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Capacity building
The Policy Assistance Division (TCA) assists FAO Member Nations in strengthening their capacity for the formulation and implementation of food, agriculture, fishery, forestry and rural development policies. It cooperates with national and regional entities to assess capacity development needs and to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate capacity development programmes, including training suited to the specific requirements and conditions of Members. Capacity building programmes are generally in country and are coupled with advisory support to policy and strategy analysis and formulation. In matters of interest to several countries, FAO organizes regional or global workshops. TCA also draws upon FAO's normative work to develop guidelines and capacity development materials, which it continually adapts in the light of field experience.
Examples of TCA's capacity development programmes are: its work with the Government of Afghanistan where FAO staff work with local ministry staff to improve agricultural rehabilitation efforts in the country; and its support to the government of Syria to formulate policies to enable the transition towards a more market oriented economy.
Capacity development is essentially output-oriented and practical in nature, aimed at equipping middle-level government staff or staff of non-governmental organizations with tools and techniques that they can use in their professional life. Guidelines on how to conduct specific analyses are provided, together with the type of data to be collected and how these data can be used. Capacity development is concentrated in three main areas:
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implementation of in-country human capacity development activities upon the request of governments. These activities consist of in-service training courses, which are often integrated within broader policy assistance programmes, addressed to middle-level staff working in government and in civil society organizations;
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cooperation with national and regional training institutions, and joint organization of regional and national policy workshops; and
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development of guidelines and capacity development materials, (manuals, guides, training software and case studies).
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EASYPol
On-line resource materials for policy making
EASYPol is a repository of downloadable resource materials for capacity development in policy making for food, agriculture and rural development.
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The project on negotiation
The Project on Negotiation for Agriculture helps developing countries strengthen their technical negotiation skills in agricultural policies and multilateral trade negotiations through capacity building workshops and training materials.
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The case of Syria
Syria is one of the Near East countries where the need for capacity building in policy and institutional development is high and challenging. In the late 1980s Syria started a process of gradually moving away from a centrally planned into a more market oriented economic system. In this new environment, need has emerged for developing new, flexible and sustainable technical and institutional capacities in agricultural policy making. The policy support provided to the Syrian Government through an Italian funded project is an example of an integrated, comprehensive and effective modality of policy assistance. Its first phase focussed on the development of specific capacities through in-service training. Subsequently, it established and supported a National Agricultural Policy Centre (NAPC). The third phase, which will continue until 2007, emphasizes the sustainable capacity consolidation of the NAPC.
See: Syrian Agriculture at the Crossroads |
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