and intense winds predominate.

Juan is now a producer of carrots, onions, potatoes and beets that he takes to the local market in Oruro and to Cochabamba by truck. His next plan is to build a solar greenhouse to produce vegetables and peaches. “With this greenhouse, we will feed Oruro; there will be no shortage of food,” he says.

After migration from rural to urban and peri-urban areas, people whose traditional means of subsistence depend on agricultural and livestock production are limited in expanding their economic activities and accessing urban labour markets. As a result, approximately 74 percent of migrants in Bolivia (Plurinational State of) are considered poor as they do not have enough income to cover their basic needs in the first two years after having left the rural areas, while 35 percent are considered in extreme poverty .

In response to interlinked migration and poverty problems, the Government of the Bolivia (Plurinational State of) launched the National Programme of Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (PNAUP), attached to the Ministry of Productive Development and Plural Economy, to promote the implementation of urban and peri-urban agriculture projects at the departmental and municipal levels. The programme aimed to implement family gardens, improve food and nutrition of migrant families, increase their income through the production and commercialization of organic vegetables.

The production of chard, celery, beet, broccoli, onion, cauliflower, spinach, lettuce, turnip, paprika, cucumber, paprika, radish, cabbage, tomato, carrot, fennel, and basil, mint, manzanilla and other aromatic herbs was promoted in the urban and peri-urban family gardens. The participation of women promoted the incorporation of at least 15 vegetables in the family diets, thus increasing the average monthly family income by USD 64.65 per family, and helped to promote decent work.

Juan’s family was one of 832 family productive units that benefited from the project. FAO’s TCP project, in collaboration with the PNAUP and the departmental (GADs) and municipal autonomous governments (GAMs), provided technical assistance to families in five departments (Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, Oruro, Pando and Potosí) to produce, prepare and consume organic vegetables, and to market the surpluses in supply markets of the cities of Cochabamba, Cobija, Oruro, Potosí and Sucre. The project also assisted in the creation of 339 new family productive units.

“At the beginning it was difficult. We did not understand, but thanks to the facilitators we are already working,” says Guido Pinaya, another beneficiary of the project who, together with his family, grows organic vegetables for family consumption and sells the surplus to neighbours. “For now we take to school, we sell to mothers and teachers. We still have little, we market the surplus because to feed us in the family.”

The project provided marketing opportunities for their surpluses in local markets, improving family income through 12 commercialization points in the cities of Cochabamba, Oruro, Potosí and Sucre. The project promoted the creation of producer associations to achieve better organized and associative commercialization. Four associations were consolidated: (i) Association of Urban Producers of Sucre (APUS); (ii) Association of Producers of Vegetables in Solar Greenhouses of Oruro (APHOCASOR); (iii) Association of Producers of Urban Agriculture of Sipe Sipe; and (iv) Association of Producers of Vegetables of Nueva Esperanza.

Under the national technical standard (Participatory Guarantee System) for national trade, regulated by the Law 3525, and in order to highlight the quality of the produce, the project supported the certification of 16 ecological gardens in Sipe Sipe, 380 in Sucre, 78 in Vinto, and 57 ecological orchards in Oruro.

Although families contributed 37 percent of the funds for the establishment of orchards, a microcredit pilot programme supported further expansions of urban gardens with a purely commercial focus. The programme allowed 15 producers in the city of Sucre to access microcredit for loans ranging between USD 574 and USD 4 310 per loan, for the expansion of urban gardens for marketing purposes.

Project title

Technical assistance for the integration of urban and peri-urban agriculture to the sustainable development of the departments of Oruro, Potosí, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba and Pando

Programme countries

Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

Key results

832 family productive units assisted to produce, prepare and consume organic vegetables.

339 new family productive units created.

Urban and peri-urban agriculture marketing through 12 points of commercialization.

Additional family income of USD 64.65/month.

4 producer associations supported (APUS and APHOCASOR are now legal entities).

APUS strengthened, number of affiliates increased with 149 new members and directory renewed with democratic elections.

19 new demonstration and training centres established.

23 demonstration and training centres permanently functioning as a technology transfer tool for families.

Guide for the construction of a tropical model nursery “Casa Semisombra” and a training plan in ecological horticulture prepared in Pando.

Catalytic effects

During 2017 and 2018, the project managed to mobilize public resources from the GADs and GAMs for a total of USD 535 789, to provide goods and services for the development of family gardens in urban and peri-urban areas.

The PNAUP supported the implementation of six urban and peri-urban agriculture projects under a decentralized model with local investments, forming three technical units in the GAMs of Chuquisaca, Oruro and Pando and three municipal technical units in Colcapirhua, Sacaba and Vinto in the city of Cochabamba. The PNAUP developed the first urban and peri-urban agriculture plurinational meeting, which convened the GADs of Cobija, Colcapirhua, Oruro, Potosí, Sipe Sipe, Sucre and Vinto, with which the project articulated and formed alliances for the development of urban and peri-urban agriculture.

Alliances with the National Government, the GAD and the GAM led to the scaling up of urban and peri-urban agriculture projects in Oruro. Agrotourism, led by women, was established in the gardens in the city of Sucre to generate additional income through the marketing of organic vegetables together with tourism companies (Cóndor Trekkers de Sucre).

3.3 Empowerment of women

Through its assistance, the TCP has acknowledged that women’s economic empowerment plays a central role in poverty reduction. In many rural regions, women and older people are the ones left to take care of the farm. However, they face major constraints in accessing resources to improve productivity, are under-represented in local institutions and governance mechanisms, and have weaker decision-making power within rural communities. Youth have the power to overcome poverty for future generations. Yet, prospects for stable and remunerative employment in rural areas, particularly for youth, are worsening, only leaving room for unemployment and indecent employment. Poor rural women and youth hold precarious, poorly paid, informal jobs or are unable to find employment.

FAO’s TCP work under Strategic Objective 3 promotes strategies and programmes on gender equality, women’s empowerment and youth employment, strengthening the collaboration with strategic international and national partners. Partnerships with other UN Organizations, including the International Labour Organization, the International Organization for Migration, UN Women, the United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF and WFP, have been of paramount importance to delivering holistic approaches to address the needs of rural people, particularly youth and women.

Collective efforts also aim to directly support enhanced access to productive employment and decent work opportunities.

