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| What FAO does |
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While FAO is a global organization, it has over the years evidenced particular interest in the Asia-Pacific region as nearly two-thirds of the world's farmers reside in this region.
Along with the expansion of membership, the range of FAO activities in Asia-Pacific has also widened. The regional office assists Asia-Pacific countries with policy advice and technical expertise in agriculture, economic and social development, fishery, forestry and sustainable development to make the region food-secure for present and future generations.
FAO works with governments, civil society and the private sector to promote food security in ways that aim to bring about durable improvements in the lives of the poor while protecting the region's natural resource base and ensuring that men and women have equal opportunities to benefit from agricultural and rural development.
FAO has a set of global strategic priorities for the next 15 years to meet the challenge of eradicating food insecurity and rural poverty. In the Asia-Pacific region, the focus is on reaching small farmers - men and women alike - through six thematic programme areas, outlined in the document Towards a food-secure Asia and the Pacific: regional strategic framework for Asia and the Pacific.
FAO undertakes many interrelated activities in support of food security, rural poverty alleviation, and institutional and human capacity building mainly through meetings, publications, and by serving regional technical commissions and FAO-sponsored regional bodies. The regional office also assists with the implementation of a large number of field projects at regional and national levels. In addition, FAO plays a major role as an agency for investment support and promotes technical cooperation among developing countries as a main thrust of its activities in the region.
Spearheading these activities, FAO is implementing a series of special programmes:
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Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS)
Most of the region's hungry people live in 24 low-income, food-deficit (LIFD) countries which do not produce enough food and do not earn enough foreign exchange to import the food they need. The SPFS is helping to boost food production in 14 of these LIFD countries in the region. |
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South-South Cooperation
FAO's South-South cooperation scheme promotes exchanges of agricultural expertise among developing countries. Bangladeshi experts are training farmers in the Gambia. Indian experts are doing the same in Eritrea and Mozambique, and Pakistani’s are doing the same in Swaziland, while Viet Nam has sent experts to Benin, Madagascar and Senegal. Chinese experts are helping farmers in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Mauritania. More Asian countries are joining the South-South cooperation programme in the near future. |
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TeleFood
FAO's TeleFood campaign is harnessing the power of the mass media and entertainment industry to raise funds for food security. Entertainment celebrities have taken part in TeleFood broadcasts, concerts and other events in more than 60 countries, reaching global audiences of over 500 million people and mobilizing donations of more than $8 million since its inception. TeleFood is funding more than 200 micro input schemes worth more than $ 1.5 million in 28 countries in Asia and the Pacific. |
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