Chapter 3: Cooperation and Partnerships

642. This chapter covers a wide range of activities, involving collaboration with a number of essential partners - funding sources for technical cooperation, international financial institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), and the private sector. It relates to several organizational units at Headquarters, as well as field offices, in direct support to Members' development efforts. It includes policy advice and support to field programme development; project formulation, with particular emphasis on projects with investment potential; and operational services for the execution or implementation of country programmes. The budgetary provision for FAO country offices and other activities in support of external cooperation and resource mobilisation are also included.

643. Chapter 3 is heavily dependent on external income, besides the Regular Budget appropriation, particularly under Major Programme 3.2, Support to Investment (contributions from partner financial institutions), and Major Programme 3.3, Field Operations (AOS¹⁸ reimbursement income). Therefore, budget estimates for the Programme of Work need to reflect the expected evolution of these external resources in the next biennium.

Resources

644. As evidenced in the preceding table and in the more detailed tables which follow, there are many instances of substantial net resource changes under the relevant programme headings, in part reflecting the required adjustments to match expenditure plans to the prospects for external income mentioned above.

645. Equally importantly, the indicated provisions take account of the impact of two major restructuring initiatives in the current (2000-2001) biennium: on the one hand, the partial reorganisation of the Technical Cooperation Department (TC) at Headquarters affecting particularly the Field Operations Division (TCO) and the several units placed in the Office of Assistant Director-General; and on the other hand, the transfer to FAO country offices of a significant share of operational responsibilities for the implementation of field projects, coupled with concomitant reorganisation of the units dealing with operational and administrative matters in Regional Offices. A substantial portion of the savings generated by these initiatives can be ploughed back to needed strengthening of several areas, e.g. policy advisory services under Major Programme 3.1; a more advanced Field Programme Management Information System (FPMIS) under Major Programme 3.3; FAO Representations under Major Programme 3.4; and World Food Day Special Events/TeleFood supportive structures under Major Programme 3.5, thereby limiting the overall net change for the chapter - which is even more apparent, if the special case of Programme 3.3.3, Emergency Response Operations, is discounted. Further explanations on resource changes are provided under the respective major programmes.

Major Programme 3.1: Policy Assistance

Substantive Programmes - Distribution of Resources by Strategic Objectives

Major Programme 3.1

A1

A2

A3

B1

B2

C1

C2

D1

D2

E1

E2

E3

3.1.1

Coordination of Policy Assistance and Field Programme Development

3.1.2

Policy Assistance to Various Regions

3.1.3

Legal Assistance to Member Nations

Legend

Greater than zero, less than US$ 1 million

US$ 1 million to 2 million

US$ 2 million to 4 million

More than US$ 4 million

Main Substantive Thrusts and Priorities

646. This major programme is central to: the development of the field programme; the provision of sound policy advice to member countries; and capacity building in the formulation and implementation of policies, strategies and programmes aimed at sustainable agricultural and rural development and food security. It, therefore, embodies the policy assistance - including both advice and capacity building - offered by FAO to its Members, building on strong normative underpinning in areas falling under the Organization's mandate, as recommended by the recent evaluation of FAO's policy assistance. The major programme aims at strengthening the interface between the normative work of technical departments at Headquarters and policy advocacy and assistance provided to countries, particularly through an enhanced field programme. It will sharpen its focus in the light of selected global and cross-cutting and region-sensitive priority areas to be identified by the Policy Task Force, whose establishment was recommended by the above evaluation. Close links between country focussed policy advice and field programme development will be promoted in the work of the policy assistance branches and units at Regional and Sub-regional Offices. Programme 3.1.2 covers the work of the latter units, while Programme 3.1.1 covers the activities at Headquarters.

