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PWB Chapter 2: Technical and Economic Programmes

Major Programme 2.1: Agricultural Production and Support Systems

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 102,927  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers 890  
  Final Programme of Work 103,817  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 103,765  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 52  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work 0.9%  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 135,814  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 199,774  
  TCP delivery 60,157  
  Total Field Programme delivery 395,744  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 3.8  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 17,382  


152.     Major Programme 2.1 addresses the challenge faced by agriculture in meeting an increased and diversified demand for food and other products - thus also reducing the number of vulnerable and undernourished people - while conserving natural resources, ensuring food quality and safety, and improving rural livelihoods.

Programme 2.1.0: Intra-departmental Entities

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 5,395  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers 200  
  Final Programme of Work 5,595  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 5,589  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 6  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work 3.7%  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 3,649  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 0  
  TCP delivery 1,303  
  Total Field Programme delivery 4,952  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 0.9  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 419  


Achievements
153.     The programme hosts the Secretariat of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) and the Secretariat of the Committee on Agriculture (COAG). It also includes intra-departmental entities that address emerging cross-cutting issues and bring coherence to departmental level activities and services. Main achievements included:

  • Convening of the 10th regular Session of the CGRFA and support for a session of each of its subsidiary technical working groups on animal genetic resources (AnGR) and on plant genetic resources. The outcome was a decision of the Commission to prepare a multi-year plan of work for its 11th regular Session and to better structure FAO’s work on biodiversity for food and agriculture.
  • Organisation of four preparatory meetings for the first session of the governing body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (IT-PGRFA) and promotion of rapid ratification of the Treaty, which came into force on 29 June 2004.
  • Holding of the 3rd Session of the Panel of Eminent Experts on Ethics in Food and Agriculture and publication of a study on ethical issues in fisheries. The establishment of Readings in ethics in food and agriculture, a new publications series drawing together work in relevant technical programmes, shows successful mainstreaming of ethics in FAO.
  • Organisation of two sessions of COAG: the 18th Session in February 2004 was a special session dedicated to FAO's proposed follow-up to the Report of the Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases; and the 19th regular Session in April 2005 reviewed developments in sustainable agriculture and rural development (SARD) and good agricultural practices (GAP), FAO's strategy for a safe and nutritious food supply, and the emerging issues of bioenergy and the impact of changing markets on the globalising livestock sector (see box).
  • Organisation of the biennial consultation of the AG Technical Department Group Leaders (TDGLs) from regional and subregional offices, in Rome in December 2004. The consultation allowed for close interaction between AG TDGLs and headquarters colleagues and for keeping TDGLs abreast of recent developments in priority areas.
  • Preparation of several case studies on the economics of production systems intensification, integrated production systems and interactions between farm and non-farm enterprises. Advances in work related to GAP, under the umbrella of the Integrated Production Systems (SARD/SPFS) PAIA, focusing on policy and technical support to field activities in countries such as Burkina Faso.
  • Promotion of conservation agriculture (CA) through training materials, workshops, conferences and direct support to countries, leading to an increase in government support and adoption of CA practices and policies. A major milestone was the Third World Congress on Conservation Agriculture in Nairobi, Kenya in October 2005, which attracted high visibility and contributed to increased donors' attention to CA.


Regional impacts
154.     In Africa, work on integrated production systems as well as workshops and training activities on GAP for cotton/cereal/livestock systems in Burkina Faso were conducted with RAF and with the involvement of other FAO projects in the region, e.g. integrated pest management (IPM) in Mali and Senegal. In Asia, the GAP workshop on FFV in Thailand, organised with RAP, was co-sponsored by the government; it benefited from the participation of other countries in the region as well as other concerned organizations and donors (e.g. Malaysia, Singapore, ASEAN GAP, UN-ESCAP, Norway and others). In Latin America, an e-conference on national and regional capacity-building for the implementation of GAP in different commodity chains and agro-ecosystems was organised by RLC in collaboration with partners in the public and private sectors, including CSOs, to develop regional initiatives and projects. Regional CA workshops have directly led to requests for TCP projects, particularly in Africa (Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda) and in Asia (Bangladesh, China, DPR Korea, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan). CA is attracting attention in two regions, more particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where it contributes to addressing issues of environmental degradation as well as food security and improvement of rural livelihoods.