Awareness of the role of women and youth in agriculture, and active advocacy for mainstreamed gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and youth are crucial in order for government officials to have a say in their respective institutions’ mandates and policies regarding these issues.

Strengthening agricultural policies, plans and intervention programmes and projects that address equality and have provisions to promote the economic empowerment of rural women and youth provides them with adequate skills and opportunities.

Increasing the skills and employment opportunities of women, youth and helps them develop their full economic potential.

In 2018, 9 projects for women and youth empowerment were operationally closed, totalling USD 2 432 000 and directly benefiting 9 countries:

• Benin

• Cambodia

• Democratic Republic of the Congo

• El Salvador

• Guatemala

• Honduras

• Kenya

• Paraguay

• Togo

TCP projects in this SO3 field provided:

Following the implementation of TCP projects:

Capacity development was extended to the Gender and Children Working Group members (part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) and the 125 gender focal points in the Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in 25 provinces to advocate for gender equality in agriculture in Cambodia.

In Paraguay, the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan for the implementation of the Rural Women’s Law was housed in the Ministry of Women and agricultural, and food security statistics were improved.

Through a partnership with 4-H Kenya Foundation, 6 372 in-school youths (aged 8–16) in Kilifi County in Kenya were empowered through agriculture-based clubs, employing the positive youth development model to enable them to use the agricultural sector as an opportunity to hone their entrepreneurial and practical agribusiness skills through their enterprise gardens. The share of youth engaged in agricultural enterprises increased by 6 percent and their incomes increased by 17 percent.

In December 2018, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) launched a network on gender equality and investments in agriculture and food security.

In Latin America, the institutional frameworks for capacity-building and generation of decent employment opportunities for rural youth, and the elimination of hazardous child labour in the agricultural and rural sector, were strengthened.

Project highlight:
Supporting gender-responsive agriculture in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) (TCP/TOG/3503, TCP/RAF/3509)

Women are the majority in the food processing sector, but they are also the most economically disadvantaged part of the population. The income earned does not allow them to meet their daily needs.

Although Togolese agriculture has been experiencing a surplus cereal production with the National Agricultural Investment and Food Security Programme since 2010, very few products are processed locally, as quality standards are not met and consumers prefer to buy imported products even though they are more expensive. The agrifood processing subsector, which was expected to create a lot of jobs, has not yet delivered.

In order to support women to provide a product adapted to the local market demand, as well as to master marketing and market rules (product, price place, promotion) and find their role in the value chain, FAO provided technical knowledge though the a TCP to modernize women’s food processing units and promote local and regional marketing mechanisms for products.

The setting up of a showcase for the sale of locally processed agricultural products was a remarkable success. After four months of implementation, the showcase created four jobs and provided a marketing window for 452 product lines of 82 suppliers. In its first quarter, turnover reached FCFA 5.212 million (USD 8 873), with payments to suppliers totalling FCFA 3.475 million (USD 5 917). Product stock was valued in FCFA 3.189 million (USD 5 429), as of 31 March 2018.

The showcase was possible thanks to the delivery of capacity building for women to improve their knowledge of hygiene and food quality. These women now have the skills to showcase products that follow specific and standardized transformation patterns, in order to achieve a better presentation of processed agricultural products and make a step towards entering foreign markets.

Capacity-building was accompanied by the provision of laboratory consumables at the Togolese Institute for Agricultural Research, which reduced the costs of physicochemical analyses of agrifood products and will further encourage women to send their products for premarket analysis.

The construction of a showcase for women processing agricultural products and the revitalization of their platforms will ensure the sustainability and continuity of the actions of the women beneficiaries of the project. The project also allowed the participation of 15 women entrepreneurs at the International Exhibition of Lomé Agriculture and 17 women entrepreneurs at the Made in Togo fair.

More than 100 women were involved in small-scale agroprocessing, and the project directly the project directly benefited 50 women processors of agricultural products. Meanwhile, a guide on good manufacturing practices and processing of agricultural products of the five agrifood sectors selected was produced and 200 copies were distributed.

In order to promote the needed investments, the preparation of a framework was supported by FAO’s TCP to prepare a gender-responsive national and regional agricultural investment plans, not only in Togo but also in ECOWAS. In West Africa, women farmers often lack access to productive assets, services, inputs, labour and technology, which means they are also less productive farmers than men.

Although ambitious, the first generation of Regional Agricultural Investment Plans and NAIPs did not adequately mainstream gender issues, and substantial financial allocations were needed in order to meet the gender equality commitments made by ECOWAS and its member countries and reduce funding gaps. Within this context, a diagnostic was prepared for ECOWAS member countries, delivering 14 comprehensive national profiles of agriculture and rural livelihoods, which combined statistical and gender analyses of key policy frameworks.

The availability of gender-disaggregated data and gender-sensitive indicators in agriculture in ECOWAS and FAO databases was improved as a result. With these inputs, the project conducted a gender audit of the first generation of NAIPs and prepared a roadmap to inform the elaboration of second-generation NAIPs. A draft ECOWAS-FAO publication on gender and agrifood systems and a draft ECOWAS Action Plan on Gender and Agriculture were prepared.

With financial support from the European Commission, FAO developed a full-fledged e-learning course on gender in food and nutrition security, which comprised 14 modules. Training workshops and capacity-building activities targeting key government officials from various ministries were organized with 50 participants from different regional and national organizations and sectors.

The TCP in ECOWAS was implemented in synergy with two other projects: “Strengthening regional initiatives to end and malnutrition in West Africa” (GCP/RAF/476/GER); and “Strengthening ECOWAS Capacity for the implementation of the ECOWAP” (GCG/RAF/461/SPA). Both projects provided support to the ECOWAS Commission/Department of Agriculture and the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food.

Project titles

Gender-responsive national and regional agricultural investment plans for meeting the Zero Hunger Challenge in ECOWAS member countries

Support to women’s actions in respect of quality standards and processing of agricultural products

Programme countries

ECOWAS and Togo

Key results in Togo

50 women trained and supported in total.

20 women trained in marketing and better organization of their specific sectors.

30 actors trained and organized in innovation platforms around each supported sector.

3 reinforced platforms and a showcase and roadmap set up.

30 laboratory technicians and 20 laboratory managers trained, with 40 certificates awarded.

Laboratory analyses conducted for 82 products processed by women.

