The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was founded in 1945 as a specialized agency of the United Nations family.
The 176 member nations of FAO have pledged themselves to three main aims:
In accordance with a mandate received from the member nations, FAO, under its Regular Programme, provides policy and technical advice to member countries in the fields of agriculture, livestock, fisheries, forestry and nutrition. Through the Field Programme it assists developing countries in their efforts to promote rural development and strengthen food security, raise agricultural production, improve efficiency in land and water use, and achieve optimum utilization of forestry and fisheries resources.
The activities of FAO in Asia and the Pacific region come under both the Regular Programme and the Field Programme.
1.2.1. Regular Programme activities
The main activities under the Regular Programme fall into four main categories:
1.2.2. Field Programme activities
The Field Programme mainly comprises projects financed by the United Nations Development Programme and Trust Fund donors, and, to a smaller degree, by the Technical Cooperation Programme. These projects operate at inter-regional, regional and national levels, covering virtually all the technical subject matter under FAO’s mandate.
Broadly, three types of projects can be identified, according to their functional significance to FAO. The first type may be called a ‘normative type’, referring to those projects, often of global or inter-regional nature, that are directly and substantively linked to specific Regional Programme activities, e.g. the global forest resource assessment project. Such projects, in effect, complement and augment FAO’s analytical and normative work under the Regular Programme resources. The second type of project is represented by work in those linked countries in priority areas defined by FAO Governing Bodies. These projects, while directly addressing the needs and problems of developing countries, contribute to creating a synergy between the Regular Programme and the Field Programme in the specific priority technical programmes. Thirdly, the largest group of projects is represented by the traditional technical cooperation projects that are aimed at addressing primarily the development needs of a particular country or group of countries.
The field operations activities of FAO began almost immediately after the establishment of the Organization, in fulfilment of its constitutional mandate: "to provide such technical assistance as governments may request". This technical assistance was initially in the form of policy advice, but since the early 1960s it has gradually evolved into more structured support through technical cooperation projects. For over 20 years, until the early 1980s, the FAO Field Programme grew rapidly both in volume and in complexity in response to a strong demand from developing countries, facilitated by an expanding flow of official development assistance. Total annual Field Programme expenditure rose from US$80 million in 1970 (1300 projects) to US$290 million in 1980 (2600 projects) and to over US$410 million in 1990 (2420 projects).
The Organization’s field activities have continued to focus on the food and agricultural problems of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Operational projects in Africa (1995-1996) continued to record the highest share (about 33 percent) of project expenditure. This includes desert locust control activities.
The greater part of field activities during 1996-1997 (about 27 percent) has continued to be directed to the increase and improvement of crop production, with emphasis on food crops. Other major categories are rural development (11 percent), natural resources (11 percent), forestry (18 percent), livestock (8 percent) and fisheries development (6 percent). There has been a rise in the share of total activities devoted to planning and policy analysis and related training, reflecting the rising number of requests for planning and policy support from member nations (7 percent).
1.3.1. Trends in technical cooperation
In recent years there have been a number of new trends in the content of FAO’s field projects and in the way in which these are delivered. Partly as a result of past assistance efforts, there appears to be great variation in the level of assistance among the countries in which FAO’s interventions have taken place. More advanced developing countries increasingly require highly specialized technical assistance inputs, involving the use of short-term high calibre expertise. The least developed countries, however, continue to require long-term resident expertise for training and institution-building activities. Many countries fall between the two categories and the mix of the two mentioned above.
Another change in FAO’s technical assistance is the trend away from the survey and appraisal of resources to resource utilization, management and conservation. In turn, this has broadened the range and coverage of field interventions, many of which now focus on production and development problems involving small farmers (and fishermen) through integrated rural development approaches at farm and community level. The trend towards resource management is also reflected in FAO technical assistance to investment projects and programmes.
Activities directed towards national self-reliance are an increasing feature of field projects in all sectors. This emphasis reflects the shift in concept from technical assistance toward technical cooperation. Training, both formal and informal, has therefore continued to be emphasized; at the same time, developing countries’ own experts are increasingly involved in the execution of externally supported development activities, with more national experts and consultants, and national project directors or national coordinators.
It is an FAO priority to promote capital investment in agricultural development by helping developing countries to identify and formulate investment projects. The Organization works closely with all the major multilateral financing institutions that lend to agriculture, such as the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the African, Asian and Sub-regional Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD, with which a cooperation agreement was signed in 1994), and the UNCDF.
Investment support, mainly in the form of the identification and preparation of projects for funding by the World Bank and other development financing institutions, is carried out by FAO’s Investment Centre.
1.5.1. United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) plays a central role in the United Nations system by financing technical cooperation programmes in developing countries. The programmes and projects supported financially by UNDP are implemented by specialized agencies such as FAO.
In 1991, UNDP introduced country programming. Country programmes are plans prepared by governments of developing countries that indicate the proposed use of UNDP resources towards the achievement of selected national development objectives during a given period. They are usually prepared by governments in collaboration with the UNDP and other organizations of the United Nations system such as FAO. During the period of the country programme, UNDP undertakes to finance a certain number of projects in several sectors; for example, health, labour, industry, agriculture, rural development.