Extrabudgetary resources
155.     Over US$ 2.5 million in extrabudgetary resources, as well as substantial in-kind support, were mobilised for preparing the first meeting of the governing body of the IT-PGRFA, the CGRFA's multi-year programme of work and the International Technical Conference on AnGR. Funding was received through the FAO-Norway Partnership Programme to enable field activities related to GAP. In this context, close partnerships were established with national governments, research institutes such as INERA, CIRAD, IITA, Wageningen University, several donors interested in the cotton sector in West Africa (EC, AfDB, World Bank, GTZ) and other international organizations (UNEP). The integrated production and protection work in Burkina Faso is projected to link up with farmer field schools funded by the Netherlands for cotton crop protection. Conservation agriculture projects have attracted additional donor funding, either with FAO involvement (Kenya/Germany, DPR Korea/Sweden, and Italy) or under direct national execution (Kazakhstan/World Bank, Uzbekistan/AsDB). Nine national cooperation projects and two regional projects (in Asia and Africa) have been funded under the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) technical cooperation programme to address issues relating to soil conservation and land degradation.


The Committee on Agriculture (COAG)

At the governing bodies’ request, the Secretariat looked into ways of achieving efficiency and cost savings in organising COAG sessions in conjunction with meetings of the Committee on Commodity Problems (CCP) in the same biennium. For the first time in 2005, CCP and COAG sessions were organised back-to-back within the same week, each with a shorter duration than before and a more focused agenda. Thus, the 19th Session of COAG in April 2005 lasted only three days compared to five in previous regular sessions; the number of substantive agenda items was more limited (six compared to eight in 2003), with a more forward-looking and strategic review of FAO’s programme of work in food and agriculture; a clearer separation was made of discussion and information items, and a reduced number of meeting documents produced; and finally, side events were carefully scheduled in close relation to the substantive items discussed in plenary. As a result, cost savings of about 15 percent were achieved compared to the previous regular session of COAG in 2003, and Members expressed general satisfaction with the back-to-back arrangements of CCP and COAG meetings.


Programme 2.1.1: Natural Resources

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 17,392  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers (600)  
  Final Programme of Work 16,792  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 16,781  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 11  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work (3.4%)  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 37,247  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 38,193  
  TCP delivery 5,771  
  Total Field Programme delivery 81,210  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 4.8  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 3,797  


Achievements
156.     Programme 2.1.1 contributes to land and water development and management for improved food security and the remediation of rural poverty to increase agricultural productivity through sustainable development and the improved management of land and water resources. Main achievements during the biennium included:

  • Capacity development in the management of irrigation modernisation in South Asia (Pakistan, India, Nepal) through rapid appraisal of large irrigation systems.
  • Investigations on the future of large rice-based irrigation systems in South East Asia (Ho Chi Min City Symposium, 2005).
  • An expert consultation on water desalination for agricultural applications.
  • An electronic forum on the world reference base for soil resources and the development of a new version for adoption at the International Union of Soil Science Congress in 2006.
  • Policy support to countries on fertilizers, including: deregulation of fertilizer prices and its impact on agriculture in Pakistan; follow-up in SADC13 countries on the fertilizer resolution adopted at the 23rd African Regional Conference; and improved farmers’ access to fertilizers within the framework of the NSPFS Nigeria.
  • The initiation of a global Water for Food and Ecosystems (WFE) initiative, with an international conference in The Hague in January-February 2005 preceded by an African pre-conference in Addis Ababa in November 2004.
  • The establishment of information systems on fertilizers (Fertibase), integrated plant nutrition systems (IPNIS) and subnational geo-referenced information on crop production, yields and areas harvested (Agromaps).
  • Project activities and capacity-building support under IPTRID. Publications dealing with lessons learnt in all these activities have been widely distributed through the IPTRID network of more than 4,000 water professionals. IPTRID also established the Virtual Center for Water in Agriculture, an internet-based information system for francophone Africa and now available also in English.


Regional impacts
157.     The development of the water control programme in RAP has resulted in broad regional uptake of irrigation performance reviews in Asia’s large scale irrigation systems. As an outcome of the 3rd Regional Meeting of the Agriculture, Land Water Use Commission (ALAWUC) in Doha in 2004, technical assistance was provided to enhance countries' capacity to formulate and implement drought mitigation and preparedness strategies. Irrigation policies and strategies were formulated for Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia, culminating in a regional assessment of the demand for irrigated production in sub-Saharan Africa. The Partnership Initiative on Sustainable Land Management in the Caribbean was established in collaboration with the UNCCD Secretariat and Global Mechanism, UNEP, the Caribbean Network for Integrated Rural Development, GTZ and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. With extrabudgetary funding support, IPTRID brought to conclusion three major projects in Central Asia, West Africa and Egypt focusing on strategic issues in irrigated agriculture. It assisted water-related agencies to plan interventions to upgrade their irrigation and drainage activities in Uzbekistan, Syria and Senegal and sponsored workshops to upgrade managerial and operational skills of professionals dealing with irrigation and drainage systems in the Russian Federation, India, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, China, Malaysia and Tanzania.

