FAO, as a Specialised Technical Agency of the United Nations, focuses on the promotion of the sustainable intensification of agricultural production. The production of food through adherence to the requirements of the Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, and the adoption of strategies such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Conservation Agriculture (CA) and a general move away from the use of Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), are all key features of FAOs work in this area.

Outcome 2 of the project, therefore, looks to strengthen national and regional capacity in four main Outputs:

• Support to review and to strengthen pesticide legislation at national level in line with EU requirements and FAOs activities at the Global level;
• A review of the pesticide life-cycle at national level in line with FAOs corporate work on pesticide risk reduction;
• An assessment of the impact of HHPs at national level and the promotion of lower risk alternatives; and
• The development of national communications and awareness tools.

The assessments completed at national level under this Outcome will be used to formulate a strategy for strengthening capacity at regional level.