Key results in ECOWAS

An advocacy document was prepared in English, French and Portuguese (available at https://bit.ly/2F5hhDt).

14 comprehensive national profiles of agriculture and rural livelihoods prepared.

A roadmap to inform the elaboration of second-generation NAIPs prepared.

The ECOWAS-FAO publication “Sub-regional outlook on gender and agrifood systems” was created and an action plan drafted.

The prepared profiles of agriculture and rural livelihoods are already available online in FAO’s publication system. The profiles provide a strong baseline to monitor the implementation of NAIPs, SDGs and other policy frameworks, as well as country reporting on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Catalytic effects

Based on the success of the TCP projects with ECOWAS, FAO signed a similar TCP project (TCP/SFC/3602) with the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).

The ministers of gender/women’s affairs in ECOWAS member countries adopted a Ministerial Statement to reaffirm their strong commitment to working with ministries of agriculture and other actors to address gender gaps in agriculture.

In December 2018, ECOWAS launched the network on gender equality and investments in agriculture and food security, which provides a platform for parliamentarians in the region to share experiences, challenges and successes on matters of gender, land, agriculture and food security.

Strategic Objective 4

Enable inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems

Through the TCP, FAO provides the capacity for agricultural and food systems to remain inclusive and efficient in the face of emerging trends. World trade and particularly intraregional trade have become an important means for development and prosperity. Notwithstanding, growth in agricultural trade has decelerated with the rising incidence of crises, transboundary plant pests and diseases and zoonotic diseases threatening human health in recent years. The lack of capacity of agricultural and food systems and value chains to guarantee food safety, to profitably reach new markets and meet phytosanitary and standards requirements, and to satisfy the changing preferences of consumers has limited the growth of developing agricultural and food systems.

Through the TCP, FAO provides support to addressing such trends and challenges through technical assistance to assist countries, individuals, agro-enterprises and their chains in developing organic and conservation agriculture, preventing emerging agriculture and food system threats, and making their food value chains more efficient and inclusive.

For projects reported on in 2018, TCP technical support used a twofold approach:

1. Institutional strengthening of food safety, animal health and plant health systems

2. Promotion of efficient and inclusive agriculture and food systems

• Institutional strengthening for local authorities

• Capacity development, trade promotion and generation of information at market level for food business operators

Under SO4, FAO delivered:

74 Technical facilities/communities support upgraded

1 761 Technical government staff trained

10 867 Non-government staff trained

416 Training sessions held

64 Outreach products created

62 Technical documents produced

37 Policies, programmes, strategies, action plans, legislation prepared

6 Full project proposals prepared

USD 28 090 000 mobilised as of 31 December 2018

4.1 Food safety, animal health and plant health

The TCP assists FAO Members’ needs related to vulnerability towards new world threats, weak food-control systems, recurrent crises and non-compliance with international food safety agreements.

Food must be free from animal pathogens and contaminants to be safe to eat. While animal health can affect human health, pest incidences in the agro-ecosystem reduce crop yields and cause economic and environmental damage. Furthermore, human health emergencies can arise as a consequence of poor risk and crisis management related to (transboundary) disease and pest outbreaks.

Safeguarding animal and plant health helps increase food safety by mitigating human health risks (as materialized in food-related illnesses/ food-borne diseases). As a result, crop yields and animal and food production and trade may increase, as well as food security and nutrition.

Food safety boosts consumer confidence and demand and raises farm profits and employment. In parallel, it protects the environment and economy (e.g. by halting soil degradation through the reduction of the overuse of pesticides, preventing the transmission of diseases to neighbouring countries).

TCP projects assess local needs through the FAO-WHO tool for Food Safety analysis, covering: (i) inputs and resources; (ii) control functions; (iii) interactions between actors; and (iv) scientific knowledge and continuous improvement.

International food safety expertise complements and strengthens local knowledge, while FAO helps cooperation and intersectoral coordination by bringing together the efforts from the public and private sectors.

Projects also use international standards, such as the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the World Trade Organization Agreement on the Application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and support the creation of networks based on the International Food Safety Network.

Following the implementation of TCP projects:

National counterparts provided in-kind resources, self-financed their participation in the regional events, and ten countries conducted national consultations to gain support to fight Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Syndrome (two countries had their own financing). Further support for Moldova from Turkey and Romania was also mobilized.

Countries started the preliminary surveillance of the infectious myonecrosis virus, and Armenia and Moldova took actions to evaluate phytosanitary capacity. In Thailand, the importance of Antimicrobial Resistance Risk Management (AMR) in the environment has since been recognized.

In 2018, FAO operationally closed 14 projects for food safety, animal health and plant health, totalling USD 2 853 153, which directly benefited 21 countries:

• Armenia

• Belarus

• Botswana

• Brazil

• China

• Colombia

• Ecuador

• Guatemala,

• Honduras

• India

• Indonesia

• Iran (Islamic Republic of)

• Mexico

• Republic of Moldova

• Panama

• Peru

• Philippines

• Sri Lanka

• Thailand

• Tonga

• Ukraine

TCP projects in this SO4 field provided:

The upgrade of existing facilities and provision of new equipment for Armenia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine created a stable basis for long-term training activities to be carried out in phytosanitary services. The introduction of state-of-the-art laboratory equipment has enabled AMR to be detected in Thailand, while the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry of Tongo has begun to upgrade its agroprocessing facility and is preparing for hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) audit and accreditation.

Diarrhoeal disease incidences decreased by 11 percent in Moldova (2014–2017). In Botswana, insect pest abundance dropped and yields improved for the crops associated with the tomato leaf miner and fall armyworm pests, while voluntary declarations of agricultural products at borders increased.

Project highlight:
Moldova and Eastern Europe aim to have safe and high-quality agriculture (TCP/MOL/3402-3601, TCP/RER/3503 [SO4], and TCP/MOL/3502 [SO2])

“Salmonella and campylobacter are the first cause of food-borne disease in Eastern Europe. They have been found traditionally in raw meat and eggs but they are expanding now to plant origin food” (Eleonora Dupouy, FAO Nutrition officer).

Outbreaks of highly dangerous pests and quarantine pests occurring not only in Moldova, but also in Armenia, Belarus, Ukraine and many countries in Eastern Europe were clear indicators that IPM had not been implemented by farmers, and that food and phytosanitary control systems needed to be strengthened.