647. Main priorities include:

1. supporting and coordinating of field programme development activities;
2. fostering inter-departmental coordination in policy assistance;
3. developing policy guidelines and conducting supportive thematic analysis while ensuring their normative underpinning;
4. setting-up a corporate, web-based, country information system as an internal information and management tool;
5. strengthening country focus;
6. providing advisory and capacity building support to Members in relation to specific policy issues impinging on food security and sustainable agricultural development, including the preparation and implementation of national "poverty reduction strategies"; and to forthcoming multilateral trade negotiations (MTN);
7. assisting countries and regional and sub-regional groupings in the implementation of the World Food Summit Plan of Action; and
8. supporting the constraints analysis component and the Expansion Phase of the Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS), and the formulation of national agricultural rehabilitation programmes.

648. Programme 3.1.3, Legal Assistance to Member Nations, is designed to improve the legal and institutional framework for agricultural development and natural resources management in Member Nations. It is based on the premise that effective legal regimes must be designed to match the situation of each country, while FAO can bring important lessons of comparative experience to bear on these unique situations. The programme makes these lessons available through three principal means: technical advice, information, and contributions to inter-departmental normative work. The growing importance of the latter is reflected in a new programme entity entitled Support to the Development of a Regulatory Framework for Food and Agriculture (313A1).

Resources

649. Most of the net increase in resources under this major programme, is to strengthen activities of the decentralized policy assistance branches and units, particularly as regards project identification and formulation and resource mobilisation, and for ensuring a stronger interface with the work of technical departments and divisions in key priority areas. It may be noted that two new technical projects have been introduced, with relatively small initial provisions, but with potential for future expansion, i.e. 311A1, Development of On-line Training Capacity in Food, Agriculture and Rural Development Policy and Planning (replacing a former technical services agreement entity, with attendant resources); and as stressed above, 313A1, Support to the Development of a Regulatory Framework for Food and Agriculture. The latter entity is to give particular emphasis to fisheries and aquaculture, biological diversity and biosecurity, among other subjects.

Programme 3.1.1: Coordination of Policy Assistance
and Field Programme Development

650. The objectives of this programme (with a modified title) are:

1. to enhance the country focus of the Organization by ensuring availability of relevant data on country situations and strategic priorities through a web-based country information system;
2. to strengthen the field programme, so as to ensure effective provision of technical assistance related to core issues of agricultural development and food security; and
3. to ensure that relevant policy advice and capacity building is efficiently delivered to Members, in particular through inter-disciplinary approaches.

651. The programme supports the Policy Assistance Division's (TCA) decentralized units, and comprises six entities: one technical project (TP), four continuing programme activities (CPs) and one technical services agreement (TS). The objectives of several entities have been refined to reflect the outcome of the recent evaluation of FAO's policy assistance.

311A1 - Development of On-line Training Capacity in Food, Agriculture and Rural Development Policy and Planning

652. Objective: to provide on-line training in food, agriculture and rural development policy and planning, thereby increasing the geographic coverage and number of participants in FAO's capacity building activities.

653. Approach: this new TP is to respond to technological developments and current trends in adult education, which favour cost-effective distance-learning approaches based on the use of the Internet. It will disseminate recent training materials on food, agricultural and rural development policy analysis in a web-based format suitable for use in distance-learning, and provide support to cooperating institutions organising distance-learning activities.

311P1 - Coordination of Policy Assistance

654. Objective: to ensure that relevant and effective sectoral and sub-sectoral policy assistance is delivered to Members in areas of FAO's mandate with close interface with normative work of technical departments.

655. Approach: coordination of policy assistance services and projects will be ensured through updated guidelines for strategy and policy formulation and technical backstopping of policy-related capacity building projects. A strengthened interface will be sought between normative work carried out in technical departments and policy assistance provided to Members. Thematic analysis of priority issues will be conducted (with the participation of technical departments) to generate supportive materials to policy assistance. Regional and sub-regional workshops on selected priority policy issues will be organised, to promote discussion with countries' experts and to disseminate FAO materials. This CP covers ongoing coordination and exchange of experience among TCA's decentralized units, and monitoring of the quality of outputs of these units (sector and sub-sectoral policy papers, country policy reviews, issue papers on policies affecting food security, sustainable agriculture and rural development). Regional and global workshops will also be organised to enhance the capacity of policy assistance staff.