The role of UNDP in technical cooperation is based on a tripartite partnership between governments, UNDP and various United Nations (UN) agencies such as FAO. Basically, UNDP is the financing agency, and its main partner is the country’s government. Depending on individual circumstances, governments bear part of the cost of UNDP-assisted projects, contributing both in cash and in kind. The recipient countries may also be entrusted with the responsibility of executing UNDP-assisted projects.
Generally UNDP engages a UN system organization such as FAO to provide the services, equipment, facilities and other assistance necessary for project implementation. The recipient government and UNDP together select the executing agency in accordance with the nature of the project and the expertise of the agency. The executing agency in cooperation with the host government then has responsibility for carrying out UNDP-financed project activities. In multidisciplinary projects two or more agencies may be entrusted with project execution as cooperating agencies.
For a limited number of special projects, UNDP is itself the executing agency through its Office for Project Services.
1.5.2. Trust Funds
The term Trust Fund simply means that the finance which is contributed is held in trust by FAO for the benefit of the project. The FAO Trust Fund projects began in the 1950s.
In 1981 annual Trust Fund expenditure was US$129 million in Asia and the Pacific region. Some 425 Trust Fund projects were in operation. Today the annual expenditure is about US$200 million with more than 750 projects in operation. These projects are worth more than four times their value a decade ago.
There are three main types of Trust Fund assistance. Multilateral assistance is the largest of the three. Trust funds of this kind collectively make up the Government Cooperative Programme. With this kind of assistance, one country, usually an industrialized one, channels funds through FAO for development projects. The assistance may be directed to an individual country, or a region, or it may be used inter-regionally. It is bilateral in that the donor and recipient are identified, and multilateral in that a multilateral agency (in this case FAO) agrees to use its technical expertise to execute a project. Many donor countries choose to provide aid of a specific technical type or to select the countries that are to receive the aid. This can also be achieved through bilateral channels but the advantage of the multi-bilateral approach is that use can be made of FAO technical expertise and technical backstopping. The role of FAO as a neutral non-profit-making organization may also be useful in certain projects where sensitive issues are involved.
Unilateral Trust Fund projects, the second type of Trust Fund assistance, are funded slightly differently. If a developing country wishes to finance a technical assistance project entirely by itself but does not have the necessary expertise, it can ask FAO to provide it. The finance may come either from the national resources or from an outside agency. It could, for instance, take the form of the technical assistance component of a loan from the World Bank or a regional bank. Unilateral Trust Fund (UTF) projects financed by the development banks have grown in value and importance over the years. The annual expenditure of the UTF programme grew from US$1 million in 1970 to more than US$22 million in 1992.
The third type of assistance is the Associate Professional Officers (APO) Programme. Its aims are to provide in-service training to young professionals under the supervision of senior FAO experts, and additional assistance to recipient countries. Donor countries provide the personnel, their salaries and their travel expenses. Associate professional officers constitute about one-fifth of FAO field staff. While all the major donors finance the APO programme, Netherlands and Italy also provide 15 posts of APOs from developing countries. The average annual cost for each APO is about US$75 000.
The programme has three features of great merit: the APOs benefit from, and gain experience in the application of their technical specialization in developing countries; the recipient country gains from additional project or programme input; and lastly the donor country enriches its human resources base with international experience and language skills.
Other Trust Fund activities are financed by UN agencies other than UNDP - for example the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) - and by non-government agencies.
Emergency aid also operates with Trust Fund support. The FAO Office for Special Relief Operation (OSRO) organizes short-term emergency relief and rehabilitation operations. It responds to requests for emergency assistance arising from natural and human-made calamities, and helps developing countries formulate plans to prepare for emergencies and to respond to them. Most OSRO project last for less than a year (the interval between two main harvests). Typical projects supply crop seed, fertilizers, livestock vaccines, animal feed, hand tools and farm machinery, and emergency storage for crops. The Office also provides emergency forms of transport for the distribution of inputs and food.
1.5.3. Technical Cooperation Programme
The Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) was launched in 1976 after the FAO Council had endorsed proposals submitted by the Director-General. The TCP is an instrument for action which enables FAO to respond speedily to urgent requests from developing countries for short-term assistance.
The main features of TCP are its unprogrammed character, its flexibility, speed and economy. By means of small-scale interventions of short duration, it provides assistance in emergencies, meets unforeseen needs, fills crucial gaps, complements other forms of assistance, and serves as a catalyst in stimulating the flow of resources to the agricultural sector. The focus of the programme is on increasing food production and raising the income and nutritional standards of small farmers and rural workers. It gives priority to the least-developed countries and to small-scale producers and workers.
Between the inception of the TCP and the end of 1996, 6182 projects had been approved for a total amount of US$653 million, and the total TCP (adjusted) budget for the 1996-1997 biennium was US$87.613 million.
In the mid-1990s, to meet the emerging needs of the changing socio-political and economic scenarios in the member countries, FAO reorganized its structure and mode of functioning, through a process of internal streamlining, cost-cutting and decentralization. The Organization now concentrates upon collaborative arrangements with donors, aid agencies, people’s organizations, non-government organizations and the private sector. The objective is food and nutrition for all and the focus is on low-income food deficit countries (LIFDC) in the region. It emphasizes, more than before, the dissemination and diffusion of technology through technical cooperation arrangements among its developing member countries themselves. In doing so it expects to stress its role as the principal clearing house of agricultural techniques and expertise in the world and the catalyst for coalescing frontier science with local knowledge.
