1. This document is shorter than its predecessors. This has been achieved primarily by removal of detailed lists of planned outputs and a number of Annexes, hitherto included. There is no loss of information overall, as the preceding material - together with the Programme of Work and Budget itself - is available for consultation on the Organization's Internet Website. The full address is: http://www.fao.org/pwb.
2. It may also be noted that the cost increase calculations and, therefore, the Draft Budgetary Appropriations Resolution, are provided at a rate of Lira 1,800 to US$ 1, rather than at the 1998-1999 approved budget rate of Lira 1,690 to US$ 1. This reflects the recommendation of the Programme and Finance Committees, and subsequent request of the Council that the Secretariat develop the budget taking into account more current exchange rates. The revised rate has been applied to the figures for cost increases shown throughout the rest of the document. The figures in the Draft Budgetary Appropriations Resolution will be revised to reflect the rate used for the budget which will be proposed to the Conference, at the time it adopts the Resolution.
3. The section entitled Programme Framework addresses the selection of priorities and proposed activities for 2000-2001. This document covers in effect three sets of proposals within three different overall resource envelopes. As regards the zero real growth (ZRG) proposals, a summary of the approach is given, while this scenario is fully developed in the following Programme Budget. This section covers also the other two scenarios, real growth (RG) and zero nominal growth (ZNG) and a proposed resolution for the use of arrears.
4. The following section, Budgetary Framework, covers all pertinent financial aspects and opens with an overview of budgeted income and expenditure. Within the Regular Programme, the integrated presentation of income, initiated with the Programme of Work and Budget 1998-99, is covered through an overview of total resource availability. In this connection, the developments under the extra-budgetary field programme and their impact on the budget are also reviewed. The section goes on to describe the assumptions made in determining the amount of cost increases and overall staffing changes including the lapse factor; the introduction of differentiated professional staff rates by location; the impact of the US dollar/Italian Lira exchange rate; and the comparison between the approved Programme of Work and Budget for 1998-99 and the proposals for 2000-01.
5. The main part of the document is the section entitled Programme Budget. This section takes the total programme of work as formulated under ZRG parameters and breaks it down into the components of the programme structure. The level of detail varies across chapters and programmes, with those dealing with technical and economic activities (Chapter 2 and Major Programme 3.1) necessitating more extensive narratives and explanatory tables. The latter activities are also presented according to the revised approach, as endorsed by the Conference (cf. below). The tables for each chapter and major programme also provide forecasts of extra-budgetary field activities in the column headed "Trust Fund". A figure "below the line" indicates the eventual impact of ZNG.
6. In line with the unified programme concept, substantive programmes are jointly executed by Headquarters departments and the corresponding outposted teams in Regional Offices, or subject-matter specialists in Sub-regional Offices. To provide some indication of the quantitative impact of Regional and Sub-regional Office inputs, the resulting percentage of total resources assigned to each programme is shown in the standard tables. Many activities involve, therefore, joint participation of Headquarters staff and that of outlying offices.
7. Recapitulative tables - generally at the end of each programme or major programme - provide a breakdown of total resources by region, unit and source of funds.
8. Only two Annexes are being retained, providing the List of Scheduled Sessions (Annex I), in line with long-standing directives from the Governing Bodies, and the Information Products Revolving Fund Budget for 2000-01 (Annex II).
9. For each entity under the revised programming approach, a standard section covers the Rationale and Objective. Then, a summary of proposed activities to be undertaken in the biennium 2000-01, as well as an indication of internal and external cooperative links are given under sections called Approach and Links. This presentation is used throughout Chapter 2 and for Major Programme 3.1, to which the revised approach applies more particularly. It is recalled that more detailed lists of outputs are available for consultation on the FAO Website in all FAO languages.
10. The convention used in this document is that the constituent entities are identified under each programme with the following codes:
11. The Appropriation is arrived at by deducting Other Income from the Programme of Work. Except for income arising from Project Servicing Costs and Administrative and Operational Support Services (AOS), income can be directly assigned to a specific programme entity. However, in the case of Project Servicing Costs and AOS, the direct assignment of the income, which totaled US$ 43 million in 1998-99 and is projected at US$ 36.9 million in 2000-01, is not feasible.
12. In similar vein, responsibility for earning this income cannot be assigned to specific organizational units, as the earning of AOS income is largely a collective responsibility, involving many units. Accordingly, AOS income is assigned to a fictitious organizational unit entitled "PBE - Corporate Income" (PBEC).
13. In the PWB 1998-99, the distribution of AOS income across the programme entities of the Organization was based upon the distribution of the erstwhile Support Cost funded posts. Clearly, the methodology used for the distribution of this income impacts upon the level of the Appropriation by chapter. For 2000-01, a similar methodology has been applied subject to certain refinements. Specifically, the revised distribution of AOS income recognizes the following changes:
14. During the next biennium, the Organization will seek to improve the methodology for AOS income distribution across the programme and organizational dimensions.
15. In presenting the Programme of Work in 2000-01, it may be noted that the classification of "Internal Transfers" has been amended. This represents transfers of FAO resources between divisions and programmes for certain services rendered, such as internal staff secondments from one division to another. Internal Transfers, consequently, sum to zero across the Organization.
16. Internal Transfers were hitherto categorized under Income, and thus shown outside the Programme of Work. From 2000-01, they are integrated into the Programme of Work, reflecting the fact that such transfers represent essential resources required for the provision of services and the implementation of the work programme. For consistency of presentation, the 1998-99 base figures have also been restated in this regard.
17. This change has no effect on the net budgetary requirements but avoids the need for unnecessary explanations which arise simply because more or less services are being provided by one unit or programme to another.