311P2 - Coordination of Field Programme Development Activities

656. Objective: to ensure that field programme development activities are coordinated to address the core issues of food security and sustainable agricultural and rural development, including forestry and fisheries, in accordance with countries' needs and FAO's mandate.

657. Approach: the CP oversees the management of the project pipeline from the stage of project idea to project approval. This involves wide-ranging contacts with the field, as well as Headquarters technical departments to secure their participation, where required. Review and analysis of developments impacting on the field programme will be conducted and constantly updated. Guidelines for programming and follow-up to technical cooperation activities at country level will be produced and disseminated. The CP will also be heavily involved in technical backstopping to the constraint analysis phase of the SPFS and in support of regional programmes on food security.

311P3 - Development of Training Materials and Methods in Food and Agriculture and Rural Development Policy

658. Objective: to strengthen national capacities in policy analysis, and in formulation and implementation of agricultural and rural development policies and programmes.

659. Approach: the CP will disseminate training materials on food, agricultural and rural development policy addressing: the impact of macro-economic and sectoral policies on rural poverty; strategic area development, micro-projects and development facilitation; and monitoring of policies and other priority policy themes. They will generally cover the presentation of concepts, supportive information, analytical methods, policy tools and country experiences, and will be made available, particularly to training institutions in countries and the development community, to be taken up in their own capacity building programmes.

311P4 - Coordination of Country Focus

660. Objective: to ensure that FAO's support to countries relies on consistent, up-to-date and comprehensive data and information and that these are easily accessible to all FAO units.

661. Approach: the CP will develop and operate a computer-based country information system available on the web, with country briefs and profiles on food security, rural and agricultural development issues, including policy issues. This is complemented by databases to support programme development, including information on FAO capacities.

311S2 - Technical Support Services in Field Programme Development and Policy Assistance

662. This entity includes direct policy advice and support to Members, technical support to decentralized units for effective implementation of the interface between normative and policy assistance work, coordination and backstopping of strategic multi-disciplinary missions for field programme development, pipeline management, and capacity building support to TCA branches and units. Participation in specific Priority Areas for Inter-disciplinary Action (PAIAs) and collaboration with development partners is also covered.

Impact of ZRG Resource Levels
Entity 311S2, Technical Support Services in Field Programme and Policy Assistance, would be reduced, implying that direct involvement of Headquarters staff in policy assistance and field programme development would be limited and capacity building activities in favour of TCA branches and units restricted. Also, the implementation of a computerised system for country focus under 311P4 may be negatively affected.

Extra-budgetary Resources

663. Some limited extra-budgetary support is expected, essentially for organising workshops for the exchange of experience on priority policy issues and for the development of training materials. These resources are expected to support work on: comparative studies and exchanges of experiences in Central Europe (including through a regional workshop), and capacity building, including through distance-learning, in agricultural and rural development policies (Latin America).

Programme 3.1.2: Policy Assistance to Various Regions

664. This programme covers the work of TCA's decentralized policy assistance branches and units, which are the "implementing arm" in providing consistent policy advice and programme development support to meet requests from governments and other parties concerned, and play a lead role in maintaining country focus for FAO's activities. Sector and sub-sector reviews and analyses of selected policy issues are conducted to assist member countries in formulating policies and programmes for sustainable food security, agricultural and rural development.

665. Due importance is given to issues related to trade, including intra-regional trade and multilateral trade negotiations on agriculture; coordinated support in the implementation of the World Food Summit Plan of Action, including support to the constraint analysis component of the SPFS and coordination of regional programme for food security. Another key feature is the support to FAO Representatives (FAORs) in identifying potential areas for technical cooperation, collaboration with the UN system, International Financing Institutions (IFIs) and other relevant development partners.

312P1 - Enhancement of Country Focus

666. Objective: to ensure that FAO's support at country level is based on up-to-date, consistent and comprehensive information, particularly on country situations, development constraints and potential.