Extrabudgetary resources
158.     A prime source of extrabudgetary funding has been through the international waters, land degradation and integrated ecosystem programmes of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Additional UTF resources were mobilised for water resource management projects in the Nile Basin, and funding under the EU Water Facility for Mozambique. The close partnership developed with the Government of the Netherlands on the WFE initiative has also leveraged additional FAO/Netherlands Partnership Programme (FNPP) resources for agricultural water resource management. A collaborative programme with AfDB, IFAD, IWMI and the World Bank on investment opportunities for agricultural water management in sub-Saharan Africa resulted in substantive regional analysis delivered through NEPAD. Considerable support was given to the CGIAR14-led Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture. The update of the Global Soil and Terrain Database (SOTER) continued to progress in cooperation with the EU and ISRIC.


AQUASTAT

AQUASTAT is FAO's global information system on water and agriculture. It collects, analyses and disseminates data and information by country and by region. Its aim is to provide users interested in global, regional and national analyses (e.g. policy makers, decision-makers and researchers) with the most accurate, reliable, consistent and up-to-date information available on water resources and agricultural water management. All AQUASTAT products are available on the Web and as published reports or on CD-ROMs. During this biennium, information on the African continent was updated; the figures are reported in the FAO Water Report No. 29 Irrigation in Africa in figures: AQUASTAT survey 2005. AQUASTAT is considered the most relevant worldwide information system on agricultural water resources and uses, and is one of the most accessed FAO information systems.


Programme 2.1.2: Crops

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 27,745  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers 1,160  
  Final Programme of Work 28,905  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 28,894  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 11  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work 4.2%  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 58,177  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 115,664  
  TCP delivery 33,522  
  Total Field Programme delivery 207,363  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 7.2  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 5,131  


Achievements
159.     The programme deals with the enhancement of integrated management of plant production and protection systems in food crops, horticultural crops, industrial crops, grasslands and pasture crops. Particular attention is given to the conservation and use of plant genetic resources, through plant breeding and seed production systems, and to plant protection, IPM, pesticide use and management within the global standards and biosecurity context, to reduce risks to human health and environment. Some of the most significant achievements during the biennium included:

  • Support by the EMPRES-Plant Pest Component through the Emergency Centre for Locust Operations (ECLO) to the coordination of the Desert Locust control campaigns in Africa following the outbreaks in Western Africa (2003) and the upsurge in 2004 in North-West Africa. Priority was given to national capacity-building, especially for locust survey and control operations with special attention to human health and environmental safety. An evaluation of the programme in 2005 concluded that the EMPRES/Central Region programme had provided a solid foundation for future coordinated preventive Desert Locust control efforts.
  • Special alerts, updates for outbreaks, guidelines and standard operating procedures for Desert Locust control in Arabic, English and French. National Desert Locust units were strengthened through the provision of key tools needed for real time overview of the Desert Locust situation and for forecasting and issuing special alerts on critical desert Locust situations.
  • The entry into force of the revised text of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) in October 2005. Eight international standards for phytosanitary measures (ISPM) were adopted. Over 30 meetings were held for the preparation of standards and related training. Two meetings of the (Interim) Commission on Phytosanitary Measures, three meetings of the IPPC Bureau and two meetings of the Strategic Planning and Technical Assistance Working Group were convened. Special focus group meetings on funding options for the IPPC and the preparation of activities towards international recognition of pest free areas were conducted.
  • The entry into force of the Rotterdam Convention in February 2004, with the first and second sessions of the Conference of the Parties (COP-1 and COP-2) in 2004 and 2005, respectively. A Memorandum of Understanding for the joint secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention was signed by the Executive Director of UNEP and the Director-General of FAO in October/November 2005.
  • The Africa Stockpiles Programme (ASP) was initiated with preparatory activities in 5 countries and the establishment of a technical support unit for the ASP as a GEF project. The programme aims to eliminate all obsolete pesticide stockpiles from African countries and to put in place effective measures that will prevent recurrence of the problem.
  • Strong two-way interaction was maintained between field and policy activities related to IPM and pesticide risk reduction.
  • Celebration of the International Year of Rice (IYR) 2004, during which more than 800 events were carried out globally, an IYR Web site developed and IYR publications produced.
  • Adoption of a new approach to monitor implementation of the Global Plan of Action on Plant Genetic Resources (GPA-PGR), and preparation of guidelines for country reports contributing to the second report on the State of the World's PGRFA. Meetings for 21 country representatives in the Near East and Africa regions were organised in this context.
  • Support provided on alternative crops and cultivars through key crop networks, newsletters and production guidelines, and launch of the joint FAO/WHO initiative to promote fruit and vegetable production for health and income generation. Provision by more than 20 countries of inputs into Hortivar, a database on cultivar performance of horticultural crops.
  • Initiation of a survey to assess plant breeding and associated biotechnology capacities in developing countries, intended to guide actions on sustainable use plant genetic resources, including for the IT/PGRFA, and to provide a basis for strategic capacity-building.
  • Assistance to several countries in building or strengthening national biosafety systems and technical regional training courses for public and private sector technical staff on genetically modified organism (GMO) detection, seed testing and plant variety verification organised in cooperation with the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA). Organisation of an expert consultation meeting on Genetically modified organisms in crop production and their effects on the environment: methodologies for monitoring and the way ahead in 2005 in Rome.
  • Policy support for the harmonisation of seed laws and regulations in southern and western Africa. Activities seek to provide a broader market for seed enterprises through facilitated cross-border movement of seed consignments.
  • Further progress in facilitating plant production and protection decision-making through the ECOCROP information system that matches crops with environment.