“Safety and quality of food is at the centre of FAO’s mandate and is a long-standing area of work due to its implications for food security, nutrition, food losses and waste, along with the associated impact on the environment and the responsible use of resources” (Eleonora Dupouy, FAO Nutrition officer).

FAO supported the compliance of the alignment of Moldova’s food safety legislation with EU regulations and the modernization of its food control system, in the context of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. This timely intervention was implemented in parallel to similar projects for strengthening phytosanitary control services in Eastern Europe, and spread the use of IPM as well as conservation agriculture practices among farmers in Moldova. The the European Commission, USAID and the World Bank among others, complemented FAO’s support in related fields.

FAO’s work also served to increase the awareness of food business operators on food safety hazards and the new legal food safety requirements to develop capacities to apply good hygiene and manufacturing practices, food safety systems based on HACCP principles, and traceability systems. “Before, we used chemicals once every 10 to 12 days, as we learned from the old standards… we produce vegetables for human consumption and we have to understand that these vegetables go directly to the person’s table” (Cibotari Tudor, apple farmer).

Conventional agriculture has been shown to have consistent negative effects on the environment and leads to pest outbreaks. Pesticides are overused by farmers, and as a result, the maximum residual levels on agricultural products are exceeded, and pesticide resistance is developed by pest populations.

FAO brought the FAO-WHO assessment tool for food control systems to identify gaps. As a result, FAO supported the preparation of four normative drafts and four sets of guidelines on food and hygiene standards and practices, including on methodical indications for laboratory diagnosis of campylobacteriosis and mercury incident management and remediation options.

The project supported the design of a rapid alert system and the creation of multiagency control groups created in Moldova with a roadmap for dealing with emergencies. Moldova has now prepared its National Food Safety Emergency Response Plan.

National Codex structures (contact points and committees) were strengthened through 10 trainings. Capacity and knowledge of national food control authorities, including the recently operational National Food Safety Agency of Moldova, were strengthened by training 133 people through 10 workshops. Two study visits to Ireland and Finland (June and December 2015), showcased exemplary food control systems with single authorities for the entire food chain.

Avicola Axedum LLC, a slaughterhouse and processing company, and Pasarea Argintie LLC, an egg production company, were technically supported in the elaboration and implementation of HACCP-based food safety management systems for regulatory compliance. Dissemination of good hygiene practices for raw milk collection was conducted in cooperation with the Association of Milk Producers

At farmers’ level in the dissemination of IPM, FAO reached 3 497 farmers in Moldova. “After I started to use integrated pest management techniques, the harvest increased. The FFS was attended by farmers from our district and neighbouring districts. Some of them call me to ask how to do a particular work,” reports Maxim Usatii, farmer of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers from Glodeni in Moldova.

FAO provided Maxim with a sprinkler, a shadow mesh, a mosquito net and pheromone and light traps to protect the plants against insects. Farmers benefited from 157 field days and 37 zonal-regional and local field days implemented through 32 FFS. The awareness-raising campaign continued in the national press and during the specialized exhibitions Farmer 2016, Moldagrotech 2016 and Moldagrotech 2017.

Today, FAO’s TCP seed projects have catalysed technical support from the Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority of Romania to apply risk analysis by food control competent authorities and food business operations. The FAO–Turkish Partnership Programme supported the preparation of a guide to help convey food safety requirements and good practices to small-scale producers of milk and to food business operations.

Project titles

Support to Strengthening the Food Safety System in Moldova

Strengthening capacities of the national phytosanitary control services in four Eastern European countries

Support for adaptation and implementation of Integrated Pest Management

Programme countries

Armenia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine

Key results in Moldova

4 four normative acts on food safety and hygiene regulations and standards drafted and awaiting approval.

8 ToT sessions implemented for 32 FFS facilitators.

85 phytosanitary inspectors trained.

648 hectares used for 6 demonstration plots with CA and IPM for maize, tomato, potato and apple trees.

3 497 farmers benefited from FFS on IPM.

Incidence of food-borne diseases decreased. In 2017, 11 049 people were affected by diarrhoeal disease, compared to 12 348 in 2014.

Key results in Eastern Europe

Phytosanitary personnel and inspectors enhanced their capacity in implementing international standards, pest risk analysis and pest surveillance procedures.

Plant quarantine staff and phytosanitary inspectors strengthened their capacity to detect quarantine pests associated with consignments.

Laboratory equipment, surveillance tools and machinery were procured for training purposes and distributed among the countries.

Catalytic effects

A technical manual on the implementation of pest surveillance procedures for phytosanitary personnel and inspectors was prepared and distributed to all project countries. Armenia and Moldova took actions for Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation.

4.2 Agriculture and food systems

FAO’s TCP projects support farmers, small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises (SMEs) and agribusiness companies to exploit the synergies and added value of working together along the food value chain.

Consumer demand is increasing for safe food with low environmental impact. This trend offers new opportunities for organic agriculture. At the same time, public systems of food supply and marketing have become more demanding, and smallholder farmers often lack the ability to capitalize on these opportunities because of both institutional (e.g. non-inclusive frameworks) and market factors (e.g. high costs of certification, low productivity related to losses along the supply chain and a lack of market information).

Extreme cases of non-inclusive agricultural and food systems are characterized by a lack of food self-sufficiency, lack of competition in specific market segments and trade imbalances.

This assistance helps producers gain access to international markets and develop their businesses through export sales and investment.

Family farming increases its revenues and local economies increase their productivity, expand their exporter base to include more SMEs, diversify trade flows and create jobs.

Consumers see their food security and nutrition enhanced thanks to increased production of food with greater quality standards.

TCP action identified and leveraged existing training programmes for national agribusiness bodies, such as those developed by the Centre for International Private Enterprises and the Institute for Organizational Management, and adapted to the local context.

FAO harnessed its convening power to bring different parts of the government to work together. At the farmer level, projects used FFS as a tool to bring together different actors along the value chain and generated opportunities to link producers to large players in food value chains.

Following the implementation of TCP projects:

Myanmar continues to test the technologies introduced, such as low-cost solar dryers.

Smallholder farmers in participatory guarantee system groups have improved their selling conditions, income and livelihoods. The volume of participatory guarantee system production in Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic is estimated to be more than 1 000 tonnes per year, mainly of vegetables and fruit, representing a gross value of more than USD 900 000 per year.