667. Approach: the decentralized units at regional and sub-regional level, in close contact with country offices, will monitor and follow national developments with respect to food security, rural and agricultural development, including forestry and fisheries, and maintain country briefs and databases. Further, they will contribute (together with FAO Representatives) to greater awareness about FAO activities, programmes and areas of competence to assist countries in their development efforts.

312P2 - Field Programme Development

668. Objective: to ensure identification, formulation and approval of sound projects and programmes for sustainable food security, agricultural and rural development.

669. Approach: decentralized units will conduct periodic reviews and analyses of the agriculture and rural sector in countries, including related policies. Based on these reviews and studies and taking into account FAO's comparative advantages, they will identify areas requiring FAO's technical assistance for sustainable food security, agriculture and rural development, in close collaboration with technical departments (in particular in the framework of the Country Task Forces), and in consultation with government officials, other development partners, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and CSOs. Work also includes the management of the project pipeline at regional and sub-regional level.

312P3 - Advice and Capacity Building in Agricultural Policies

670. Objectives: to provide countries with effective policy options for food security, sustainable agriculture and rural development; and to strengthen capacity of Members for conducting policy analysis, formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

671. Approach: the CP covers: preparation and dissemination of papers on alternative policy options for selected priority issues; organisation of national and regional policy workshops on critical policy issues; and promotion of participatory approaches for policy formulation and policy advice (N.B. the somewhat artificial separation from previous entity 312S1 has been removed, and the latter merged into 312P3). Comparative studies and exchanges of policy experiences will also address selected priority issues. The CP will support policy capacity building and training of professionals in policy analysis, formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

312S3 - Technical Support to Field Programmes

672. This entity aims at successful implementation of the field programme and projects, including SPFS and emergencies, ensuring inter alia adequate technical inputs from FAO. This entails backstopping of policy projects (or projects with policy components); fielding of policy advisory missions; and the preparation of technical reports at country or regional level on policy and strategy issues of interest to recipient countries. This includes preparation of reports of country-level workshops organised in the framework of country projects and other related technical documents.

Impact of ZRG Resource Levels
Reduced resources available to entity 312P3, Advice and Capacity Building in Agricultural Policies, would result in a restricted number of comparative studies and national or regional workshops on selected policy issues. ZRG funding under 312P2, Field Programme Development, would translate in a limited number of sectoral and sub-sectoral reviews and studies, which would negatively affect efforts to enhance field programme development.

Extra-budgetary Resources

673. Extra-budgetary resources will continue to facilitate the outreach of FAO's policy work, through specific projects on food and agricultural policies in support of food security at both global and regional levels.

Programme 3.1.3: Legal Assistance to Member Nations

313A1 - Support to the Development of a Regulatory Framework for Food and Agriculture

674. Objective: to develop an overall conceptual framework for national legislation, in particular to implement international obligations.

675. Approach: this new TP reflects the need to work through inter-departmental and intra-organizational groups to develop guidelines, plans of action, and other instruments in order to help Governments frame national law and policy. It also addresses the call for developing legal ideas in areas such as trade and intellectual property that have not traditionally been part of the Legal Office's work programme, but which have a major impact on food and agriculture, and are very much in demand from governments.

313P1 - Collection and Dissemination of Legal Information

676. Objective: to provide Members with a multi-lingual source of information on legislation for food, agriculture, fisheries and forestry.

677. Approach: FAOLEX, the legal database, now has 20,000 texts online, as well as abstracts and bibliographic information. Increasing use demonstrates that full texts are a cost-effective improvement of this core function, but that further improvements are needed. The Legal Office is cooperating with the corresponding services of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) with a view to combining FAOLEX with their legal database (ECOLEX) in order to offer a broader service with better geographic coverage and more translations of texts and abstracts. Merging of the databases will occupy the first year of the biennium, after which substantial improvements should be visible. A new software platform will also be installed.