Regional impacts
160.     The EMPRES-Desert Locust Component that is well established in the Central Region (around the Red Sea) contributed to efforts to contain an outbreak which developed in Sudan in 2003 and again when an upsurge spread to the Central Region in November 2004. South-South partnerships and extrabudgetary funding were critical elements during a period of increased locust activity, when the limited national resources for locust survey and control operations were quickly exhausted. Meetings of EMPRES Liaison Officers, monitoring of the Desert Locust situation, survey, training and strengthening of national capacities within the region were organised. Regional IPM programmes in Africa, Asia, Near East, Central and Eastern Europe contributed to inter-country collaboration and the development of 12 new national IPM programmes. Regional PGRFA and seed networks were supported technically and scientifically to enhance conservation and use of PGRFA and the development of regional PGRFA conservation strategies. A Plan of Action for the African Pollinator Initiative was developed with the participation of members of the initiative from 17 African countries, and has been widely disseminated. The regional Agricultural Biotechnology Network in Africa (ABNETA), an initiative that was supported by an arrears project, forms a common debating and information-sharing platform on all issues pertaining to biotechnology in agriculture. ABNETA benefits from the nearly two decades of experience of REDBIO, a very active plant biotechnology network in Latin America. As part of the activities related to sustainable intensification and diversification of cropping systems including range management and the use and management of grassland genetic resources, over 30 projects were implemented in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and Europe, with 25 publications, several CD-ROMs, education booklets, videos and pamphlets produced.

Extrabudgetary resources
161.     The EMPRES-Desert Locust component programme was supported in the Western Region by the CLCPRO, DLCC and USAID15 funds, and in the Central Region by the Central Region Commission, Switzerland, the Netherlands and USAID funds. A voluntary Trust Fund for the IPPC allowed increased participation by developing countries at the annual meeting of the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures, participation on the Standards Committee and Expert Working Groups, the implementation of standards and support to technical assistance and information exchange. The contribution of GEF to the Africa Stockpiles Programme is US$ 25 million for the first phase of which US$ 3.3 million is administered through FAO, supplemented by a US$ 2.2 million Netherlands-funded project and US$ 0.65 million under the Development Grant Facility of the World Bank. Partners include NEPAD16, the World Bank, CropLife International and the NGOs PAN and WWF17. The participation of many countries in the preparation of the second report on the State of the World's PGRFA, including monitoring the implementation of the GPA, was aided by extrabudgetary financial contributions from the Governments of the Netherlands, Japan and Norway. GEF is funding the implementation of the "Conservation and Management of Pollinators for Sustainable Agriculture, through an Ecosystem Approach” project, which addresses pollinator-related issues at global level and in Brazil, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nepal, Pakistan and South Africa.


