ANNEX IV
Regional Perspectives
1. In relation to the corporate strategies to address the needs of the FAO membership as a whole (contained in Part II of the document), regional perspectives bring variations in focus and emphasis to each of the five major corporate strategies proposed and related strategic objectives. The cause of these variations must be sought in differences in general conditions (agro-ecological, historical, socio-economic, political etc) and in the level of development facing the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors in each region. A set of regional tables is presented below, highlighting strategy elements specific to each region in relation to corporate global strategic objectives.
AFRICA
Key Regional Priorities
2. The following regional priorities have been identified:
- development of water resources and expansion of cultivated areas under water control;
- desertification control;
- development of agriculture, including livestock and rural infrastructures and institutions;
- rural human resource development through capacity building for non-governmental organizations, farmers'associations and other agriculture-related professional associations, including empowerment of rural women and other disadvantaged groups;
- promotion of sustainable use and integrated management of land and animal resources, forest cover and wildlife, marine and fresh water resources;
- improvement of government and private sector food quality control systems in order to facilitate access to international food trade and to meet Uruguay Round and Codex requirements;
- acceleration of regional cooperation and integration of the Africa Region in the world economy through enhanced investment flows and trade
- development of appropriate technologies including biotechnologies and satellite information technologies for food security, poverty alleviation and conservation of biodiversity.
Strategy Elements Specific to the Region
3. Proposed strategy elements for Africa, in response to the perceived concerns and priorities of the region, show particular emphasis on action to prevent and manage food crises, to arrest natural resources degradation and improve resource management, in particular through strategies for enhancing the region's science and technology capacity, and to ensure women's participation in development - as shown in the table below:
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Corporate Strategic Objectives
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Regional Highlights: Africa
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A.1
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· Food security policies/strategies/plans of action
· Rural-based small-scale agro-processing to generate income and alleviate women's burdens
· Promotion of intra-regional fish trade to raise current levels of consumption
· Policy advice based on analysis and resolution of constraints identified by the Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS)
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A.2
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· Food-based programmes to solve overall malnutrition and micro nutrient deficiencies
· Improved targeting of programmes for the poor and vulnerable
· Promotion of urban and peri-urban agriculture with emphasis on water quality for safe food production and increased food security
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A.3
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· Development of information systems for the prevention and management of animal disease epidemics and food crises
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B.1
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· Strengthening capacity of Members to participate in negotiations on WTO-related matters
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B.2
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· Strengthening of capacity to meet Codex requirements and WTO's Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures etc.
· Promotion of FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
· Support to IPPC
· Support to appropriate land use policies and capacity-building for land use administration
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C.1
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· Strategies/ plans ensuring agricultural/rural sector contribution to economic growth
· Support to appropriate water policies, especially for effective management of scarce water resources
· Promotion of increased crop-livestock integration
· Support to decentralized indigenous financing systems
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C.2
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· Strategies for enhancing the region's science and technology capacity through capacity building for technology policy and planning, research organizations and management and participatory techniques development
· Support to agricultural research, identification and domestication of crops, especially in marginal areas
· Technologies and training in the management of small scale water resources and improvement of smallholder irrigation schemes and run-off agriculture especially using water harvesting techniques
· Participation of rural communities in animal production, particularly of short cycle species; livestock resource management in fragile drought-prone systems
· Development of environmentally sound aquaculture
· Reduction in post harvest losses through improvement, inter alia, of fish handling and processing; conservation technology for fresh vegetables (perishables)
· development of non-wood products
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D.1
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· Plant production and protection based on integrated production and pest management (IPPM)
· Integrated watershed management with emphasis on wetland development and management; participatory management of natural forests, including wildlife resources
· Strengthening of regional fisheries management bodies and establishment of effective monitoring, control and surveillance systems
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D.2
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· Land improvement for enhanced productivity
· SARD follow-up; UNCED follow-up for sustainable forestry, especially with regard to the implementation of IFF recommendations
· Provision of policy guidelines on transhumance farming system
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E.1
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· Capacity-building for accurate gender-disaggregated agricultural statistics; development of integrated systems of agricultural statistics
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E.2
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· Establishment of better monitoring and surveillance systems to control food and nutritional vulnerability and ensure better planning of food aid targeting