678. Legal publications will increasingly be available on-line and take advantage of FAOLEX. It is intended that the new software will facilitate the production of specialised database publications, and at least two such publications will be produced during the biennium. In addition approximately 1,200 pages of narrative publications and on-line papers will be produced.

313S1 - Provision of Technical Advice

679. This entity provides direct legal advice, including the drafting of legislation requested by governments, and on-the-job training of national legal staff. It is expected that there will be an increase of activities in fisheries and aquaculture, plant genetic resources and food safety.

Impact of ZRG Resource Levels
These will affect delivery of technical assistance. While every effort will be made to identify extra-budgetary funds for this purpose, delivery will still be constrained by the competing demands of information and normative work. The information function cannot be reduced without losing its usefulness and work on the normative framework requires at least a full-time equivalent Legal Officer, if the Legal Office is to play a positive role in the pertinent PAIAs.

Major Programme 3.2: Support to Investment

Main Substantive Thrusts and Priorities

680. Public investment plays an enabling role for profitable private sector investment even though much investment in agriculture and rural development will still have to come from the commitments of farmers, fishers and foresters. Public investment supports the development and maintenance of key infrastructure and services such as transportation, water control, human resource development, agricultural research and extension, environmental management, and the transfer of knowledge and appropriate technologies. The Investment Centre Division (TCI) contributes to investment in these areas in the developing and transition countries through close collaboration with major financing and related institutions supporting the sector.

681. Cooperation with the World Bank began in 1964, whereas the Investment Centre now operates under cooperative agreements with most of the international financing agencies that lend to the agricultural and rural sector. Through cost-sharing arrangements, the Regular Programme Budget bears, on average, about 40 percent of the cost of the work under these agreements. The major partners are the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (AsDB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The Centre also works with other major development financing institutions such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Food Programme (WFP). It collaborates with the World Bank, AfDB and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) closely in the promotion of rural development and food security in Africa, and with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and IFAD in the areas of household food security and rural poverty alleviation.

682. Cooperation is being expanded with the Global Environment Facility (GEF), sub-regional funding institutions, and selected national development banks. The connection with GEF will provide additional financial support to the preparation of projects with emphasis on environmental and ecosystem management. Work will include exploration of methodologies to mobilise GEF resources and help countries take advantage of "carbon credits" to induce technology changes on small farms.

683. In this context, the major programme will continue to promote investment in agriculture, rural development and sustainable use of natural resources. It will provide assistance in the preparation of investment and technical assistance projects that respond to national priorities of developing and transition countries, and which meet the funding criteria of multilateral financing agencies. Major areas of emphasis during 2002-03 will continue to be on projects which increase food security; alleviate rural poverty; make better use of water resources; promote small-scale, low-cost water control; improve land and natural resources management and enhance soil fertility; strengthen rural infrastructure; and increase the effectiveness of agricultural services (research, extension, education) and agricultural information systems.

684. A significant feature will also continue to be the support to project preparation for the extension of activities under the Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS). To encourage local ownership and project sustainability, the design and implementation of investment projects will make maximum use of participatory approaches and will include careful monitoring of environmental impact. The major programme will continue to assist national agencies in capacity building, to identify and put into action viable investment projects and to help mobilise investment support to emergency rehabilitation programmes. Central themes in its activities will include focus on: gender issues, the impact on vulnerable groups; and enhancing the role of private enterprise and entrepreneurship in development. Through its cooperative arrangements, the major programme will also enable financing agencies to draw on FAO's technical staff for joint field work. It is also intended that it should play a role in advocating higher levels of international financial transfers in support of agriculture, food security and rural development.

Cumulative Achievements

685. Since 1964 to end-2000, a total of 1,200 projects in 134 countries, identified or prepared with the assistance of the Investment Centre, have been approved for financing. Total investments in these projects amount to US$ 66 billion. Of this total, supporting loans from financing institutions represented US$ 37 billion, with the balance provided by recipient countries and beneficiaries themselves. During the period 1999-2000, 65 projects prepared with the Investment Centre's assistance were approved for financing, for total investments of over US$ 3.2 billion, including supporting loans from the financing institutions of almost US$ 2.1 billion. During the World Bank's fiscal years 1999 and 2000, 24 of the Bank's agricultural projects approved for financing were prepared with FAO assistance, accounting for 38 percent of the Bank's lending for agriculture.

