Joining forces as One FAO to shed light on the real development actors.

©FAO/Michela Baratelli

15/05/2024 -

15/05/2024 Cabo Verde – Working under the One FAO unified vision, the South-South and Triangular Cooperation Division (PST) and the Office of Communication (OCC) of FAO embarked on a joint mission to Cabo Verde, to shed light on the success stories of some of the key development actors benefitting from an FAO-China South-South Cooperation (SSC) project in Cabo Verde.

Boosting capacity development to support agrifood systems is vital to strengthen food and nutrition security. This is especially true for Small Island Developing States such as Cabo Verde.

To this end, the FAO-China SSC project is supporting the Government of Cabo Verde in undertaking capacity development activities via study tours to China, field trainings in Cabo Verde, including Training of Trainers, technology demonstrations and knowledge transfer, and Farmer Field Schools.

The two divisions were able to capture the personal experiences and challenges faced by the project beneficiaries, both women and men – the real development actors – highlighting their life routines and interactions, delving into their daily challenges and showing how the project is giving them the tools to improve their livelihoods and overcome these obstacles.

Despite the intense droughts that Cabo Verde has been facing in recent years, and the overall challenges faced by Small Island Developing States, beneficiaries in Cabo Verde have been able to keep their farms and livestock production going, thanks to their passion, drive and now the additional technical assistance on soil management and pest control offered by the FAO project.

In the coming weeks both divisions will present the multimedia products that highlight the voices of the FAO-China SSC project in Cabo Verde.

Also joining forces with FAO, was H.E. Gilberto Silva, Minister for Agriculture and Environment of Cabo Verde, who has strongly advocated this project, since its inception. He took part in the multimedia mission along with other key stakeholders, such as H. E. Xu Jie, Chinese Ambassador to Cabo Verde and Ms Ana Laura Touza, FAO Representative in Cabo Verde, as well as the experts sent by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Knowledge transfer, capacity development and innovative approaches in the global South are crucial for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

Over the past two decades, FAO has embraced South-South and triangular cooperation (SSTC) as a key delivery modality to catalyze agricultural development, food security, rural development, poverty reduction and nutrition.

The FAO-China SSC Programme has successfully implemented numerous SSC projects and activities in countries across Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia, contributing to the transformation of agrifood systems, through increased agricultural productivity and profitability and improved value chains and investments.