In El Salvador, an inclusive model for the implementation of the strategic reserve of basic grains was developed.

In 2018, FAO operationally closed 23 projects for agricultural and food systems totalling USD 5 126 035 and directly benefiting 23 countries:

• Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

• Brazil

• Cambodia

• Chile

• Colombia

• Cook Islands

• Costa Rica

• Ecuador

• El Salvador

• Eritrea

• Eswatini

• Guatemala

• Honduras

• Lao Peoples' Democratic Republic

• Mexico

• Myanmar

• Paraguay

• Peru

• Saint Lucia

• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

• Uganda

• Vanuatu

• Venezuela (the Bolivarian Republic of)

TCP projects in this SO4 field provided:

Enhanced capacity of extension officers and training for smallholders on good agricultural practices will also support sustainable agricultural production beyond the life of the project.

Regional agribusiness partners in Africa share information on agribusiness related issues.

Project highlight:
Reducing post-harvest losses along the rice supply chain (TCP/MYA/3504)

According to the Department of Agriculture of Myanmar, an average of 15 percent of the rice produced in the country is lost during post-harvest operations.

Farmers in Nyaungdone Ai village, Tat Kone township, Nay Pyi Taw region faced around 22 percent post-harvest losses of rice because of a lack of knowledge on how to handle grain. Losses during harvesting, threshing, drying and storage averaged 6, 2.5, 2.5 and 3.5 percent, respectively, when carried out using traditional practices.

Local farmers were reluctant to adopt better harvesting, post-harvest handling, processing and packaging practices because of a lack of awareness and inadequate training, which prevented them from taking action.

FAO supported the development of capacities to help minimize the impact of factors that compromise productivity, quality and safety in the rice supply chain, particularly post-harvest losses.

In collaboration with the Myanmar’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, the Department of Agricultural Research, the Myanmar Rice Federation, and the Yezin Agriculture University, the project implemented FFS to train farmers on effective technologies and practices for rice conservation.

The Government’s capacity was developed through ToT courses conducted for 60 extension officers from the Department of Agriculture. The FFS then provided training for 4 000 farmers (23 percent of whom were women) selected from 392 villages in townships in Ayeyarwady and Nay Pyi Taw regions. Four field demonstration sites were established in Pyinmana and Tat Kone townships in Nay Pyi Taw region, as well as in Maubin and Nyaungdone in Ayeyarwady region.

“Before the training, we had no idea of the importance of post-harvest activities. Our township manager called us to participate in this training. From this, we came to know how to carry out these activities in the proper way.” (Farmer group member)

FAO trained local artisans in the manufacture of metallic silos and promoted locally made airtight plastic bags for grain storage from a new national supplier. This innovative approach promoted the development of the local rural non-farming economy and created synergies working toward the project, showcasing how much can be achieved using low-cost technologies and an integrated strategy.

As a result, the project provided key inputs to establish good post-harvest practices, including the production of 28 000 polyethylene (hermetic) and woven polypropylene bags and 6 000 FFS training manuals, which were distributed to some 6 000 farmers, as well as 25 moisture meters, five thermometer/hygrometers and two digital scales for the training.

The FFS proved to be not only innovative but an effective in-the-field training approach. For rice farmers from Tat Kone township, the knowledge gained through the FFS trainings led to paddy rice yield increases of 25 baskets (495 kg)/per hectare, following the application of good harvesting practices in the stage of harvesting and threshing. The new practices increased profit to USD 101 per hectare .

In the drying stage, the method commonly adopted for drying threshed grain by farmers in the project areas was to spread grains on a woven polypropylene bag/bamboo mat with a depth of between 6 and 8 inches, which hindered proper aeration and drying. Training to reduce the thickness of the layer of grain spread for sun-drying was provided, and farmers were shown how to use the netted sheet for proper aeration and keep the grain depth between 2 and 3 inches for smooth air flow.

At the storage stage, losses from birds, rodents and mould/fungus were estimated at 5 to 10 percent. After six months of storage in airtight bags, the germination percentage of seed increased to 87 percent, compared with 83 percent for seed stored in woven polypropylene bags.

Further awareness-raising campaigns were supported by the Myanmar Radio Television, and two videos on good agricultural practices for improved rice harvesting, post-harvest handling and rice loss reduction were produced. Township offices from each project district also distributed brochures to farmers on good post-harvest handling practices.

Project title

Reduction of Post-harvest Losses along the Rice Supply Chain

Programme country

Myanmar

Key results

60 staff operating at regional, district, township, village tract and village levels in the project areas from the Department of Agriculture trained.

5 000 farmers graduated from FFS training.

31 000 farmers participated in awareness-raising and/or educational activities.

Post-harvest losses at critical loss points decreased from 16.6 percent to 6.2 percent, saving 411 kg of paddy rice per hectare (based on an average paddy rice yield of 3.95 tonnes per hectare, in the project areas), with a value of USD 82 per hectare.

Post-harvest rice losses decreased by 28 percent overall.

Catalytic effects

Additional FAO funding through the Multi-partner Programme Support Mechanism was mobilized, and the project “Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction” (FMM/GLO/ 118/MUL) enabled the extension of activities to some 20 additional villages in Ayeyarwady and Nay Pyi Taw regions, reaching another 1 000 farmers.

The project approach and results informed the Asian Development Bank project “Climate-Friendly Agribusiness Value Chains Sector Project” in Myanmar (48409-003), particularly for the implementation of an FAO technical assistance component (funded by a USD 22 million grant from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme).

FAO provided knowledge and understanding about a methodology to measure food loss at the workshop “Towards SDG 12.3.1 Food Loss Index (FLI)”, attended by 60 participants from governmental organizations, private companies and universities. The approach and technologies used generated an important debate, and Thailand may become a research hub in the rice sector in the near future.

Strategic Objective 5

Increase the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises

The TCP work under FAO’s SO5 contributes to increasing the resilience of agriculture based livelihoods, and creating effective pathways that can lead to peace, improve natural resource management and unlock economic opportunities. The magnitude, frequency and impact of crises and disasters is rising, in particular those related to climate change, food chain security threats and conflicts. From 2003 to 2013, the agriculture sector accounted for some 22 percent of all damage caused by natural hazards and disasters in developing countries. When conflict, extreme weather events, natural disasters and other threats continue to impact rural livelihoods and push people back into severe food insecurity, TCPs help boost agricultural livelihood resilience and enable food production - even in crisis situations.