New Thrusts for 2002-03

686. Further to the above, it may be stressed that TCI will provide assistance to national project preparation teams with a view to their assuming full responsibility for the work. It will also continue to collaborate with the Policy Assistance Division (TCA) and the Development Law Service (LEGN) in providing sound assistance to governments on policy and legal issues concerning agricultural and rural development, and natural resources management, including the legal reforms that are often needed as pre-requisites for new investments.

687. During the course of the biennium, the Investment Centre also expects to expand activities aimed at mobilising transfers to countries of a non-lending nature, e.g. through the increased cooperation foreseen with GEF, as well as exploring options for attracting resources to developing and transition countries for carbon sequestration. TCI will also assist countries in relation to the use of debt-for-development swaps.

688. The Investment Centre expects to be particularly active in the Horn of Africa, assisting in the design of investment programmes following on the recommendations of the Inter-agency Task Force on the UN Response to Long-Term Food Security, Agricultural Development and Related Aspects in the Horn of Africa.

689. Use of national consultants and teams, while enhancing local "ownership" of projects, is expected to help contain the costs associated with Investment Centre missions. Reliance on senior Centre staff outposted to the various regions, and utilisation of Associate Professional Officers (APOs), National Professional Officers (NPOs) and the various partnership programmes will also help contain costs. Drawing on consultants' trust funds, such as those already established with Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Sweden, and recently with the United Kingdom, partially offsets non-staff human resource costs, and opportunities for establishing additional trust funds will be explored. A Management Information System, installed in 1997, was expanded in 2000-01 to include updated indicators taking into account new trends and practices in agricultural and rural development and to archive documents covering TCI's missions for faster reporting.

690. Main indicators of activity for the next biennium include about 800 missions fielded, with some 50 to 60 "project implementation completion reports" prepared.

Resources

691. The provisions are in line with expected contributions from partner institutions. A small transfer is effected to the overall departmental programme management provision (Major Programme 3.9). The staffing structure has also been readjusted toward less senior-level positions and a more balanced mix of staff and consultants in investment project formulation work.

Programme 3.2.1: FAO/World Bank Cooperative Programme

692. A major share of activities of the Investment Centre will continue to be directed towards helping Members to formulate investment projects for subsequent financing by the World Bank, including the International Development Association (IDA). World Bank management is expected to continue to assign priority to agriculture and rural development, so that demand for Investment Centre services should remain strong.

693. In addition to the SPFS work indicated above, a number of core programmes will continue to receive special attention in the Africa region. They include small-scale irrigation, soil fertility, agricultural statistics development, forestry and fisheries. Numerous countries have made formal requests and are participating in other activities made possible under Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) arrangements.

Programme 3.2.2: Investment Support Programme

694. The Investment Support Programme (ISP), covering financing institutions other than the World Bank, operates mainly in the poorest countries. In the light of the strong cooperation on food security and rural development in Africa, between FAO and the African Development Bank, investment support activities with AfDB are expected to remain at a high level. In the previous biennium, collaboration has been greatly expanded with EBRD, under the MOU recently renewed, and it is expected to increase.

695. Cooperation with IFAD will involve a range of upstream and downstream activities related to investment in agriculture and poverty alleviation. Similarly, cooperation with AsDB is expected to remain at a strong level. Cooperation with AsDB and IDB is facilitated by the presence of outposted Investment Centre senior staff members. Investment support activities with IsDB are expanding, given the strong priority being given to food security and rural development in the least-developed member countries of the Bank.

696. The Investment Centre expects to field approximately 200 missions under the ISP in the next biennium, as well as in support of nationally-executed formulation activities for countries involved in the SPFS.