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E.3
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· Support to governments in implementation of WFS commitments
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ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Key Regional Priorities
4. The following regional priorities have been identified:
- focus on food security and production aspects, including mobilization of resources to assist low-income food-deficit Pacific island countries in initiating/sustaining their WFS national plans of action; fertilizer and nutrient management; water management and irrigation; integrated pest management; sustainable aquaculture; improved livestock production; post harvest technologies; traditional agriculture; nutrition and nutritional education, food quality and safety (Codex-based programmes);
- enhancing the resource base to avoid soil loss and degradation; reforesting degraded land; agroforestry; managing forests and fisheries sustainably (Code of Practice for Forest Harvesting and Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries; improvement in fishery statistics);
- agricultural support systems improvement, including enhancement of the role of women and work on biotechnology for the benefit of small farmers;
- liberalization and privatization of food markets and other macro-economic measures in transition economies;
- preparedness for the new world trade order (especially LIFDCs and small Pacific island countries, including such issues as plant protection and quarantine and food quality control);
- emergency management of pest and diseases and strengthening of national early warning systems; establishment and improved targeting of assistance to poor and vulnerable groups, including strengthening and/or establishing vulnerability information and mapping systems as a tool for monitoring chronic and transitory food insecurity;
- improved preparedness to deal with climatic phenomena and other natural disasters, including prevention and management of forest fires as well as minimization of their adverse impact;
- support to TCDC/ECDC (South-South cooperation and partnership programmes for regional cooperation).
Strategy Elements Specific to the Region
5. Proposed strategy elements for Asia and the Pacific show particular emphasis on WFS follow up, action to prevent and manage natural disasters (including forest fires), to improve resource management, and sustain women's role in development:
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Corporate Strategic Objectives
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Regional Highlights: Asia and the Pacific
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A.1
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· Sustainable integrated farming systems, including rural aquaculture development, aimed at empowerment of all segments of rural producers, including promotion of market-oriented production systems, with farm-agribusiness linkages as well as enhancement of small farmer competitiveness
· Appropriate and cost-effective legal, administrative and institutional reform to increase access of rural households to land and natural resources (transaction costs reduction; tenure security; increased investment in land and natural resources)
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A.2
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· Identification and targeting, including through establishment and management of national FIVIMS, of particularly disadvantaged groups (rural poor, women, the undernourished, resource-poor producers)
· Support to empowerment measures for such groups to ensure access to sufficient nutritionally adequate and safe food through, inter alia, promotion of partnership with NGOs and civil society
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A.3
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· Improved emergency preparedness (dissemination of methodologies and techniques for managing risk, including training)
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B.1
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· Strengthening capacity of Members to participate in negotiations on WTO-related matters
· Facilitating development of codes of conduct and other instruments, as needed, including a Code of Practice for Forest Harvesting in Asia-Pacific Region (participatory process)
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B.2
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· Implementation of above and of Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
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C.1
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· Policy advice and support in the areas of gender and population; improving institutional efficiencies of public/private and rural organizations in delivery of services to rural producers and linking with centres of research and technology development
· Policy advice focussed on a more intensified, diversified and sustainable agriculture linked to improved marketing and adjustment of production systems to the changing situation; to be provided to LIFDCs, countries in transition, Pacific island countries, regional groupings and institutions
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C.2
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· Promotion of sustainable soil, water and nutrient management packages and solutions (including IPNS), including small farmer capacity building in participatory planning and farm business management and acceleration of self-reliance in the conservation and sustainable use of fishery resources
· Achieving increased water use efficiency and better on-farm water management through the modernisation of irrigation systems and irrigation management transfer including water harvesting to increase food production in rain-fed areas; promotion of integration between irrigation management and natural resources planning to ensure sufficient water supplies for high potential areas
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D.1
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· Assessment and monitoring of the status of natural resources (provision of mechanism for periodic monitoring; utilization of geo-referenced databases such as SOTER; identification of areas of threat to and potential for intensified production)
· Support to improved crop production and productivity, including through integrated production and pest management,promotion of crop intensification and diversification in a sustainable, environment-friendly manner; support to market-oriented livestock development and integrated land-livestock-food systems
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D.2
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· Public adoption of policies to avert natural resource degradation and to support preservation/ rehabilitation through encouragement of adoption of sustainable land use systems by land users themselves
