Previous PageTable Of ContentsNext Page

 

Major Programme 3.3: Field Operations

Regular Programme

 

US$000

 

Programme of Work

30,558

 

Budgetary Transfers

(3,000)

 

Final Programme of Work

27,558

 

Expenditure

26,910

 

(Over)/Under Spending, US$ '000

648

 

(Over)/Under Spending, %

2%

Field Programme

 

US$000

 

Extra-Budgetary TF and UNDP Delivery

1,507

 

Extra-Budgetary Emergency Project Delivery

223

 

TCP Delivery

6,086

 

Total Field Programme Delivery

7,816

 

Ratio of Field to Regular Programme

0.3

 

Technical Support Services, Prof. Staff Cost

2,620

 

Technical Support Services, % of delivery

34%


Achievements

400. The Major Programme oversees all phases of FAO technical assistance programme/project cycle, including project execution and implementation, ensuring feedback of field experience to the technical departments. The Field Operations Division (TCO) was responsible for the Major Programme, mainly through the Operations Branches in the Regional Offices.

401. In 1998-99, the total value of new projects that became operational increased for the first time in several biennia. Chart 3.3-1 shows a significant shift in the source of funding for new projects. The value of UNDP projects declined by US$ 56 million or 68 percent to US$ 18 million, while the value of new Trust Fund projects increased by US$ 100 million or 35 percent to US$ 389 million. Within Trust Fund resources, new projects not related to emergencies declined by 26 percent to US$ 200 million. Emergency assistance increased almost three-fold, from US$ 89 million in 1996-97 to US$ 241 million in 1998-99. The Oil for Food Programme in Iraq, the largest emergency assistance programme, accounted for most of the growth, increasing from US$ 61 million in the 1996-97 to US$ 201 million in 1998-99. Contributions from bilateral donors for other emergencies also increased by over 40 percent, from US$ 28 million to US$ 40 million.

402. It should be noted that reporting on operational projects includes only those that have been recorded in the FAO financial system, whereas in the past pipeline projects were also included. For purposes of comparison in the PIR, the approved projects for 1996-97 were modified to remove the pipeline projects.

403. About 65 percent of the projects approved and operational in 1998-99 had budgets of less than US$ 250 000, more than half of these being between US$ 100 000 and US$ 250 000, as shown in Chart 3.3-2. The decline in large projects continued with only 5 percent of approved projects having budgets above US$ 1 million compared to 10 percent in 1996-97 and more than 25 percent in the past. TCP and SPFS accounted for 46 percent of the new projects approved, followed by Trust Funds at 44 percent and UNDP at 10 percent. For UNDP this was a decline from 15 percent in 1996-97. The 1998-99 biennium was the first time that new TCP and SPFS projects exceeded the number of new Trust Fund projects.

404. Field programme delivery in 1998-99 increased by about 12 percent to US$ 555.2 million (Table 3.3-1). As noted earlier this was due to increases in emergency and special relief operations, primarily the Iraq Oil for Food programme, which increased more than five-fold, from US$ 28.1 million in 1996-97 to US$ 147.8 million in 1998-99. Other special relief operations increased by 21 percent. Expenditures in most other areas of the field programme declined: UNDP by 38 percent, FAO/Government Cooperative Programme by 9 percent, Associate Professional Officers programme by 26 percent, Unilateral Trust Funds by 13 percent and TCP and SPFS by 5 percent.

405. Two new Trust Fund categories, Oil for Food and TeleFood, have been included in Table 3.3-1 to provide greater transparency on expenditures related to these programmes. A number of categories used in previous PIRs, such as the Freedom from Hunger Campaign and Screwworm Emergency Centre for North Africa, are not shown in Table 3.3-1, since current expenditures are small or zero. Residual expenditures under the removed categories, have been incorporated into Other Special Relief Operations or Miscellaneous Trust Funds, as appropriate.

