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The Regional Operations Branch was established in 1997, as a first step in the decentralization of FAO's Field Programme. The Programme, under implementation in 24 countries of the Region, encompasses a variety of projects in the fields of agriculture, fisheries and forestry. The major activities cover a range of disciplines, such as: agricultural development, policy formulation, land and water development, food security (within FAO's Special Programme for Food Security), nutrition, forestry and fisheries resources, rural development, poverty alleviation, WID, environment and natural resource management, institutions and capacity building. In addition to project management and operation, the Operations Branch also provides some advisory assistance and participates in the mobilization of funds from donors and lending agencies, the technical co-operation between developing countries (TCDC and partnership programmes), and co-operation with NGOs and private sector.
With the progressive development of national managerial capabilities and skills in project management, and thus reduced need for expatriate management inputs to the projects, the Operations Branch has taken the leading role in project co-ordination and management, in close collaboration with FAO Representations. In this context, training of national staff has become a regular feature in the FAO's national capacity building programme. The Operations Branch is now the focal point for the most of the training programmes implemented in the Region.
As regards to the sources of funding, most projects are funded by bilateral and multilateral donors (Trust Fund projects). A considerable number of projects continues to be funded from FAO's own resources (via its Technical Co-operation Programme).
The implementation of the field programme is now undergoing further decentralization, by transfer of the responsibilities of project operation to FAO Representations.
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