Policy assistance
Using its wealth of expertise and experience, the regional
office advises countries on appropriate policies to strengthen their
agricultural and rural sectors to make the region food-secure for present and
future generations. Sector and sub-sector reviews and analyses of selected
policy issues are conducted to assist the countries in formulating policies and
programmes for sustainable food security, agricultural and rural development.
FAO also meets requests from governments and other partners for field programme
development through the identification, formulation and approval of sound
projects and programmes. In consultation with government officials, other
development partners, non-governmental and civil society organizations, it
identifies areas requiring FAO technical assistance.
National policies and strategies need to be fine-tuned to
create a favourable economic environment for food security and agricultural and
rural development. Agriculture needs adequate consideration in macroeconomic
adjustment programmes. In a region where the main agricultural activity is
carried out by small and marginal producers who are also the most food-insecure,
much of this policy advice has to do with enabling small rural producers to
unleash their full productive capacities that can revolutionize farming in the
Asia-Pacific region.
Policy support includes assistance in developing national
capacities in the field of policy analysis and formulation. The regional office
organizes in-service training courses that are often integrated within broad
policy assistance programmes. These are meant for mid-level staff working in
government and in civil society organizations.
A major priority is to strengthen national capacities in
developing member countries to negotiate favourable terms in the World Trade
Organization (WTO) talks on the liberalization of agricultural trade. The
regional office is working to strengthen the capacity of relevant government
ministries, the private sector and academic institutions to deal with
agricultural trade policy and legal issues, including Codex Alimentarius, animal
and crops health, intellectual property rights, etc.
|
 The regional office
organized three sub-regional workshops on WTO and agriculture in Nepal,
Philippines and Tonga, during 2001 and 2002. These trained 34 participants from
29 countries and three regional organizations on the Agreement on Agriculture
(AoA), Agreements on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
(SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and the Agreement on Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
The fifth FAO round
table meeting for Pacific Island countries on WTO Agreement Provisions was held
in Wellington, New Zealand in April 2002. The meeting was sponsored by FAO, New
Zealand and the Trade and Investment Access Facility of the Commonwealth
Secretariat (TIAF). It further built sustainable capacity in the Pacific to meet
WTO obligations and provided tools to act as equal partners in the continuation
of the reform process.
At government
requests, the regional office fielded, supervised or otherwise organized,
missions to examine agricultural and rural development issues and constraints
and carried out consultations and discussions with stakeholders in identifying
and recommending policy directions including priorities, strategies and action
plans. An example of this type of assistance was the western China development
multi-disciplinary mission as well as the fast-track mission on agricultural
policy framework in Indonesia. The latter advised Indonesia on the roles of
central and local governments, civil society organizations and the private
sector in the management of the agriculture sector, the promotion and
development of agricultural marketing and processing, and to identify priority
areas for institutional strengthening.
FAO assisted
Cambodia in the preparation of the agriculture component of the country's Second
Socio-Economic Development Plan.
Activities were
initiated to assist Bangladesh in preparing a Plan of Action for implementing
the national agricultural policy.
Field activities
were carried out for a study on policy and strategy for poverty alleviation and
household food security in Nepal.
FAO provided
technical assistance to Viet Nam to identify policy and institutional changes
necessary to participate in collaborative efforts within ASEAN (Association of
Southeast Asian Nations) to enhance agricultural growth, food security and the
competitiveness of the agriculture sector.
In Myanmar, FAO
organized a project formulation mission entitled Integration of Myanmar
Agriculture in ASEAN.
The regional office
assisted Laos in preparing an environmental action plan linked to sustainable
agriculture and rural development in the country's lowland irrigated and rainfed
farms, highlands and plateaus.
FAO carried out an
analysis of the role of economic growth and redistribution policies, including
the structure of public expenditure in agriculture in China. It also developed a
policy simulation framework for poverty study and organized a policy forum and
policy training workshop in the country.
In DPR Korea, FAO
organized an informal consultation on updating and finalizing the draft
Agricultural Development Strategy-Horizon 2010.
In Mongolia, FAO
supported national consultants to revise and update the draft strategy for
National Agricultural Development - Horizon 2010.
The regional office
assisted Philippines in conducting an analysis and measurement of the impact of
alternative policy options and programme changes in major commodities such as
rice, maize, meat and fish. |
Operational services
Field projects are a highly effective way of demonstrating,
developing and transferring FAO expertise. During the year 2001, FAO implemented
257 field projects worth US$36 million in 32 countries in Asia and the Pacific,
of which 88 were funded from its own resources. Belgium, Italy, Japan,
Netherlands and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) are the major supporters of
FAO field programmes in the region. Thirty-one of these projects were regional
in nature.