TABLE 3.3-1 EXPENDITURES ON FAO FIELD PROGRAMMES (US$ MILLION)

Description

1994/95

1996/97

1998/99

FAO/UNDP

     

FAO Execution

108.3

58.4

32.0

FAO Implementation

31.3

26.0

17.2

SPPD/STS

8.8

7.8

8.2

Total UNDP

148.4

92.2

57.4

Trust Funds

     

FAO/Government Programme (GCP)

164.3

176.2

161.3

Associate Professional Officer Programme (APO)

29.5

30.3

22.5

Unilateral Trust Funds (UTF)

41.0

45.4

39.3

UNFPA

7.3

5.2

5.8

UN Environment Programme

3.1

1.0

1.0

Other UN Organizations

13.5

8.5

8.5

Oil for Food

9.9

28.1

147.8

Other Special Relief Operations

44.6

22.5

27.2

TeleFood

   

2.3

Miscellaneous Trust Funds

12.4

3.5

5.1

Total Trust Funds

325.6

320.7

420.8

Total External Funding

474.0

412.9

478.2

Regular Programme

     

Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP)

66.8

72.6

70.0

Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS)

3.0

8.5

7.0

Total Regular Programme

69.8

81.1

77.0

TOTAL FIELD PROGRAMMES

543.8

494.0

555.2

406. The distribution of 1998-99 expenditure by source (Chart 3.3-3), changed significantly from 1996-97. The largest change concerned emergency programmes, such as Oil for Food and other special relief operations, which accounted for 10 percent of field programme expenditures in 1996-97 and compared to 32 percent in 1998-99. Other major changes were UNDP, which decreased from 19 percent in 1996-97 to 10 percent in 1998-99 and the FAO/Government Cooperative Programme which declined from 36 percent to 29 percent. The share of field programme expenditure for Unilateral Trust Funds, the Associate Professional Officers programme, and TCP/SPFS was 2 percent less in 1998-99.

407. The FAO share in the execution or implementation of UNDP-funded programmes declined from approximately 2.3 percent in 1997 to an estimated 1 percent in 1999, continuing the steady downward trend. FAO delivery of UNDP projects declined from US$ 92.2 million in 1996-97 to US$ 57.4 million in 1998-99.

408. FAO field activities continued to be largely concentrated under Major Programme 2.1 Agricultural Production and Support Systems ( Table 3.3-2). This major programme accounted for nearly 60 percent of the total field programme delivery in 1998-99, with Programme 2.1.2: Crops accounting for over 40 percent. As in previous biennia, emergency activities were almost entirely concentrated under this major programme, mainly due to the focus on emergency assistance in short-term agricultural interventions such as distribution of seeds, tools and fertilizer, pest management and control and animal health. Major Programmes 2.4: Forestry, with 13 percent and Major Programme 2.5: Contribution to Sustainable Development and Special Programme Thrusts, with 12 percent had significant field programme delivery during 1998-99.

TABLE 3.3-2: FIELD PROGRAMME DELIVERY BY TECHNICAL PROGRAMMES, 1998-99 (PERCENT)