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E.1
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· promotion of integrated systems of food and agricultural statistics (integrated programmes of surveys/censuses, including identification of roles of women and men in agriculture and food systems) and dissemination of timely and reliable data to national and international users
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E.2
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· assessment and analyses of trends in agricultural and rural development and food security situation (dynamics of change; comparative analyses of sector performance;provision of intergovernmental fora of information and knowledge)
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E.3
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· Support to governments in implementation of WFS commitments
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LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Key Regional Priorities
6. The following regional priorities have been identified:
- further liberalization process of agricultural trade, including elimination of export subsidies, reduction in trade-distorting production subsidies, establishment of fair market access conditions, rejection of non-scientifically based non-tariff barriers to trade, prevention of use of food as a political weapon of pressure;
- effective implementation of differentiated trade treatment for LDCs, in particular net food-importing countries and special consideration to small-island states;
- advancement of process of reform of agricultural institutions and modernization of public structures, including decentralization to achieve greater participation;
- acceleration of land titling and strengthening legal security of tenure;
- broadened concept of rural development to include off-farm rural employment to improve living conditions for rural populations as well as measures to neutralize the impact of globalization on small producers.
Strategy Elements Specific to the Region
7. Proposed strategy elements for Latin America and the Caribbean focus on four priority areas: food security, trade expansion, natural resources management and agricultural institutional reform, all working towards sustaining rural development as an overall strategy in the fight against extreme poverty. In the area of food security, particular emphasis is placed on using an SPFS-based approach to assist the non-LIFDC countries to improve their agricultural productivity and food security through better harnessing of water for irrigation and improved drainage, improved planting material, better use of fertilizers and other chemicals, better husbandry methods and weed, disease and pest control.
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Corporate Strategic Objectives
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Regional Highlights: Latin America and Caribbean
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A.1
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· Participatory approaches and methods to support food security and rural development (comparative analysis and capacity-building)
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A.2
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· Rural household income strategies for poverty alleviation, including promotion of practical food processing technologies; promotion of productive associations between farmers and industries
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A.3
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· Improved preparedness for countries lying in the hurricane belt
· Control and monitoring of endemic diseases
· Technical support to capacity building and emergency operations (including control of migratory pest outbreaks)
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B.1
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· Strengthening capacity of Members to participate in negotiations on WTO-related matters
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B.2
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· Food quality control and consumer protection (capacity building to meet Codex requirements and WTO Agreements; focus on scientific evaluation of food additives and contaminants)
· Support to institutions and services needed for facilitating the flow of traded agricultural products, including support to national Codex committees
· Establishment of appropriate legislation and infrastructure for pesticide management, control and analysis; review of IPPC status and assistance for appropriate phytosanitary systems
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C.1
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· Land tenure institution building for food security and sustainable rural development to facilitate access to land, ensure user rights and improve land markets
· Small-scale agribusiness development and modernization of existing agroindustrial facilities to increase farm and off-farm income (policy and legislative environments consistent with the need to promote agricultural diversification and market oriented production; commercial technologies)
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C.2
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· Commodity and market development (quality improvement and product development to support trade expansion)
· IPM mainstreaming
· Optimization of intensified food crops, horticulture and fodder crop production compatible with urban resource management
· Support to agricultural marketing
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D.1
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· Sustainable management of natural resources in fragile ecosystems: mountain development and improved watershed management (afforestation; agroforestry; sustainable harvesting of forests); technologies and training in the harnessing, utilization and efficient management of small scale water resources and improvement of existing irrigation schemes
· Sustainable field food crops, industrial crops and horticulture promotion (including integrated plant nutrition management)
· Market-oriented livestock development and integrated land-livestock-food systems
· Sustainable management and conservation of inland fisheries and aquaculture (including risk assessment)
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D.2
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· Policies for land use planning and management
· Support to conservation and sustainable utilization of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture
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E.1
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· Integrated and harmonised data collection and information generation
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E.2