The focus of FAO field activities is the Special Programme for
Food Security (SPFS), which aims to improve food security in low-income food
deficit countries (LIFDCs) -countries unable to make up domestic food shortfall
with imports. The programme strives to bring about quick increases in food
production and productivity and improve people's access to food. National
ownership, people's participation, technology transfer, gender sensitivity,
social equity and economic and environmental sustainability are some key
elements of SPFS.
A major event in 2001 was the final handing over of
operational responsibilities to FAO country offices in Bangladesh, Nepal,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This is in keeping with the organizational priority of
fully decentralizing the operations and management of the field programmes. The
FAO regional office now supervises only complex regional projects and projects
operated in countries where there are no FAO representatives.
During 2001, the flagship Integrated Pest Management Programme
(IPM) extended its services to countries growing cotton. The cotton IPM, funded
by the European Union, began operation in Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan,
Philippines and Viet Nam. Developed on the rice farms of Southeast Asia to
reduce risks from excessive pesticide use promoted by the Green Revolution, the
programme has trained more than 2 million rice farmers in Asia between 1990 and
1999, boosting their yields while cutting down the use of chemical pest
killers.
The Netherlands-funded Regional Wood Energy Development
Programme, begun in 1994, was completed in 2001, establishing itself as one of
FAO's most successful regional forestry projects. The project assisted more than
16 countries directly and numerous others indirectly.
The landmark Bay of Bengal Programme, operating in seven
countries - Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and
Thailand - reached out to millions of small-scale fisherpeople since 1979. It
addressed common problem areas in the region (e.g. fishing technology,
post-harvest fisheries and coastal fishery resources management) and evolved
from a technology to a socio-economic orientation. Managed by FAO in close
collaboration with and financial support from the seven countries, external
financing in the amount of US$20 million was provided by Denmark, Japan, Sweden
and UK. In addition to the main umbrella programme, supplementary projects were
financed by UNDP, the Arab Gulf Programme for the UN Development Organization
(AGFUND), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and several
others.
Two major FAO projects that have recently begun operation,
focus on the new emerging technologies such as genetically modified organisms
(GMOs). Funded by Japan, the projects will assist countries in formulating
national consensus and policies on GMOs and genetic resources.
The world's youngest nation, East Timor, will also feature
prominently in FAO operations in the region. Two projects on rural banking and
financing as well as on natural resource use are already being implemented in
East Timor by FAO.
FAO is also closely involved in the reconstruction of
Afghanistan, with seeds and animal health and production projects funded by
UNDP. New projects have been prepared to assist the country in production and
distribution of high quality seeds, animal health and the prevention of
rinderpest, including a mass vaccination of livestock this summer.
The following pages give examples of the technical work and
operational support provided by staff from the FAO regional office to projects
in the region.
Support to field
projects
The region has 24 of the world's 86 LIFDCs and Special
Programme for Food Security (SPFS) is helping boost food production in 14 of
these countries - Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Democratic People's Republic of
Korea, India, Indonesia, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New
Guinea, Solomon Islands and Sri Lanka. During 2001, Japan provided funds for
four large SPFS projects in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Laos and Sri Lanka. Also in
2001, SPFS projects were approved for Cambodia, DPR Korea and Pakistan. The SPFS
will continue to be FAO's main area of focus over the years to come.
Land and water management
FAO
collaborated with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP) on a pilot project to develop a 'water vision' for countries in
Southeast Asia. The outcome of the project is reflected in From vision to
action: a synthesis of national water visions in Southeast Asia, a
publication from the FAO regional office - RAP 2001/06 -that contains four case
studies (Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam), which were carried out
as part of the project. It looks at water use in these countries, how they plan
to fulfil their water visions, and set out each country's goals for sound water
management to meet the needs of all for this vital natural resource over the
next two decades.
Technical assistance
was provided for on-farm water management, balanced fertilizer use and
integrated plant nutrition through ongoing SPFS projects in Bangladesh,
Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri
Lanka.
In the Kingdom of
Tonga, in September 2001, FAO undertook a review of water resource management
and utilization technology plus farm and community water resource management and
utilization. A project feasibility study and training needs assessment were also
completed.
Plant production and protection
Publication RAP 2002/15 contains a comprehensive account of integrated pest
management (IPM) as a farmer-centred and local need-responsive approach, which
was developed on the rice farms of Southeast Asia to tackle the risks arising
from the excessive pesticide use promoted by the green revolution. The FAO
programme owes its success to the pioneering farmer field school (FFS) approach
that was first tried with Indonesian paddy farmers in early 1990 and has since
become the model for farmer education in Asia, several parts of Africa and Latin
America. The programme took off in Indonesia with the highest political support
after the country realized the dangers of excessive pesticide use. Since then,
more than 2 million rice farmers in Asia have taken part in over 75 000 farmer
field schools between 1990 and 1999, boosting their yields and incomes, cutting
down the use of chemical pest killers and improving the ecological health of
their fields. Above all, it has given them greater control over their
livelihoods and greater confidence to face new challenges.