Programme

TF/UNDP

Emergency

TCP/SPFS

Total

2.1.1: Natural Resources

9.6

0.7

7.8

6.6

2.1.2: Crops

17.5

97.9

19.8

43.2

2.1.3: Livestock

7.0

0.2

11.8

5.5

2.1.4: Agricultural Support Systems

5.0

0.4

6.3

3.7

2.1.5: Agricultural Applications of Isotopes and Biotechnology

0.1

0.0

0.2

0.1

2.1: Agricultural Production and Support Systems

39.2

99.2

46.0

59.1

2.2.1: Nutrition

1.4

0.3

4.5

1.5

2.2.2: Food and Agricultural Information

2.3

0.0

4.6

1.9

2.2.3: Agriculture and Economic Development Analysis

0.9

0.0

0.8

0.6

2.2.4: Food and Agricultural Policy

2.5

0.0

1.0

1.5

2.2: Food and Agriculture Policy and Development

7.1

0.3

10.8

5.5

2.3: Fisheries

8.0

0.0

5.8

5.2

2.4: Forestry

22.1

0.1

5.2

12.8

2.5.1: Research, Natural Resources Management and Technology Transfer

7.0

0.1

2.7

4.2

2.5.2: Women and Population

1.9

0.0

0.8

1.2

2.5.3: Rural Development

5.2

0.0

2.8

3.2

2.5.6: Food Production in Support of Food Security in LIFDCs

3.3

0.0

9.3

3.1

2.5: Contributions to Sustainable Development and Special Programme Thrusts

17.4

0.2

15.6

11.7

3.1: Policy Assistance

3.8

0.0

6.3

3.0

Non-technical Programmes

2.3

0.1

10.3

2.7

Total

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

409. The main change in regional distribution of field programme was the large increase in the Near East and North Africa (Chart 3.3-5). This change was again due to the Oil for Food programme in Iraq, which increased the Near East share of total delivery to 33 percent in 1998-99, more than double its share in 1996-97. As a result, the share of all other regions declined. Africa dropped from 32 percent to 24 percent and Asia and the Pacific from 24 percent to 17 percent, with changes of 2 percent or less in other regions and delivery of Inter-regional/Global projects.

410. Project delivery in the least developed countries (LDCs) declined as a percentage of total field activities (Table 3.3-3). LDCs accounted for 23 percent of field programme delivery in 1998-99 compared to 31 percent in 1996-97, continuing the trend that has been evident since 1992-93. The decline mainly affected Trust Funds and TCP/SPFS. The decline in the percent of Trust Fund resources in LDCs resulted from the large increase in Oil for Food and other emergencies, while the decline in TCP reflected normal variation in approval of project requests.

411. In general, the distribution of projects funded from extra-budgetary resources (excluding emergencies) showed a tendency to concentrate on a smaller number of countries than in the past. In 1996, 50 countries had over US$ 1 million delivery. In 1999, only 24 countries registered delivery levels above that amount.

TABLE 3.3-3: PROJECT DELIVERY IN LDCS (PERCENT)

Funding Source

1996/97

1998/99

Trust Fund

19.4

14.5

UNDP

62.8

66.3

TCP/SPFS

41.4

34.1

Total

30.5

22.6

412. In terms of the distribution of project delivery in LDCs by funding source, Trust Funds accounted for 49 percent in 1998-99 compared to 42 percent in 1996-97 (Table 3.3-4). The main decline was in UNDP, which accounted for 36 percent of LDC project delivery in 1996-97 and 30 in 1998-99.

TABLE 3.3-4: PROJECT DELIVERY IN LDCS BY FUNDING SOURCE (PERCENT)

Funding Source

1996/97

1998/99

Trust Fund

42.0

48.7

UNDP

35.7

30.3

TCP/SPFS

22.3

20.9

Total

100.0

100.0

Major Programme 3.4: FAO Representatives

Regular Programme

 

US$000

 

Programme of Work

66,341

 

Budgetary Transfers

(1,400)

 

Final Programme of Work

64,941

 

Expenditure

65,105

 

(Over)/Under Spending, US$ '000

(164)

 

(Over)/Under Spending, %

0%

Field Programme

 

US$000

 

Extra-Budgetary TF and UNDP Delivery

716

 

Extra-Budgetary Emergency Project Delivery

0

 

TCP Delivery

0

 

Total Field Programme Delivery

716

 

Ratio of Field to Regular Programme

0.0

 

Technical Support Services, Prof. Staff Cost

4,039

 

Technical Support Services, % of delivery

564%

Achievements

413. The network of FAO Representatives (FAORs) continued to maintain an effective presence in developing countries, ensuring access to the technical and institutional resources of the Organization at all levels. Country coverage through offices or other arrangements totalled 113 in 1999.

414. Efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the FAOR network were pursued. The number of assigned National Professional Officers (NPO) increased by seven to 53 in 1999. The use of National Correspondents increased from eight to 21 in countries without a resident FAO Representative. General Service (GS) posts were reduced from 620 in 1996-97 to 606 in 1998-99. Staff provided by governments increased from 136 to 152 in the same period. The overspending indicated above was largely offset by income related to the contribution of governments to the cost of the FAOR in their country. This income exceeded the US$2 million planned in the PWB by about US$100,000 and highlights the importance accorded to the FAO offices by the host countries.

415. Changes in staffing patterns and levels are shown in Table 3.4-1.

TABLE 3.4-1: STAFF STRUCTURE IN FAO REPRESENTATIONS

Description

1994-95

1996-97

1998-99

International professional

162

94

92

NPOs

0

65

65

GS

687

620

606

National correspondents

0

8

21

Government-provided staff

145

136

152

Total

994

923

936

416. Technological improvements in communication and office automation continued to increase the cost-effectiveness of country offices. Internet access increased from 40 to 56 country offices. With implementation of the new financial system (Oracle), a computerized field accounting system (FAS) was introduced in all country offices to facilitate and improve accounting management. The system requires further improvement in 2000 but should result in efficiencies following successful completion of the project. Some US$0.7 million was invested in hardware/software and training of field staff.

417. Efforts were made to increase the contribution of host countries to the costs of FAO Representations. Provision of rent-free premises increased from 42 in 1996-97 to 47 in 1998-99.

418. Regrettably, security measures due to civil strife had negative financial repercussions in an increasing number of countries.

Major Programme 3.5: Cooperation with External Partners

Regular Programme

 

US$000

 

Programme of Work

8,600

 

Budgetary Transfers

1,850

 

Final Programme of Work

10,450

 

Expenditure

10,299

 

(Over)/Under Spending, US$ '000

151

 

(Over)/Under Spending, %

1%

Field Programme

 

US$000

 

Extra-Budgetary TF and UNDP Delivery

1,705

 

Extra-Budgetary Emergency Project Delivery

0

 

TCP Delivery

0

 

Total Field Programme Delivery

1,705

 

Ratio of Field to Regular Programme

0.2

 

Technical Support Services, Prof. Staff Cost

181

 

Technical Support Services, % of delivery

11%


Achievements

419. The Major Programme promotes cooperation with multilateral and bilateral funding agencies, the private sector and NGOs, particularly in order to mobilize additional resources for the agricultural and rural sectors. It supervises implementation of partnership agreements introduced since 1994 and fosters economic and technical cooperation among developing countries. The budgetary transfer relates to a number of underbudgeted approved programmes including World Food Day Special Events, FAO's contribution to the Non-governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) and the Project Identification Facility (PIF).

Programme 3.5.1: Multilateral and Bilateral Agencies

420. Collaboration with FAO's traditional partners in mobilizing resources for priority agricultural development projects, particularly in support of SPFS, provided encouraging results. In certain cases, such as the United Kingdom, existing partnerships were expanded. Linking trust fund projects with FAO's regular programme, particularly in national capacity building, sustainability and gender issues, has become a major item in dialogue with donors. With some donors implementing decentralized decision-making mechanisms, efforts were made to increase the role of Regional and Sub-regional Offices and country representations in the project cycle, particularly in the early stages of project development. Discussions with the European Union to increase and diversify cooperation have led to positive results, although potential for improvement still exists. Efforts continued to increase the number of governments requesting FAO technical assistance in development projects financed by bank loans or from national resources.

421. The Associate Professional Officer (APO) Programme was maintained. A meeting in September 1999 with donors, IFAD and WFP appraised the programme and determined a new orientation. It was noted that valuable contributions by APOs were not limited to traditional cooperation with field projects but also supported an important part of the normative work of the Organization. During the meeting, the internal review of the APO Programme covering the last ten years was considered and FAO was encouraged to transform the recommendations into operational measures.