International Year of Rice – 2004 (IYR-2004)

The UNGA at its 57th Session in December 2002 declared the year 2004 as the IYR-2004 and requested FAO to facilitate its implementation. Rice Is Life was selected as the slogan for the Year and more than 800 events were organised in 68 countries worldwide by governmental institutions/organizations, UN agencies, Consultative Group centres, NGOs, farmers' associations, youth groups and private sectors for the IYR. Forty countries established national committees to promote action for sustainable increase in rice production and environmental conservation. A report on IYR-2004 was presented at the 60th Session of the UNGA in November 2005. It provided suggestions for consideration by the international community on how to stimulate efficient and productive sustainable rice-based production systems. The book Rice Is Life was published in 2005 describing events and achievements made at national, regional and international levels during the IYR-2004. The successful implementation of the IYR effectively contributed to drawing world's attention to the role of rice in providing food security and eradicating poverty for attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).


Programme 2.1.3: Livestock

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 18,859  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers (210)  
  Final Programme of Work 18,649  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 18,640  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 9  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work (1.1%)  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 25,741  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 25,999  
  TCP delivery 14,384  
  Total Field Programme delivery 66,124  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 3.5  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 3,278  


Achievements
162.     The programme aims to enhance the contribution of livestock to poverty alleviation and food security while securing the sustainable use of natural resources and addressing animal product related food safety issues - the livestock sector growth is an important driver of deforestation, climate change, water depletion, soil and water pollution and zoonotic disease risks.

163.     In addition to wide-ranging normative activities in biophysical resource use, animal health, veterinary public health, livestock economics/policy and information, the programme provided technical assistance to Members. It was also instrumental in drafting the livestock chapter of the CAADP18 companion document, now endorsed by the African Union and NEPAD.

164.     The biennium was marked by very substantial efforts undertaken by the Organization in support of countries and regions affected by the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). These efforts, led by FAO’s Chief Veterinary Officer and head of the newly created Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), involved the assumption of a global leadership role in close collaboration with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in the international fight against the disease, based on sound technical and socio-economic analysis. In addition to designing and negotiating a global HPAI control strategy with OIE and in collaboration with WHO, guidelines, and global and regional coordination programmes, a large number of national and regional projects were undertaken, missions carried out and regional and international meetings organised (see box). Other substantial achievements included:

  • Endorsement of the FAO/OIE initiative “Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADs)" by the governing bodies of both institutions, and the establishment of Steering Committees in Asia, America and Europe.
  • Establishment and operation of ECTAD19, a corporate platform for the integrated delivery of FAO’s EMPRES-Livestock programme, built on the close interaction of the Animal Production and Health (AGA) and Emergency Operations and Rehabilitation (TCE) Divisions.
  • Consolidation of the Programme Against African Trypanosomiasis (PAAT) as the international technical/scientific platform for advice for continental/regional action, including the Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC).
  • Publications, regional and subregional workshops to promote the implementation of the new Codex-recommended codes of practice on animal feeding, meat hygiene and milk and dairy products.
  • Upscaling of technical, policy and institutional options for sustainable livestock waste management and for the payment of environmental services for changes in land use involving livestock (GEF projects).
  • Advances in the uptake of smallholder dairy technology, including camel milk processing.
  • Compilation of the first report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources (SoW-AnGR), and of the report on Strategic Priorities for Action for improving utilisation and conservation of these resources. By end 2005, 169 countries had submitted their national reports as inputs into the first report on SoW-AnGR.
  • Global coverage of digital distributions of the major livestock species, at a spatial resolution of 5x5 km, is now available through FAO’s GeoNetwork data repository.


Regional impacts
165.     In support of assembling the first report on SoW-AnGR, several regional workshops identified strategic priorities for improved conservation and use of these resources for submission to intergovernmental negotiation. A study was published on the regional hotspots and the determinants of livestock-induced deforestation focusing on Latin America. Livestock waste management options and associated policies were developed for East Asian countries. In Central America, policy support was provided for the development of schemes for the payment of environmental services through tree-pasture interaction. A livestock policy facility was established in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region to support countries in their efforts to use the livestock sector as a tool for poverty alleviation. Information systems and policy support were provided to Sahelian countries to address resource pressures affecting pastoralism. In Asia, pro-poor livestock policy options were developed for South Asian and South-East Asian countries, focusing on enhancing market access for smallholder producers. The Global Livestock Production and Health Atlas (GLiPHA) now includes regional projects covering selected regional economic communities and related livestock sector briefs have been produced to summarise livestock sector trends on a regional basis.