Every year, chemical
pesticides worth some US$2.5 billion are sold in countries of the Asia-Pacific
region. Many of these pesticides - such as DDT, chlordane and heptachlor - which
are regularly imported by regional countries, are banned or restricted in the
countries of manufacture for health and environmental safety reasons. Due to
various factors, such as excess supply and a subsequent ban on some pest killers
in the importing countries, an estimated 200 000 tonnes of unused and obsolete
chemical pesticides are threatening the environment and health in the region. A
collaborative programme on disposal of obsolete pesticides established by FAO in
mid 1994 under the financial support of the Government of the Netherlands,
underlines the urgency and importance of a concerted international effort to
solve the problem. The first Asian regional workshop on inventories of
obsolete, unwanted and banned pesticide stocks was held at the FAO regional
office in Bangkok from 5 to 8 June. Experts from several Asian nations,
including Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, DPR Korea,
Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet
Nam reviewed the magnitude of the problem and identified steps needed to make
inventories of obsolete pesticide stocks.
Crop production
project proposals were formulated for several countries such as Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Cambodia, DPR Korea, Laos and Myanmar.
A Taro cultivar,
with resistance to Taro leaf blight, was propagated. FAO and the South Pacific
Commission worked on Fruit Fly management with some success in Nauru and Tahiti
in French Polynesia.
Animal production and health
The FAO
regional office supports some 20 ongoing projects in the region dealing with
animal health and production. Of these, 11 are national projects in 8 countries
(Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, DPR Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri
Lanka).
Support to
emergency prevention and control of main transboundary animal diseases in
Pakistan. Rinderpest is a severe, debilitating, frequently fatal, contagious
disease of buffaloes, cattle and yaks. It was last detected in Pakistan in
September 2000 indicating that a devastating epidemic could occur at any time.
In addition to rinderpest, two other major ruminant diseases in the country have
an impact on food production and income generation as well as providing
constraints to trade. Of these foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a serious
cause of production loss, especially in lactating dairy animals but also in
small ruminants. The other disease is peste des petits ruminants (PPR), a
highly destructive disease of sheep and goats is also increasing its incidence
and impact in Pakistan and surrounding countries. With funding from the European
Union (EU), a three-year FAO project started in July 2001. It assists national
control systems for rinderpest, FMD and PPR to work efficiently. Although
rinderpest is the driving force, the essence of the project is to create an
institutional framework for the control and eradication of transboundary animal
diseases, well beyond the immediate issue of reaching a stage of verified
freedom from rinderpest.
As part of the UNDP
country cooperation framework -targeted on delivering environmentally
sustainable development through grass roots organizations - FAO supports a
four-year project on community livestock and dairy development in some of the
poorest thanas in northwest Bangladesh. Since 1999, the project has provided 7
750 poor people with the knowledge, skills and micro finance for starting income
earning and food production activities. The provision of micro-credit packages
allows productive, profitable livestock investments and the establishment of
village level milk processing and marketing. In the process, an ecologically
sustainable crops-livestock-fish farming system is introduced, including over
300 bio-digesters. The project aims to empower resource poor rural women through
promoting their earnings from livestock and diary production and through their
participation in self-operated, self-reliant village organizations.
Under WTO's Sanitary
and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement, Codex Alimentarius standards are the referee
standards for international food trade. China - which has just joined WTO - has
yet to perfect its market and information systems so that its animal food
products for export meet international standards in terms of product quality and
residue levels. To accomplish this, official control laboratories that comply
with international scientific standards must be available. An FAO project -
funded from its Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) - aims to strengthen
laboratory capability in the analysis of toxic chemical residues in meat and
other food of animal origin, in order to meet national and international
requirements. It provides accurate information on the testing programme required
for animal food product exports; identifies what laboratory equipment is
required and, most importantly, trains Chinese laboratory staff in modern
residue testing methods. This will not only facilitate animal food product
exports from China, but will also have a positive impact on domestic food
production and consumption.
Fisheries
As a
follow-up to the Bay of Bengal programme and in view of the importance of the
fisheries resources for the livelihood of millions of fishers, the Global
Environment Facility (GEF) is funding the formulation by FAO of a much larger
and wider project to cover the entire large marine ecosystem in the bay. Issues
focus predominantly on the coastal environment and fisheries with a view to the
proper management of the ecosystem and resources.
