南南合作及三方合作

FAO presents its South-South Cooperation initiatives developed worldwide at an international event in Brazil


Many countries have learned from the successful Brazil's school feeding programme

Since the 1990s, the Organization has been developing South-South Cooperation initiatives with positive results to guarantee food security, the strengthening of family agriculture and agricultural and environmental policies, among others.

22/11/2017 - 

Brasília, 22 November 2017 – For two days ten ministers from developing countries and several international authorities exchanged experiences during the International Conference on South-South and Triangular Cooperation: Promoting innovations from the global South to support rural transformation, promoted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) ), in Brasília, Brazil.

More than 300 representatives from Governments, international organizations, academies, research institutes, the private sector, NGOs and the civil society participated in this event, which counted on FAO as one of its main supports.

The Director-General of FAO, José Graziano da Silva, sent a message to highlight the importance of the debate on South-South and Triangular Cooperation. "This model of cooperation is very important to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), marked in the 2030 Agenda. For FAO, South-South and Triangular Cooperation is a priority. The Organization has already trained specialists in more than 80 countries around the world and trusts the potential of this modality to carry out international cooperation," said Graziano da Silva.

A sample of the initiatives around the world

In a space called Marketplace, more than ten international organizations from all regions of the world presented their successful and innovative experiences undertaken in different countries, in the areas of agriculture and rural extension. It was a showcase and an opportunity for the exchange of knowledge during the Conference.

At the FAO stand, participants were able to learn about various information materials and watch videos about the projects executed by the Organization with its various partners, among which is the Government of Brazil, with whom it has collaborated mainly in African, and Latin American and Caribbean countries.

"The interaction between North-South and South-South Cooperation allows promoting development in countries with similar characteristics. Brazil is the cradle of some successful public policies that contributed to the country being today an example to follow. FAO acts as a facilitator to bring these successful experiences across national borders so that other nations also achieve important and effective results," said FAO representative in Brazil, Alan Bojanic.

For Marcela Villarreal, Director of the Partnerships and South-South Cooperation Division at FAO, "agriculture needs innovation and farmers have the knowledge and solutions for development challenges. The role of FAO is to facilitate the generation of such innovative solutions ".

Cooperation between FAO and Brazil in Latin America and the Caribbean

Since 2008, FAO and the Government of Brazil, represented by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), have executed South-South Cooperation projects in Latin American and Caribbean countries, within the framework of the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation Programme. Currently, five projects involving a total of 15 countries in the region are being carried out.

Strengthening the cotton sector

In order to promote the cotton sector and contribute to improving the living conditions of family farmers who are cotton producers in the region, the Government of Brazil, through the ABC, FAO, and seven partner countries, joined their efforts through Trilateral South-South Cooperation for the implementation of the Regional Project + Cotton. Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Haiti, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru all participate in this initiative.

The Brazilian experience in the production of cotton is a reference for the project, since the country went from being a net importer to being a relevant exporter of this product, mainly due to the great increase in its productivity. The country made significant investments in agricultural development research that will lead to the development of technologies adapted to the new agricultural frontiers.

Cotton is one of the most important agricultural products in the world. It is estimated that around 350 million people throughout the world carry out economic activities related to this sector, one of the 20 most important export products.

The objective of this project is to connect the initiatives of the Latin American countries in the production of cotton, taking into account all the productive models of this sector, promoting an agriculture based on sustainable practices and that improves the living conditions of the farmers, respecting the national contexts and realities, and the demands of governments and national institutions of the cotton sector.

Strengthening school feeding programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean

The over-60 years’ experience of the Brazilian experience of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) has been recognized, especially by developing countries, as a benchmark for a sustainable programme. Since 2009, it has offered the necessary technical support to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, with a view to strengthening school feeding programmes in the region with the support of the National Fund for the Development of Education (FNDE).

Currently, through South-South Cooperation between Brazil and FAO, 13 countries have strengthened and improved their programmes with the support of the project: Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Peru, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

One of the important results achieved was the approval of national legal frameworks in Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras and Paraguay, which will join Brazil, as part of the group of countries in the region that have laws for the promotion and implementation of food in public schools, guaranteeing the human right to an adequate and healthy diet.

Another initiative that stands out in the region is the encouragement of purchases for school feeding of family farming products. In Brazil, the legislation states that a minimum of 30% of the food served in schools must come from family production, promoting the consumption of healthy foods and providing a market guarantee to farmers.

Strengthening of agro-environmental policies in Latin American and Caribbean countries

This project was assigned during the Rio + 20 Conference and its implementation began in 2012, for strengthening agro-environmental public policies that promote economic viability and sustainability in the production of food and other commercial goods, while preserving the environment and natural resources for the reduction of rural poverty and food insecurity, considering the scenario of climate change in the countries of the region. The Ministry of the Environment of Brazil supports this initiative.

The project is being implemented in coordination with the different sectors and services of the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment of Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and Paraguay (Chile and Nicaragua participated in the first stage of the project).

Through this initiative, national studies and systematized productive policy instruments, incorporating environmental variables, were developed, whose results were discussed in various spaces for participatory dialogue at the national and regional levels. The different realities and lessons learned were evaluated and, upon this basis, the Voluntary Guidelines for Agro-environmental Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean were developed. In this context, indicators are being defined that will both complement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and encourage the management of knowledge for its implementation.

Triangular model and South-South Cooperation

South-South Cooperation is the exchange of key development solutions, such as experiences and good practices, policies, technology, know-how and resources, among the countries of the global South.

South-South Cooperation is an efficient and effective means to help end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition; transform agriculture, forestry and fisheries into productive and sustainable sectors; reduce rural poverty to promote inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems; and increase the resilience of livelihoods in the face of catastrophes.

Background

Since 1996, FAO facilitates South-South and Triangular Cooperation, allowing the exchange of experiences and technical knowledge. More than 2 000 specialists and technicians were sent to more than 90 countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East.

For FAO, the objective of South-South Cooperation is to promote a broad framework of collaboration among developing countries and to offer a complementary model to the traditional relationship between cooperation donor and recipient countries.

The Organization establishes four pillars for the South-South Cooperation strategy: to facilitate the exchange and adoption of development solutions; to promote platforms for the establishment of knowledge networks; to mobilize support for South-South Cooperation at the highest political level.

"The latest developments in terms of South-South Cooperation show that we have much to learn from countries such as Brazil, China, Morocco and Nigeria, which are the partners that stand out in terms of FAO's South-South Cooperation in the field of food and agriculture," concluded Bojanic, from the FAO Office in Brazil.