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· Strengthening of capacity to identify and analyze problems of food insecurity and nutrition (FIVIMS implementation)
· Policies and programmes to support household food security, community nutrition and food and nutrition education
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E.3
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· Support to governments in implementation of WFS commitments
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NEAR EAST
Key Regional Priorities
8. The following regional priorities have been identified:
- promotion of sustainable food security in line with WFS commitments, including review of development strategies and policies to create an enabling environment for achieving household food security;
- combatting desertification; improved water management systems and legislation; special attention to the problems of marginal lands and the management/ monitoring of the use of range and pastoral resources in many parts of the region;
- establishment of the Near East Plant Protection Organization (NEPPO);
- support to plant protection services and pests control, and strengthening the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme, as well as regional support for emergency preparedness against transboundary animal diseases;
- appropriate marketing services and infrastructure and improved food control systems;
- support to research and extension services;
- development of agro-industries to increase value-added of agricultural crops and raise farmers income, generate employment and reduce crop losses and encourage export of agricultural products;
- promotion of intra-regional trade and of regional cooperation;
- increased attention to specific problems of the region's Central Asian Member Nations.
Strategy Elements Specific to the Region
9. Proposed strategy elements for the Near East region focus on WFS follow-up, on improving the emergency/relief/rehabilitation continuum, on natural resources management, with particular attention to water scarcity, and assistance to meet the challenges of market liberalization:
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Corporate Strategic Objectives
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Regional Highlights: Near East
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A.1
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- Strategy for achieving sustainable national and household food security
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A.2
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- Improvement of nutrition status and elimination of micronutrient deficiencies
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A.3
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- Strategy for relief/emergency and rehabilitation and development
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B.1
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- Strengthening capacity of Members to participate in negotiations on WTO-related matters
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B.2
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- Promotion of the IPPC and the International Code of Conduct on the Use and Distribution of Pesticides (prevent introduction of quarantine pests and ensure safe movement of plants and plant products in trade and minimize pre and post-harvest losses)
- Establishment of reliable and responsible fisheries and aquaculture activities through the application of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
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C.1
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- Maximization of fisheries production on a sustainable and environmentally friendly basis
- Establishment and/or strengthening of national agricultural research systems
- Establishment of agricultural training centres to produce trained/skilled human power in agriculture
- promotion of measures to increase women's participation in development
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C.2
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- Introduction of new technologies in crop protection to minimize losses
- Strengthening plant protection services and support to veterinary services, to control the transboundary plant and animal diseases
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D.1
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- Support to economic and institutional reforms in response to economic transformation resulting from market liberalization
- Sustainable forest management: (protection of existing forest resources and realization of their full potential; creation of partnerships and collaboration with forestry agencies and others)
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D.2
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- Strategy for sustainable natural resources management and combatting desertification
- Land reform and water policy reform for the efficient utilization of natural resources (multidisciplinary approaches to address water scarcity management)
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E.1
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- Facilitating the collection, sharing and efficient use of information in the area of plant protection, offering neutral, user friendly fora, methods and supporting information collection and analysis
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E.2
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- Inventory of land use and database on irrigation and water use and establishment of information exchange network
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E.3
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- Support to governments in implementation of WFS commitments
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EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA
Key Regional Priorities
10. The following priorities have been identified which will apply in differing degrees to the countries in the two regions:
- setting up or improving land tenure systems and the functioning of land markets and other reforms to achieve sustainable agricultural and rural development;
- management of fragile ecosystems, mountain development and sustainable intensification of fisheries and forest resources and arresting job losses and migration from rural areas of both men and women;
- conservation and management of animal and plant genetic resources;
- development of nutrition programmes, food control and quality and consumer protection;
- meeting the challenges the agricultural sector is facing as a result of WTO membership commitments;
- cooperation at all levels, local, regional, national and international;
- EU-related matters, in particular the need to continue reform of Common Agricultural Policy and establishing pre-accession strategies with a view to complying with the "acquis communautaire" by EU candidate Member Nations.