FAO also assisted
the BOBP participating countries in formulating a plan to establish an
intergovernmental body for fisheries management in the bay. Four countries
(Bangladesh, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka) have expressed interest and endorsed
the Agreement on such establishment. It is expected that this new body will be
in operation in 2003.
Located in the
central plains of Cambodia, the Tonle Sap lake is one of the richest inland
fisheries waters in the world. Linked to the Mekong river by a 100 km-long
channel, the lake is flushed and swollen to more than four times its normal size
by the annual monsoon flooding in the Mekong. The lake and the channel yield
two-thirds of Cambodia's annual inland fisheries catch, which accounts for
nearly 90 percent of the country's total fisheries production. The FAO regional
office conducted a study to describe the ecology of the lake and assess catches
by popular Tonle Sap fishing gear in two communes in a northwestern Siem Reap
province. The results - a unique description and analysis of lake fishing in
Cambodia -are presented in publication RAP 2001/11 Tonle Sap fisheries: a
case study on floodplain gillnet fisheries in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Nine out of every
ten of the world's 30 million people who make a living directly from fishing
live in Asia and about 80 percent of them are small-scale fisherfolk. However,
the food and livelihood needs of a growing population are running up against
limited fishery resources, which are fast depleting in most coastal regions of
Asia. Publication RAP 2001/19 Small-scale fishery in Southeast Asia: a case
study in Southern Thailand contains the results of a study of small-scale
fishery along Thailand's Andaman Sea coast, which accounts for up to 14 percent
of the country's total fish catch. It uses data from the national marine fishery
census together with a field study of socio-economic conditions and fishery
practices in six representative coastal villages around the bay of Phan-nga,
which spreads across 3 000 sq km, including 1 900 sq km of mangrove. The study -
undertaken by a German associate professional officer working at the FAO office
in Bangkok -also examines the use and incomes from three types of small-scale
fishing gear and uses this information along with the socio-geographic data to
assess sustainable small-scale fishery management options.
Forestry
To
combat illegal logging and timber smuggling from Cambodia, FAO is assisting that
country in starting a forestry crime-monitoring programme. Much of the illegal
trade of forest products has stopped as a result. There has been active
involvement of watchdog NGOs and a database tracking system has been developed.
The government now has stronger capacity to monitor and control illegal forest
activities.
A partnership
programme of FAO, the European Union and Asian countries is working to
strengthen national capacities to collect, compile and disseminate reliable and
up-to-date information on forestry in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
FAO supported
Mongolia in developing a national forest programme and advised the country in
strengthening institutions for forest conservation and management.
Based on information
generated by an FAO technical cooperation project to improve benzoin production
in Laos, FAO published a monograph on benzoin (RAP 2001/21) that includes the
findings of a survey and field trials in two benzoin producing villages in north
Laos as well as the results of studies of different ways of benzoin tapping in
Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia. The document is a comprehensive overview of benzoin -
a balsamic resin obtained from the 'yan' tree (styrax tonkinensis). The
publication examines the potential for improving benzoin production in these
countries to help thousands of poor rural households, and lists contacts of key
organizations, traders, companies and experts on benzoin in Asia-Pacific
countries and Europe.
Agricultural support systems
Assistance was provided to Mongolia on urban food marketing issues through two
consultant missions and a project for TCP funding was formulated.
The FAO-GTZ
MicroBanking System continues to be supported and further developed by the
Microbanker project which is housed in the premises of the FAO regional office
in Bangkok. The RAP rural finance officer acts as project
manager.
Food security and nutrition
Responding to the expressed interest of some countries, the regional office
formulated a regional TCP project entitled Capacity building in selected
Asian countries on FIVIMS.
Technical assistance
was provided to agricultural census activities in Cook Islands and Tonga, to
crop forecasting in Bangladesh, and to livestock statistics in
Indonesia.
In Cambodia,
agricultural statistics was strengthened. In Viet Nam, the national Food
Security Information System was developed and training given to relevant
national staff.
Sustainable rural development
FAO is
collaborating with the Indian National Institute of Rural Development on a
training toolkit on local government participatory planning for poverty
alleviation.
Working with the
Department of Welfare of the Government of Thailand, the regional office has
trained more than 50 farmers with disabilities in northeast Thailand to start
and run mushroom enterprises. The farmers were honoured with an FAO certificate
of achievement presented by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand
during the October 2001 World Food Day celebration at the regional office in
Bangkok.
FAO assessed the
agricultural extension, education, rural youth and communication needs of Cook
Islands, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga to determine priority areas for future technical
cooperation projects with these countries.
In Cambodia, the FAO
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) project promoted the integration of disabled
farmers in training programmes by the Ministry of Agriculture aiming at capacity
building for integrated pest management.
An FAO project in
China is working with the agricultural broadcasting and television school to
strengthen distance education for agricultural and rural development.
