CHAPTER 3: COOPERATION AND PARTNERSHIPS

MAJOR PROGRAMME 3.1: POLICY ASSISTANCE

452.      Under this Major Programme, FAO will continue to: provide policy advice to countries; lead the development of the field programme; support capacity building in the formulation and implementation of policies, strategies and programmes aimed at sustainable agricultural and rural development and food security. Programme 3.1.2 covers the work of the decentralized branches and units of the Policy Assistance Division (TCA), while Programme 3.1.1 covers activities at headquarters; they work in a complementary fashion. Programme 3.1.3 is implemented by the Legal Office.

453.      The aim will be to increase the synergy between the normative work of technical departments at headquarters and policy assistance provided to countries, using the field programme as a means to increase the outreach of the normative programmes while enriching them through feedback from field experience. Close links between country-focused policy advice and field programme development will continue to be promoted by the Policy Assistance Branches and Units based at Regional and Subregional Offices working in close cooperation with FAO Representatives, as the primary channel in dealings with countries of their accreditation.

454.      An important dimension of advisory services to countries relates to reviewing and updating national strategy and policy frameworks, ensuring coherence with other major instruments and, in particular, with Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. In a period of increasing globalization, most developing countries are individually marginal players in the world economy and therefore, their advancement tends to lie in effective regional and subregional frameworks. Policy assistance will need to give due attention to integration issues and multi-country enabling environments. Advice will thus promote policy and strategy reforms at regional group level as an essential complement to detailed national level decisions.

455.      While Programme 3.1.1 and, to a larger extent, Programme 3.1.2 do participate in the formulation of projects and programmes, they are not the major source of field programme development (FPD) work. They will continue to use their country and regional knowledge and overview of sector issues and opportunities, as a basis to assist other units to better target FPD activities in their area of competence. No change is proposed to the structure of entities compared with that shown in the previous MTP.

PROGRAMME 3.1.1: COORDINATION OF POLICY ASSISTANCE AND FIELD PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT

Prog. Entity	Time Frame	Title	PWB 2004-05	MTP 2006-07	MTP 2008-09	MTP 2010-11	MTP Total
311A1	2002-2007	Development of FAO's Capacity to Provide On-line Training in Food, Agriculture and Rural Development Policy and Planning	331	300	-	-	300
311P1	Continuing	Coordination of Policy Assistance	1,467	1,502	1,804	1,806	5,112
311P2	Continuing	Coordination of Field Programme Development Activities	1,009	923	836	750	2,509
311P3	Continuing	Development of Training Materials and Methods in Food and Agriculture Policy Analysis	904	904	904	904	2,712
311P4	Continuing	Coordination of Country Focus	1,016	1,082	1,150	1,216	3,448
311S2	Continuing	Technical Support to Capacity Building in Food, Agriculture and Rural Policy Development Planning and Policy Analysis	1,725	1,725	1,725	1,725	5,175
Total Programme of Work			6,452	6,436	6,419	6,401	19,256
Less External Income			-	-	-	-	-
Net Appropriation			6,452	6,436	6,419	6,401	19,256
Real Growth				-	-	-	-
Net Appropriation with Real Growth				6,436	6,419	6,401	19,256
Growth in Net Appropriation (Percentage)				0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%

456.      Programme 3.1.1 will continue to backstop the decentralized Policy Assistance Branches and Units (PABs/PAUs) that undertake much of the work in the regions under Programme 3.1.2. It will provide a bridge between the normative capacities in headquarters and the PABs/PAUs, adapting normative material for application in the field, participating in training and other capacity building, and contributing to multidisciplinary missions on policy and strategy development. Increased availability of electronic communications will allow for a greater application of distance learning approaches to capacity building. In addition, the Programme will foster inter-departmental coordination in policy assistance - servicing the inter-departmental Policy Task Force being re-activated in the 2004-2005 biennium.