Animal and plant pests and diseases, as well as food safety and radiological events, constitute major threats affecting agricultural livelihoods, food security and nutrition. The food chain is continuously threatened by food safety issues and an increasing number of outbreaks, which can exasperate already high levels of food insecurity and cause serious socioeconomic consequences.

Anticipating crises can help communities and households prepare for and mitigate the worst effects of a threat. Increasing efforts are needed to assess vulnerabilities and guide countries on better disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation practices. Continued efforts are in place to increase early warning early action (EWEA) and risk informed and shock responsive social protection to protect livelihoods and lives in response to food chain crisis, natural disasters and/or protracted crisis.

Under SO5, for projects reported on in 2018, the TCP supports three main areas of work:

1. Emergency response

• Management of pests and diseases

• Rehabilitation of climate change events, disasters and extreme weather events

2. Resilience-building

• To climate change, natural disasters and extreme weather events

• To conflicts, pests and diseases

Under SO5, FAO delivered:

84 716 Households received inputs and kits

312 Communities supported

3 210 Technical government staff trained

23 900 Non-governmental staff trained

1 150 Training sessions

1 061 Outreach products created

86 Technical documents produced

30 Policies, programmes, strategies, action plans, legislation prepared

4 Concept note for project proposals prepared

3 Full project proposals prepared

USD 47 010 000 mobilised

5.1 Emergency preparedness and response

Under SO5, TCP boosts agricultural livelihood resilience and enables food production by reducing risk and addressing vulnerability from recurrent shocks driven by extreme weather events, natural disaster, conflict or other threats, such as animal and plant pest and diseases.

Climate variability and enhanced exposure to extreme weather, and hydrological and meteorological events such as droughts, floods and storms, have caused an increasing number of natural disasters. Transboundary plant pests and diseases, emerging threats and zoonotic diseases have raised the impacts on food security and human health. The rising incidence of conflicts has led to protracted crises, hindering agricultural development and contributing to hunger, food insecurity and human displacement.

The TCP supported rehabilitation from climate-induced events, mostly droughts — half of the time mainly affecting agropastoralism — floods and storms/cyclones. Pests and diseases, such as fall armyworm, desert locust and sheep and goat pox, required TCP support for emergency control. FAO also unlocks economic opportunities for both host and displaced or refugee populations and demobilizes combatants from civil wars and other internal conflicts.

Plant and animal pests and disease prevention and control measures help to improve food production, enable trade and can improve overall food security. Furthermore, reducing community vulnerabilities to other natural disasters and tensions related to competition over natural resources can also help to improve income generation, plus promote investment and rural development.

TCP action introduced good international practices and standards to its beneficiaries for:

• Conservation agriculture, climate smart agriculture, climate adaptive agroforestry, climate resilient livestock management;

• Livestock emergency guidelines and standards;

• Water-saving and conservation techniques;

• Fish aggregation devices and fish drying systems;

• Behaviour change communication.

Following the implementation of TCP projects:

The training and provision of seeds, fertilizers and kits enabled beneficiaries to cultivate 2 613 hectares of land with vegetables and other field crops in Sri Lanka, and 275 hectares to produce 825 tonnes of vegetables in the Central African Republic. Productivity increased by 62 percent for vegetable production of the internally displaced population in Nigeria, and 75 percent of the poultry re-stocking beneficiary households that attended the behaviour change communication activities are now regularly eating eggs and consuming more diverse food. Hay/fodder conservation spread in Kenya, and USD 300 000 was mobilized for further support after the 2017 drought.

Average incidence of maize attack of small armyworm was reduced to 22 percent of the fields (62 percent in unaccompanied households) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Average production of maize was 1 056 kg/hectare for beneficiaries (475 kg/hectare for non-beneficiaries).

In 2018, 27 projects for emergency preparedness and response were operationally closed, totalling USD 10 308 550 and directly benefiting 21 countries:

• Central African Republic

• Democratic People's Republic of Korea

• Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Eritrea

• Eswatini

• Fiji

• Ghana

• Kenya,

• Kiribati

• Madagascar

• Mauritania

• Mongolia

• Mozambique

• Nigeria

• Namibia

• Sao Tome and Principe

• Sri Lanka

• Timor-Leste

• Uruguay

• Viet Nam

• Zimbabwe

TCP projects in this SO5 field provided:

Infected zones in Sao Tome and Principe were reduced by 70 percent.

No new sheep and goat pox occurrences were recorded in targeted areas in Mongolia after 3.9 million small ruminants were vaccinated and the national strategy to prevent further spread of the disease was improved.

Following a TCP project in Mauritania to support survey and control operations, strengthened national capacity and early warning and rapid reactions have been maintained using national resources. Experts trained by the project have continued to spread their expertise in using contingency plans, biopesticides and human and environmental standards in other countries across the region.

Project highlight:
Successful national control program for FMD developed, piloted and scaled up in Pakistan (TCP/PAK/3503)

Pakistan has a large livestock population, including 76.8 million cattle and buffaloes and 97.8 million sheep and goats, representing an important source of income for producers (8.5 million families) throughout the year.

An endemic problem in Pakistan, FMD threatens livestock producer families as FMD is the most prevalent infectious livestock disease in the country and alone constitutes 70 percent of losses of all diseased livestock. Estimated losses exceed USD 300 per infected animal, resulting in USD 692 million in annual economic losses. The disease also restricts the export of livestock and livestock products, thus greatly reducing revenues.

Despite the efforts of the government to control FMD through the use of locally produced vaccines, it was not effective. However, imported vaccines were expensive and not fully protective against viruses circulating in the country.

In order to successfully address the limitation of local vaccines, the Government of Pakistan approved a risk-based control strategy for FMD, developed under the FAO project (GCP/PAK/123/USA). The TCP project leveraged the results of the previous project through a pilot intervention in the hot spots for FMD, which reflected the strategy for a national control programme for FMD outbreaks.

The project was implemented in close collaboration with the Ministry of National Food Security and Research and regional and provincial livestock and dairy development departments.

The beneficiaries of the project were not only the livestock farming families who gained access to good-quality FMD vaccines and benefited from outbreak control, but also the governments receiving well-formulated projects and action plans for FMD control. Haji Sikandar Nagori, President of the Dairy Farmers Association, Landhi Cattle Colony, Karachi, says “This is the first time in over 50 years that FMD in the Karachi dairy colonies has been effectively controlled.”