Programme 3.5.2: Private Sector, NGOs, and Support to Food-for-All Fora

422. A meeting of experts on civil society involvement in World Food Summit follow-up in early 1998 provided the Organization with external advice on expanding contacts with civil society. Its recommendations contributed to the review of FAO-NGO cooperation coordinated by the Unit for Cooperation with Private Sector and NGOs (TCDN), which resulted in a new Policy and Strategy for Cooperation with NGOs and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), published in December 1999 in four languages. Regional consultations involving governments and NGOs/CSOs in conjunction with the FAO Regional Conferences in Africa, Asia and Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Near East and Europe will provide an opportunity to identify priorities and formulate appropriate action plans.

423. The Trust Fund Programme, financed by private companies, industries, foundations, associations and non-profit NGOs, was increased, including contributions to TeleFood and SPFS. Development of a private sector working group, similar to the network of NGO focal points, was initiated to further partnership arrangements and facilitate dialogue. An increased number of International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) established formal relations with FAO.

424. Two brochures, FAO and the private sector, which provides a new policy and strategy for enhanced cooperation with external partners, and Principles and guidelines for FAO cooperation with the private sector were published. The magazine Development education exchange papers (DEEP) continued publication in cooperation with NGOs.

425. A global enquiry was conducted with NGOs on the Food for All Campaign. National World Food Day celebrations and WFD Special Events/TeleFood activities were held around the themes of Women Feed the World and Youth against Hunger through committees or focal points in 140 member countries. On World Food Day 1999, the programme for FAO Ambassadors was launched, involving celebrities to heighten awareness of the fight against world hunger and malnutrition and mobilize resources for food security projects.

Programme 3.5.3: Cooperation Agreements with Member Nations and Support to ECDC and TCDC

426. The partnership programmes, which use TCDC/TCCT experts, visiting and retired experts from academic and research institutions and on-the-job training of young professionals with support from countries and national institutions, were expanded within the Organization, as shown in table 3.5-1 . High-level expertise could thus be tapped from a much wider resource pool for implementation of programmes and projects.

TABLE 3.5-1: USE OF PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMMES

Description

1996-97

1998-99

TCDC/TCCT experts

831

835

Visiting experts from academic and research institutions

146

210

Retired experts

523

791

Young professionals

-

32

427. During the biennium, the framework agreement on the use of experts for TCDC and TCCT had been signed by 13 countries bringing the total to 125 countries. The 835 TCDC/TCCT experts were used in FAO programmes and projects in areas such as improved rice production, horticultural development, animal genetic resources, small-scale irrigation, curriculum development for environmental education, wood utilization and fishing harbour development. TCDC experts were also used in crop assessment and food supply missions and agricultural rehabilitation efforts.

428. The programme for visiting experts from academic and research institutions expanded, with 11 countries and 2 regional institutions joining. The services of 210 visiting experts were utilized in fields such as animal genetic resources, livestock production systems, farm risk and vulnerability analysis and bibliographic research.

429. The 791 retired experts, many of whom are renowned in their fields, were involved in implementing various activities including low-cost water-saving irrigation, marine fisheries and aquaculture management, land tenure, agricultural statistics, participation of women in agricultural development and technology assessment for agricultural and rural development.

430. The young professionals programme was launched to contribute to national capacity-building in developing countries, providing on-the-job training to young professionals through participation in FAO activities. Countries assigned 32 young professionals to the programme during the biennium.

431. Partnership programmes were cost-effective: estimated cost per work-month was half to one-third the cost of an expert recruited at international rates, as shown in Table 3.5-2. The positive financial impact of the partnership programmes indicates that greater benefits can be derived from increased use of these services. In 1998-1999, expenditures on these assignments amounted to US$10.5 million, resulting in substantial savings to the Organization.

TABLE 3.5-2: ESTIMATED AVERAGE MONTHLY COST OF AN EXPERT, 1999

International Experts

US$

Cost at market rates

16 500

Cost under partnership programmes

 

Young professionals

1 014

Visiting experts from academic and research institutions

2 865

TCDC/TCCT experts

3 517

Retired experts

7 378

Top Of PageTable Of ContentsNext Page