Following section dwells on the possibility of addressing food security problems in the ECO region through collaboration and cooperation between donor institutions and ECO member countries. Since ECO/FAO TCP project has been recently launched, project proposals are still under consideration. The proposals below have been put forward to serve as initial areas and ideas of cooperation. These and other project proposals will be dealt with in detail during the implementation of TCP and a set of bankable projects will be submitted for donors consideration before the first phase of project is completed. Then specific activities identified at the national and regional level with proposed implementation modalities will be carried out.
In fact, there are numerous possibilities for regional cooperation among the ECO member countries for increasing the productive capacity of agricultural sector to address food security issues in the region; and ECO can play a crucial role in the realization of an efficient collaboration to that effect.
Most of the following proposals are based on extensive discussions and feedback from the meetings during the Joint Identification Mission. However, the success of the programs and projects depends on several factors including the establishment of direct working relationships with the national policies and programs of member countries and attainment of a strong political commitment.
In order to ensure a higher degree of food security in the region, a tentative list of project ideas is given below for the attention of donor institutions. Most of these project ideas were raised during the ECO/IDB/FAO Joint Identification Mission and may be revised according to the findings of the Fact Finding Mission to the selected member countries within the FAO TCP Project. In the meantime, a number of other feasible project proposals are expected from national consultants/focal points and relevant authorities of the member states within the framework of the ECO/FAO food security project.
The effective plant production is one of the most essential components of Food Security and is crucial for general economic development as well as for conservation of the environment through development of agricultural biological resources.
It is also important to extend the plant quarantine efforts in the region, as there are several plant pathogens and insects specific to the area but might get transferred in the region. In this connection, a need to increase the availability of pesticide and other pest control facilities/know how to adopt an integrated pest management strategy and more conscious use of pesticides are evident.
High-density plantation and using of dwarf rootstocks is another potential area of cooperation and great interest to the member states, and exchange of views in this significant area would lead to higher yields, earlier returns and high quality of fruits.
Seeds development and production related issues is also of high importance in the success and failure of crop production. For this reason, all ECO member countries attach high priority to development and production of good quality seeds, suited to the local conditions for ensuring high yields for the farmers on one hand and food security for their nation on the other.
Taking into consideration the potentials and needs of the member states in the above mentioned areas, the following projects/ideas may be considered by the member states and donors at a regional or sub-regional level of cooperation:
Animal raising becomes an important element of household food security in the poor mountain areas of the region. Therefore, any food security and agricultural development strategy should extend necessary priority to livestock sub-sector. Animal breeding, veterinary services, feed availability, lack of development strategy for the sub-sector, and lack of adequate research facilities are among the major constraints the sub sector in the region.
Balanced growth and development of the agricultural sector in ECO region cannot be conceived without paying proper attention to the development of livestock sector. Although, this region offers great potentials and opportunities for the development of the livestock sector, yet much remains to be done to remove the constraints and challenges it faces. Apart from other weakness, the presence of different deadly animal diseases etc., such as Rinderpest, foot and mouth disease etc, are causing serious damage to the sector which can otherwise play a pivotal role in helping the member states to increase productivity of livestock and attain self sufficiency in milk and meat.
In order to address above mentioned problems and constraints, following projects/ideas may also be considered:
It is widely recognized that one of the most pressing problems confronting private farmers relate to the marketing of output and securing adequate and timely supplies of inputs. Reducing market fluctuations, and establishment of stable market mechanisms are important elements to pave the way for safely increasing competition and productivity specifically for small and medium farmers. Considering the fact that most of the member countries, especially the transitional economies of the region are facing many problems in reforming their markets, lack of wholesale markets and insufficient marketing facilities is identified as one of the major constraints to food and agricultural development in the region. Improving agricultural marketing and agro processing facilities including storage, transportation, wholesale markets and market information are among the highest priorities for the region.
In order to address these issues there should be efficient cooperation and coordination at national and regional levels through the projects such as:
Management of natural resources with special reference to water management, efficient utilization/prevention of pollution, combating land erosion/ desertification/ salinization, as well as irrigation infrastructure are major issues and concerns in the ECO countries.
In the ECO region there are countries such as Kyrgyz Republic with abundance of water whereas countries such as Pakistan still need water for irrigation and electricity for farming. Also, there is huge loss of water during the process of irrigation in the crop field, maintaining efficiency in use of water in agriculture is an efficient mechanism for increasing agricultural production and food security.
Land erosion and desertification has been a major problem in the majority of member countries within ECO. Each year a vast area of ECO region are being converted into desert and a concerted effort is needed to control the desertification process.
Collective cooperation at regional level in the field of water and soil management may lead to efficient use of these sources. The following projects/ideas can be considered in this regard:
Supporting the research institutions of the member countries in agriculture sector contributes to the enhancement of food security and agricultural development in the ECO region. Enhancing national technical and institutional capacities in the areas of policy design, analysis and long term strategic planning under market oriented system will be possible through capacity building projects in the Ministry of Agriculture of each member state that may be supported by regional initiatives. FAO and other specialized/donor organizations/institutions may assist ECO Secretariat to handle regional programs supporting ECO member states to enhance the capacity of their agricultural institutions. The following project/ideas may be considered in this regard:
There is a need to enhance capacity of the Directorate of Agriculture, Health and Industry, which is headed by one Director and staffed one additional full time professional responsible for the coordination and implementation of agriculture related programs. This severely limits the capacity of the directorate to deal with a number of activities to be followed up effectively and hampers the realization of an efficient coordination.
Since cooperation in agricultural production can bring not only positive results for attaining food security but also can boost the agro-based trade and will ultimately have multiplier effect on the other sectors of the economy in the region, one additional specialist may be hired for speeding up the process of networking to further enhance cooperation in the field.
Compilation of agricultural data and information on the agriculture sector is another important area in which the ECO Secretariat needs to be competent. Currently some data have been compiled and updated related to (a) agricultural research and training institutions, (b) experts and professionals in agriculture sector, and (c) exportable surpluses and importable deficits. But information received so far is not complete and effective utilization of the information for the regional cooperation has not been achieved.
More concerted action is required to effectively compile and make use of information, each member state should identify focal points from the Statistical Division and/or Planning Ministry who may form a Task Force at ECO level and regularly furnish information to the ECO Secretariat. An annual meeting of Task Force members may be held to evaluate if new sets of data are required for future possible joint activities related to food security.
This will help to establish institutional linkage between agricultural research, statistics and development institutes and hence ultimately increase capacity of the Secretariat. It is also important that the ECO Secretariat should benefit from existing networks, data bases extensively to avoid duplication. ECO may also develop guidelines for compilation of food security statistical data including research and training institutions, professionals, and status of the availability and need for the food, agricultural policies, food subsidies etc. The data gathered can be entered in the respective national computers using same computer programming and can be made available and deposited at the ECO Secretariat. The reports on analysis of data can then be reviewed for food security related policies among ECO member countries including regional food trade policies. All these will enable the ECO Secretariat to utilize the huge potential of the region for developing an efficient food security evaluation system in the region.