Strategy Elements Specific to the Region
11. Proposed strategy elements focus on policy advice to follow-up on international commitments resulting inter alia from WFS and other major UN conferences and on EU and WTO instruments and policies, as needed but particularly directed at countries in the process of accession; creation of an enabling environment to carry out systemic reforms, related in particular to land ownership and establishment of land markets, support to development and harmonization of food regulations with Codex standards and establishment of effective national food quality assurance systems; strengthening of prevention and preparedness for emergencies and promotion of rehabilitation programmes leading to sustainable agriculture; and cost efficient and sustainable natural resources management.
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Corporate Strategic Objectives
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Regional Highlights : Europe and North America
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A.1
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· Advice on international commitments resulting from WFS, as needed, including methodological assistance in constraints analysis to SPFS in LIFDCs in the region
· Support to integrated development of disadvantaged, rural regions, including off-farm income opportunities, capacity building and institutional strengthening
· Support to appropriate legal, administrative and institutional reforms to increase access to land (tenure security and property rights)
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A.2
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· Food insecurity and vulnerability mapping in areas suffering from chronic or transitory under-nutrition
· Promotion and enhancement of the role of women in rural development
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A.3
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· Support to establishment of monitoring systems for early warning, food information and for disaster prevention
· Assistance in establishment of a monitoring system for plant and animal disease control
· Support to rehabilitation and recovery programmes in conflict-affected areas
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B.1
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· Support to Member Nations in their preparation for WTO negotiations
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B.2
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· Assistance in the implementation of codes of conduct and other instruments (e.g. Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources, IPPC and Code of Conduct)
· Support to harmonization of food regulations with Codex Alimentarius standards; strengthening of food control and consumer protection institutions, for the establishment of effective national food quality assurance systems, as needed, including development of a new Joint FAO/IAEA Training and Laboratory Centre in Austria to produce new methods of analysis, standard testing materials and carry out and coordinate food quality and safety training
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C.1
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· Support to systemic reforms through agricultural sectoral policy analysis with a view to facilitate the required regulatory and institutional reforms towards a market economy, taking into account WTO commitments and EU membership candidatures
· Ensuring improved policy analysis formulation and implementation capacity at the level of Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development
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C.2
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· Promotion of sustainable agricultural methods, including organic farming
· Promotion of regional and inter-regional cooperation in agricultural research
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D.1
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· Promotion and assistance in implementation of programmes leading to sustainable agricultural intensification, in particular through control of soil erosion, water management, appropriate crop and livestock production systems and forest management and fire control
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D.2
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· Support to cost efficient and sustainable natural resources management, through advice and training, including methodologies in cost/benefit analysis enabling Member Nations to meet international commitments resulting from inter alia WFS and UNCED
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E.1
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· Support to the establishment of National Agricultural Information Systems (NAIS), based on FAO know -how transfer and capacity-building
· Promotion of the use of electronically available data for agricultural policy decision-making
· Strengthening of decentralized interactive information exchange systems
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E.2
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· Agricultural sector and subsector reviews and analyses, including commodity reviews and trends, natural resources reviews to monitor progress and identify problems hindering the development and sustainable use of resources
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E.3
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· Advice on international commitments resulting from WFS, and raising awareness of food security issues
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