The pilot surveillance plan comprised six components: awareness-raising of dairy farmers; training of veterinary field staff; provision of sample collection kits to trained field staff; coverage of expenditures to collect and submit tissue samples to the diagnostic labs; undertaking of outbreak control activities, including ring vaccination; and the reporting of lab results to veterinary field staff.

Nine veterinary diagnostic labs in the country (at least one in each administrative unit) were strengthened by making FMD serotyping facilities functional, including a federal reference laboratory. Two people from each diagnostic lab were trained and labs were provided with diagnostic enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kits and expendables.

The project conducted trainings — on FMD outbreak control and sample collection — in Balochistan, FATA (the Federally Administered Tribal Areas), Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber, Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh, as well as six conferences in veterinary faculties and colleges in the country. The training reached 533 government veterinarians, 477 government veterinary assistants, 55 senior government veterinary officials, 486 veterinary students or faculty members and 57 staff of private dairy companies.

In order to identify country-specific vaccine strains, labs collected samples from 2 669 outbreaks from October 2015 to March 2017. After identifying the specific serotypes and genotypes, the project promoted and piloted the use of good-quality FMD vaccine.

All reported outbreaks were controlled by restricting mobility of animals, treating sick animals, and using ring vaccination for 111 475 animals. The commercial dairy farmers in Sindh and Punjab Provinces used most of the vaccine doses, and doses of vaccine were provided to dairy farmers on a cost-sharing basis at USD 0.40 per dose.

No clinical cases of FMD were reported in the vaccinated animals after the booster dose application.

A mass vaccination campaign (using 578 104 of vaccine) resulted in the control of FMD in Karachi dairy colonies, which were the most serious FMD hotspot. Vaccination equipment and vaccines were provided free of cost, and farmers paid USD 0.07 to the vaccinator for each vaccination. Vaccinations started in October 2016 in Landhi Cattle Colony and Nagori Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society, later followed by other dairy colonies and newly arrived animals until the end of March 2017. After mass vaccination, clear cases of FMD were reported only in animals that had been newly brought into the dairy colony or on farms where no vaccinations had been carried out.

The FMD surveillance model proved to be successful in Pakistan. According to the information collected and analysed by the studies carried out within the pilot, the number of reported FMD outbreaks decreased by 80 percent compared to the same period of treatment one year before. Controlled trials also showed a reduction of exposure to FMD.

The next steps for the Government of Pakistan are to achieve Progressive Control Pathway Stage 3 and to have its FMD control programme endorsed by the World Organisation for Animal Health, in order to open up additional export markets (e.g. Indonesia) for meat.

Project title

Development of national control programme for foot and mouth disease

Programme country

Pakistan

Key Results

9 veterinary diagnostic labs in the country (at least one in each administrative unit) strengthened.

1 608 government and private sector staff, veterinarians and students trained.

466 920 doses of the FMD vaccine provided under the pilot and 578 104 doses provided under a mass vaccination campaign.

The Planning Commission of Pakistan approved the funding for National FMD Control Program under Public Sector Development Program.

There was an 80 percent reduction in reported FMD outbreaks in Karachi dairy colonies.

Fewer than 18 outbreaks were reported per month after vaccination, and only in non-vaccinated animals. Milk production and other losses caused by FMD outbreaks were significantly reduced.

Catalytic effects

New market players entered the FMD vaccine field, as the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has registered three more FMD vaccines from two manufacturers.

The Government of Punjab invested USD 25.42 million with FAO for the control of FMD in the province. For better technical support and monitoring, the Livestock and Dairy Development Department of Punjab signed a new project agreement for work on the control of transboundary animal diseases with FAO in 2017. Since then, the department has been extending this project on an annual basis and, for 2019, it is planning to invest USD 14.06 million in FMD control.

The Government of Pakistan approved a six-year project for USD 5.15 million for risk-based control of FMD in the country. At the request of the Government, the Government of Japan provided USD 2.6 million to FAO for the execution of the project “Enhancement of FMD control in Pakistan”.

5.2 Enhanced resilience to reduce vulnerability to shocks (risk governance and safeguarding livelihoods)

The TCP supports the resilience of agriculture-based livelihoods of smallholders to avoid hunger, malnutrition and poverty. Climate change and increased competition for natural resources contribute to natural resource degradation and scarcity, threatening food security and accelerating distress migration. Lack of capacities to prevent, monitor, manage and recover from human-made crises and natural disasters allow for a harmful impact of protracted crises by worsening the contexts in which to fight hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

Risk reduction and preparedness are effective responses to disasters and crises. For example, in preparation for storms, retention basins will enhance storm water retention, prevent floods, and provide water to guarantee irrigation of crops and meet the needs of animal husbandry, thus reducing vulnerability to extreme weather events. TCP’s technical assistance orients regional and national policy and action on food security to account for foreseen changes in climatic, economic and social conditions. Timely action will save financial resources as adequate preparation for climate-induced disasters is significantly more cost-effective than rehabilitation and recovery.

TCP projects assist in formulating institutional frameworks for risk reduction and crisis management, and early warning systems against potential, known and emerging threats; reducing risk and vulnerability at household and community levels; and preparing countries and regions for effective responses to disasters and crises.

More sustainable and resilient food systems will create opportunities for rural populations, preventing displacements and migration, will reduce, prevent and manage food loss and waste, and will increase the agrifood productivity and allow continuous food, water and energy supply to urban and rural areas.

Action delivered through the TCP introduced good for:

• Early Warning and Early Action, Conservation Agriculture, Climate-Smart Agriculture, Climate Adaptive Agroforestry, and Climate-Resilient Livestock Management;

• Geographical Information Systems;

• Disaster risk reduction and management practices;

• Epidemiological surveillance as well as technological tools and monitoring systems for climatic events and illegal exploitation of natural resources;

• Early warning and early action;

• Geographical information and agrometeorological information systems.

