New partnerships with key stakeholders

PARTNERSHIPS AT HEADQUARTERS AND IN THE FIELD

In the quest to deliver services in a more cost-effective and sustainable manner and to promote alliances with partners involved in development, starting in 1994 FAO launched a series of partnership programmes. The aim is to promote the national and collective self-reliance of developing countries by fostering collaboration among the experts and institutions of Member Nations. Since their introduction, the programmes have proved to be valuable instruments in allowing the Organization not only to contribute to national capacity building, but also to render its services more efficiently. Separate programmes focus on: experts for technical cooperation among developing countries and technical cooperation among countries in transition (TCDC/TCCT); visiting experts from academic and research institutions; retired experts; and on-the-job training for young professionals.

The use of experts for TCDC/TCCT. Under this partnership programme, developing countries and those in transition lend their experts to other developing countries or regions, thereby exchanging experience and knowledge in a pragmatic and mutually beneficial manner. Exchanges effected under the TCDC/TCCT Experts Programme are based on a system of shared responsibilities and costs. The experts are recruited from all sectors of society - including government and parastatal bodies and institutions, the private sector and NGOs - and assignments cover a wide range of FAO programmes and projects as well as normative work. By the end of 1999, the governments of 114 developing countries and 11 countries in transition in Central and Eastern Europe had signed the Framework Agreement to participate in the programme and 1 770 experts had been hired.

Visiting experts from academic and research institutions. This programme was was launched to reinforce collaboration between FAO and institutions of international repute in the struggle to eradicate hunger, alleviate poverty and attain global food security. The programme draws the high-level expertise of academic and research institutions into FAO's priority programmes, thereby enhancing its role as a centre of excellence. The institutions provide highly qualified academics and researchers to work interactively with senior technical personnel in FAO for up to one year. All associated costs are shared between the releasing institution and FAO. By the end of 1999, 34 countries and 7 regional and international institutions had endorsed the programme, and some 370 high-calibre visiting experts had made valuable contributions to priority areas of FAO's programmes.

The use of retired national and international experts from FAO as well as other UN organizations. FAO and UN retirees are another source of experience and skills that can be used to enrich the pool of national and international experts involved in the Organization's programmes and projects. Since retired experts already receive a pension, they accept a lower rate of remuneration. At the same time, not only do they bring a lifetime's experience and commitment to assignments but they lend a broader perspective and insight to the problems that countries face in developing their agricultural sectors. Since the programme was launched in 1995, 72 countries have signed the related Agreement and 1 470 retired experts have been hired. Signature of the Agreement is aimed at securing government support in promoting and publicizing the Programme.

The provision of on-the-job training for young professionals. Capacity building is the basic goal of all of FAO's technical cooperation activities. The Young Professionals Programme, launched in late 1997, aims to strengthen and upgrade national capacities by providing qualified young professionals from developing countries with on-the-job training in the implementation of FAO's priority activities. The costs of training young professionals from developing countries and countries in transition are shared by the employer and FAO. Candidates from developed countries may also join the programme provided that their assignments are funded by their government or employer. FAO provides a stipend based on local rates. As of December 1999, 32 young professionals had been recruited to work under the supervision and guidance of FAO staff. This initiative is already making a valuable contribution to the work of the Organization and is building up the international community's pool of development expertise.

The use of services contributed on a voluntary basis. The Volunteer Programme was launched in June 1999, in response to the expressed interest of Member Nations, to allow individuals to support FAO's work through the voluntary contribution of their services. The programme is expected to increase partnerships with professional organizations, community groups and special interest groups as well as postgraduate students.

Volunteers may be taken on for up to six months for activities that are not covered by established posts so there is no overlap with regular employment opportunities within the Organization. Since the programme began, a total of 32 volunteers, from a variety of countries and regions, have contributed their services to the Organization.

PARTNERSHIPS WITH MEMBER NATIONS

While contacts with Member Nations are generally maintained through the Permanent Representatives to FAO (121 out of 181 representatives are located in Rome) and through the countries' senior government officials, it is felt that certain matters require the special and personal attention of the Director-General. Travel to Member Nations therefore constitutes a major part of the Director-General's duties as head of a UN specialized agency, particularly one with a membership as large as FAO's. Visits to Member Nations, following official invitations from the respective state authorities, are part of the approach adopted by the Director-General to enhance conditions for effective partnerships with individual countries.