Entity

A1

A2

A3

B1

B2

C1

C2

D1

D2

E1

E2

E3

311A1

311P1

311P2

311P3

311P4

311S2

Legend:

less than US$ 750,000

US$ 750,000 to US$ 2 million

more than US$ 2 million

PROGRAMME 3.1.2: POLICY ASSISTANCE TO VARIOUS REGIONS

Prog. Entity	Time Frame	Title	PWB 2004-05	MTP 2006-07	MTP 2008-09	MTP 2010-11	MTP Total
312P1	Continuing	Enhancement of Country Focus	1,869	1,869	1,869	1,869	5,607
312P2	Continuing	Field Programme Development	5,317	5,058	4,800	4,541	14,399
312P3	Continuing	Advice, Support and Training in Agricultural Policies	3,894	4,003	4,112	4,221	12,336
312S3	Continuing	Technical Support to Field Programmes	2,118	2,268	2,417	2,567	7,252
Total Programme of Work			13,198	13,198	13,198	13,198	39,594
Less External Income			557	557	557	557	1,671
Net Appropriation			12,641	12,641	12,641	12,641	37,923
Real Growth				1,400	2,800	4,200	8,400
Net Appropriation with Real Growth				14,041	15,441	16,841	46,323
Growth in Net Appropriation (Percentage)				11.1%	22.2%	33.2%	22.2%

457.      The decentralized Policy Assistance Branches and Units (PABs/PAUs) will continue their broad range of activities in support of improving country and regional knowledge, analysis of information, sector reviews and policy advice. The lead role of Programme 3.1.2 (shared with 3.1.1) in field programme development will involve drawing the attention of departments and divisions, in their areas of mandate, to needs and to opportunities for well targeted programmes and projects.

Entity

A1

A2

A3

B1

B2

C1

C2

D1

D2

E1

E2

E3

312P1

312P2

312P3

312S3

Legend:

less than US$ 750,000

US$ 750,000 to US$ 2 million

more than US$ 2 million

Real Growth Proposal

The increase would permit to respond to the concerns expressed by the Programme Committee at its ninety-first session, regarding the reduction in capacities of the outposted TCA teams in the regions. While efforts would be made in the current (2004-05) biennium to direct resources eventually generated through efficiency gains to reinstate cancelled staff positions, this is unlikely to restore capacity of the teams back to the optimum level. The Real Growth increase would put the programme on a firm footing particularly in relation to expected high demands for policy services in such regions or sub-regions like Africa (New Partnership for Africa's Development [NEPAD]), Central Asia and the small island states of the Pacific.

PROGRAMME 3.1.3: LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO MEMBER NATIONS

Prog. Entity	Time Frame	Title	PWB 2004-05	MTP 2006-07	MTP 2008-09	MTP 2010-11	MTP Total
313A1	2002-2007	Support to the Development of a Regulatory Framework for Food and Agriculture	321	321	-	-	321
313P1	Continuing	Collection and Dissemination of Legal Information	1,191	1,191	1,191	1,191	3,573
313S1	Continuing	Provision of Technical Advice	1,809	1,809	1,809	1,809	5,427
Programme Reserve			-		321	321
Total Programme of Work			3,321	3,321	3,321	3,321	9,963
Less External Income			182	182	182	182	546
Net Appropriation			3,139	3,139	3,139	3,139	9,417
Real Growth				-	-	-	-
Net Appropriation with Real Growth				3,139	3,139	3,139	9,417
Growth in Net Appropriation (Percentage)				0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%

458.      Programme 3.1.3 is designed to improve the legal and institutional framework for agricultural development and natural resources management in countries. It operates through three principal means: technical advice for law design and legal reform, under Programme Entities A1 and S1; production and dissemination of legal information, under Programme Entity P1; and legal inputs to interdepartmental normative work, in particular through the PAIAs covering biosecurity, biodiversity, biotechnology, climate change, multilateral trade negotiations and organic agriculture.

Entity

A1

A2

A3

B1

B2

C1

C2

D1

D2

E1

E2

E3

313A1

313P1

313S1

Legend:

less than US$ 750,000

US$ 750,000 to US$ 2 million

more than US$ 2 million