In 2018, 27 projects for enhanced resilience to reduce vulnerability to shocks were operationally closed, totalling USD 6 722 613 and benefiting 41 countries:

• Albania

• Argentina

• Belize

• Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

• Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Brazil

• Burkina Faso

• Chad

• Chile

• Colombia

• Costa Rica

• Djibouti

• Dominican Republic

• Ecuador

• El Salvador

• Ethiopia

• Ghana

• Guatemala

• Haiti

• Honduras

• Kenya

• Malawi

• Mali

• Montenegro

• Nicaragua

• Niger

• North Macedonia

• Panama

• Papua New

• Guinea

• Paraguay

• Peru

• Somalia

• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

• Serbia

• South Sudan

• Sudan

• Tonga

• Uganda

• Uruguay

• Vanuatu

• Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

TCP projects in this SO5 field provided:

Following the implementation of TCP projects:

Paraguay finalized the National Plan for Disaster Risk Management and Adaptation to Climate Change in the Agricultural Sector, while the “El Niño Agriculture Recovery Plan” was developed in Papua New Guinea.

The institutional relationship among the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel, the Inter-governmental Authority for Development and the African Union Commission was reinforced on strengthening resilience.

The update of a post-disaster needs assessment methodology, in line with international standards, helped improve preparedness to better respond and recover from natural disasters in Europe.

The capacities of the Official Veterinary Services were strengthened to achieve the end of the eradication phase of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the Andean subregion, to reduce the risk of reinfection in the areas recognized as FMD-free.

A total of 1 235 000 animals belonging to 11 000 households were vaccinated against the peste des petits ruminants, sheep pox, haemorrhagic septicaemia, anthrax and blackleg in the Sudan.

Project highlight:
Assuring survival of vulnerable pastoral and agropastoral households in Kenya after severe drought (TCP/KEN/3605)

Livelihoods in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid areas (ASAs) are predominantly pastoral, depending heavily on livestock. The ability to move around in order to access adequate pasture and water sources is essential if animals are to remain productive across the seasons.

In September 2016, FAO and Kenya’s National Drought Management Authority set up an Early Warning Early Action system to mitigate the impact of droughts on communities. In November, rainfall data, vegetation indices and livestock conditions, among other indicators, pointed to the onset of a major drought. A short rains assessment conducted in February 2017 revealed yields that were 30 to 50 percent below average, very poor availability of pasture and water, and deterioration of conditions and death of livestock. The drought was declared a national disaster on 10 February 2017.

“I have been a livestock keeper since my childhood and have seen calamities cause havoc to our livestock — diseases, floods and drought,” says Halima Gutu Gababo, a resident of Dololo Dakiye village, adding that the current drought had caused an unusual degree of damage.

Halima, 48 years old, married and with seven children, came to the village with her family in 1997 after a flood displaced a number of people from their homes in Basa centre. Before the onset of the drought, she had 100 cattle, 50 sheep and goats and four donkeys, but as the drought began she lost 30 cattle and 45 sheep and goats.

Emergencies leave vulnerable households with few options. “Waking up at 4:00 a.m. is a routine during the drought situation. We have to cover 10 km each day searching for pasture and water and only return in the evening at 6:00,” Halima explains. During this time, children are left unattended with no one to cook for them.

Regardless of the success of the search for water, water is indispensable and has to be procured. For Halima, though, water was a rare commodity in the area. “I walk over 12 km every two days to fetch it at a price of 5 Kenyan Shillings [USD 0.05] for a 20-litre jerrycan,” she explains.

The TCP project provided bales of hay, bags of 50 kg range cubes and collapsible water tanks with a capacity of 10 000 litres each, allowing nomadic communities to carry them with them. Emergency relief packages were distributed through three partner non-governmental organizations in Kwale, Isiolo and Marsabit counties.

“I used to spend an average of 15 000 shillings [about USD 150] to buy maize to feed the livestock. During the intervention, this money was directed towards meeting other family obligations. Before the project, there was no time for resting, but during the project I had time to rest and even cook for my family.”

Monitoring of certain parameters indicated a positive response, with close to 100 percent survival of the animals in the target counties. By the end of the project, the monitoring data showed a gradual increase in milk production in Kwale County.

The use of the tools introduced by the project spread rapidly. After training and awareness-raising, some beneficiaries embraced and began to practice hay/fodder conservation for their livestock by using tarpaulins. As reported after monitoring missions, the introduction of range cubes was picked up at a commercial level in other ASAs. The work of the TCP has stimulated similar work in ASAs in other counties. For example, Samaritan’s Purse is scaling up work in Tana River County to support hay/fodder production and conservation.

The intervention also brought together relevant partners at county steering group meetings to identify the capacities and willingness to help and coordinate efforts, in order to avoid duplication and maximize coverage. Furthermore, developing the capacities of county government technical officers in Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards shows other donors that supported regions have learned how to prioritize actions and resources. Such work “improves the timeliness and coordination of emergency response work, which stimulates other partners to gather resources for these interventions,” says Joseph Njuguna, Animal Health Unit Manager at FAO.

Stakeholders are now able to look for more resources. The government staff in Samburu country that attended the training used the gained knowledge to raise funds for livestock support.

Since the termination of the project, the physical condition of Halima’s livestock began to deteriorate and further support was needed. The drought management plan of the Government of Kenya had a dedicated response plan of USD 263 million for a nine-month period, but extended support in regions where the period of drought lasted longer than expected. After providing timely assistance to rehabilitate communities from the drought, the project also catalysed resources from other donors to support Kenyan pastoral communities.

Project title

Emergency assistance for vulnerable drought-affected pastoral and agropastoral households

Programme country

Kenya

Key results

16 347 bales of hay, 4 578 bags of 50 kg ranch cubes and 20 collapsible water tanks with a capacity of 10 000 litres each distributed.

Close to 100 percent survival of the animals in the target counties.

Survival of 8 641 core livestock belonging to 662 households, of which 298 were headed by men and 364 by women.

Improved milk production, from 2.3 to 2.4 litres, and from 2.8 litres to 3.1 litres in Kwale county.

Catalytic effects

Belgium, through FAO’s Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation (SFERA), provided USD 300 000 for the project “Emergency feeding of livestock during drought to improve nutrition in women and children under 5 years” (OSRO/KEN/803/BEL). The project provided 250 tonnes of animal feed ranch cubes and procured veterinary drugs and equipment for livestock in Marsabit County, targeting 1 800 households (10 800 people).

Annexes

Annex 1: TCP Eligibility criteria

Annex 2: TCP projects closed in 2018

Annex 3: TCPf projects closed in 2018