These visits have given the Director-General the opportunity to meet directly with Heads of State and/or Government, who are the final arbitrators and decision-makers in matters concerning the Organization. He has also met with ministers and high-level ministerial officials, for example from Agriculture and related Ministries (Fisheries, Forestry, Natural Resources, Environment, etc.); from Foreign Affairs Ministries, whose portfolios invariably cover UN matters and, in particular, reform of the UN system; from Finance Ministries, for budget and financial matters; and from International Cooperation Ministries or Departments responsible for providing development assistance; and with speakers and chairpersons of parliamentary agricultural committees, which have a role in voting on the national budget and in determining government action.

The number of officials to be met by the Director-General is further increased by the fact that, in some countries, there are frequent changes of government. Altogether, since 1994 the Director-General has met with more than 1 000 Heads of State or Government, Secretaries of State and ministers, either during official country visits or at international meetings. These occasions also offer the Director-General an unparalleled opportunity for discussion with FAORs and local heads of UN organizations and, when time permits, for visits to FAO's field operations.

At the same time, efficient communications services have permitted the Director-General to maintain close contacts with headquarters from almost anywhere in the world. Thus, issues requiring urgent action or a decision on his part have been immediately brought to his attention by the Cabinet and a reply sent the same or the following day. All other issues are dealt with by the Deputy Director-General, who keeps a report on action taken during the absence of the Director-General.

Permanent Representations. In addition to the Director-General's visits to Member Nations, the Permanent Representations have remained a firm point for close relations. From January 1994 to the end of 1999, the Director-General received more than 700 visits from Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives to FAO, and nearly 900 high-level official delegations from Member Nations. These contacts tend to be more frequent before the convening of the FAO Council and Conference, in order to initiate and facilitate dialogue between FAO's Secretariat and Member Nations. Moreover, meetings are convened with the regional Permanent Representatives' groups so that they may be informed of the proceedings of important meetings. In particular, these group meetings are held systematically to discuss and attempt to reach consensus on agenda items prior to the Regional Conferences, the FAO Council and Conference, and ministerial meetings. Finally, bimonthly meetings are held with newly appointed Permanent Representatives to FAO in order to orient them and familiarize them with the Organization's current and planned work.

PARTNERSHIPS WITHIN THE UN SYSTEM AND WITH CIVIL SOCIETY

It has become increasingly evident that cooperation and collaboration at all levels are essential for the eradication of hunger and poverty. Over the past six years, therefore, FAO has been strengthening its partnership agreements with other UN organizations as well as with civil society, including NGOs, charities and research institutions.

Relationship with the Rome-based agencies

In dealing with global agricultural issues, rural development and poverty alleviation, the three Rome-based UN food agencies - FAO, IFAD and WFP - have continued to work together closely with the aim of enhancing the impact of their technical expertise, financial assistance and food aid.

Since 1994, in a genuine effort to promote an "alliance for agricultural development", there has been greater collaboration in the formulation of new policies and practical approaches to overcoming hunger as well as in the development of best practices for handling crises and facilitating recovery and development. Tripartite policy and technical meetings are held regularly to determine modalities for mutual cooperation and to identify specific areas and programmes for further follow-up and joint or complementary operations. In addition to the multifaceted collaboration that takes place in the field, steps have also been taken at the headquarters level to establish a cost-sharing system. This would entail the use of facilities available within the three organizations, particularly for conference services, administration, information technology and library and documentation services.

Coordinated relief and rehabilitation

FAO has also strengthened its partnerships for responding to complex emergencies resulting from natural disasters. It has reinforced its collaboration at the field level with other members of the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee on Humanitarian Assistance. In certain cases, new agreements were drawn up to ensure a coordinated and effective approach by the key partners in providing such assistance. For example, agreements were concluded with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and WFP, containing collaborative arrangements for, inter alia, assessing agricultural relief and rehabilitation needs, supplying agricultural inputs to refugees and providing emergency assistance to local food producers.

FAO also cooperates actively with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as manifested through the secondment of an OCHA officer to its emergency services since January 1999.

Supporting frameworks for UN development assistance

In 1997, the UN Secretary-General invited specialized agencies to take part in the preparation of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). A key component of UN reform proposals, the UNDAF process is designed to provide a framework for the UN system's support activities at the country level. FAO agreed to participate and actively contributed to the formulation of UNDAFs in 19 pilot countries. FAORs have been instructed to participate fully and to collaborate closely with their colleagues in country teams as well as with the respective governments, in order to maximize the UN system's support for country priorities. Led by the Resident Coordinator, the UNDAF process is to be undertaken in a manner that respects the mandates, competence and accumulated experience of the different specialized agencies, funds and programmes, making full use of the respective comparative advantages. It is now being expanded beyond the pilot countries.

FAO is also supporting the preparation of the Common Country Assessment (CCA), which is an important element in the development of UNDAF. Similarly, in 1999 FAO agreed to cooperate fully in the World Bank-sponsored Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF), which is to be prepared under the leadership of the respective governments with support from the concerned development agencies. The CDF initiative is to be carried out in close relationship with UNDAF.

Linking agricultural research efforts

FAO has long recognized the important role played by IARCs in supporting and supplementing the Organization's efforts in agricultural research and in strengthening National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) within the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). FAO has made a considerable effort to strengthen its relationship with CGIAR at various levels. In 1994, 12 IARCs brought 500 000 accessions of plant genetic resources that they held into the International Network of Ex Situ Collections under the Auspices of FAO - a move made in recognition of the intergovernmental authority of FAO and the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) in setting policy for the Network. This arrangement provides the intergovernmental coverage under which the IARCs hold this material in trust for the international community.

In the same year, a Task Force was formally established, comprising five representatives from each participating organization (FAO, UNDP, UNEP and the World Bank). On 31 October 1996, the Declaration and Plan of Action of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) was adopted by CGIAR members in Washington, DC. The Plan of Action provided a framework for mobilizing the world's scientific community in support of global agricultural research to achieve food security, alleviate poverty and ensure the sustainable use of natural resources. It was within this framework that the NARS Steering Committee secretariat was established in 1998. Hosted by FAO, as a distinct unit attached to the Office of the Director of the Research, Extension and Training Division in the SD Department, the secretariat's main function is to strengthen the regional and subregional fora of NARS and to promote partnerships among NARS and other stakeholders in GFAR.

Strengthening cooperation with development banks and financing institutions

FAO has also taken steps to strengthen its coordination and cooperation with international partners so as to ensure the continued implementation of its programmes despite the prevailing environment of budgetary constraints. Since 1994, the Organization's joint activities with multilateral financing institutions have led to increased loans for agriculture.

The Organization's focal point for such interaction is the Investment Centre Division (TCI), which currently has cooperative agreements with 20 of these institutions. With the requisite support from other technical divisions within FAO, TCI assists developing and transition countries in the formulation of investment projects that will attract external financing. Currently, FAO investment support work is running at a high level: about 43 percent of commitments to agriculture and rural development by the World Bank and the International Development Association (IDA) - amounting to more than US$1 billion per annum - are to projects formulated by TCI. In addition, about 30 percent of IFAD's projects and a number of the agricultural projects financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and other regional development banks are prepared by TCI.

To enhance such collaboration further, staff members have been outposted from TCI to some of its partner financing institutions, including the World Bank, the AfDB, the AsDB and the IDB. A similar arrangement is foreseen with the IsDB.

As a result of strengthened relations since 1994, the AsDB has contributed some US$3 million to cofinanced project preparation by TCI. Of the nine projects prepared by TCI for the AsDB, six have already been approved for a total amount of more than US$330 million. Under its new president, the AsDB is planning to refocus all its activities around poverty reduction. Future collaboration with FAO will consequently cover related areas, in particular food security. The AsDB has already provided financing for the SPFS in Nepal, and cooperation in support of food security, particularly in relation to the SPFS, is likely to increase.

Cooperation with the EBRD has also been strengthened significantly. Relations between FAO and the EBRD were formalized in March 1994, with the signature of a memorandum of understanding which defined the nature of joint activities to be undertaken; namely assistance to countries in transition in the identification, formulation and supervision of investment projects and in investment-related sectoral reviews in the agribusiness sector.

The memorandum of understanding also put forward cost-sharing arrangements whereby FAO and the EBRD agreed to bear, respectively, 30 and 70 percent of mission-related expenses. Cooperation between the two was facilitated further when a more detailed framework agreement was signed in October 1997. This agreement had an original duration of two years and a ceiling of US$700 000. In less than two years, the full amount stipulated under the framework agreement had been utilized, with 18 assignments undertaken in nine of the countries in which the EBRD operates. Since the inception of the cooperation programme, the EBRD Board has approved six FAO-formulated projects for total costs amounting to US$169.7 million. In October 1999, the EBRD's Technical Cooperation Committee decided to extend the framework agreement by another two years, increasing the ceiling to US$975 000.

CREATION OF LIAISON OFFICES IN JAPAN AND BELGIUM

With a view to reinforcing its cooperation with the Government of Japan - one of its major contributors - and with international organizations based in that country, in 1996 FAO established a Liaison Office in Yokohama. This office also facilitates communication and cooperation with academic, public and non-governmental institutions in Japan. Similarly, in the same year, FAO established the Liaison Office with the European Union and Belgium, based in Brussels, to serve as an interface between the Organization and the EC. The two offices provide information, establish relevant contacts and strengthen the support of donor countries and institutions for FAO's activities and programmes.