Extrabudgetary resources
166.     The programme acquired significant extrabudgetary funds in support of its key objectives, e.g. for pro-poor livestock policy development and livestock-environment interactions analysis and policy advice. In the global efforts for the control of HPAI, substantial extrabudgetary resource requirements were identified for FAO’s programme (US$ 130 million by end 2005), part of which was made available to the Organization during the biennium. These resources supported activities at national, regional and global levels on emergency, medium- and longer-term requirements of surveillance/ epidemiology/ ecology, crisis preparedness, early warning, diagnostics, disease control, sector adjustment and associated needs for policy and strategy design.

167.     The AnGR programme was assisted by an arrears project and the governments of The Netherlands, Finland, Germany, the UK and Norway. These funds were used to support countries in the State of the World reporting process on AnGR and for related thematic studies. The partnership with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) resulted in several project proposals submitted to GEF. To assist developing countries and countries with economies in transition in the preparation of country reports, FAO continued the comprehensive agreement with the World Association for Animal Production (WAAP) started in September 2001, through which technical and financial support was provided to national consultative committees in 70 developing and in-transition countries.

168.     The Government of Switzerland supported a global pilot programme on capacity-building for surveillance and prevention of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and other zoonotic diseases. For the implementation of the Codex Code of Practice on Animal Feeding, FAO partnered with the International Feed Industry Federation on funds obtained from the WTO Standards and Trade Development Facility. The Manual on good practices for the meat industry was supported by funds from the Fondation Internationale Carrefour. The Guide to good dairy farming practices was developed as a result of collaboration between FAO and the International Dairy Federation. The Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) Initiative was supported by the World Bank, the EU, the Governments of France, Germany, UK, US, Denmark and Switzerland. LEAD has, in addition, been instrumental in leveraging, through GEF, substantial resources in support of regional activities in East and South-East Asia (livestock waste management), Central America (payment of environmental services) and East Africa (livestock – wildlife interactions). Funded by the UK, the Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Facility (PPLPF) has focused its activities on the Andean Region, South and South–East Asia, West Africa and East Africa, where it has been successful in acquiring EC funding for a regional (IGAD) project on livestock policy design and negotiation.


FAO’s Response to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1

Since 2004, FAO has worked with countries affected by avian influenza and those at risk in Asia (followed by Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Caucasus, Latin America and the Caribbean) to facilitate information sharing, networking and local capacity-building, using emergency funding through TCPs and increasingly from extrabudgetary contributions. The primary objective of these projects was to strengthen disease intelligence and emergency preparedness, examine the role of migratory birds, support awareness creation and risk communication, strengthen field surveillance and laboratory support, and global avian influenza surveillance and early warning capabilities. In this context, FAO fielded respectively, in 2004 and 2005, 106 and 166 missions, in partnership with the OIE, WHO, WB and EC.

FAO has supported countries in designing and implementing emergency and long-term national control strategies, reviewing human capacity, infrastructure and policies for avian influenza surveillance, detection and control, assessing the socio-economic consequences of the crises and the costs and consequences of control measures including rehabilitation and long-term restructuring of the poultry sector.

FAO and OIE have jointly published a Global Plan for the progressive control of HPAI. Both organizations have established a network of avian influenza expertise (OFFLU: OIE-FAO-FLU) designed to coordinate research, provide confirmatory diagnosis, support countries through expert missions and interface with WHO in the analysis of virus strains.

The avian influenza early warning activities at the global level are the joint concern of FAO, OIE and WHO, working together in a Global Early Warning System (GLEWS) for transboundary animal diseases and emerging zoonoses.

In the UN-wide avian and pandemic influenza coordination framework, FAO plays a lead role as the specialised organization in charge of assisting Members in controlling the disease at source in the animal.


Programme 2.1.4: Agricultural Support Systems

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 15,905  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers (105)  
  Final Programme of Work 15,800  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 15,794  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 6  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work (0.7%)  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 10,220  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 19,918  
  TCP delivery 5,177  
  Total Field Programme delivery 35,315  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 2.2  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 4,051  


Achievements
169.     The programme supports small farm commercialisation and development of agroprocessing enterprises, appropriate post-harvest technologies and market-oriented farm diversification, farm management, agribusiness management, agricultural marketing and rural finance, food quality assurance and safety along food chains through studies, guidelines, information, expertise and capacity-building. Specific achievements included:

  • In conjunction with the International Year of Microcredit, three regional workshops were organised to facilitate learning and innovation among regional rural finance practitioners and policy-makers.
  • A guide for local authority planners was produced to assist them in understanding food supply and distribution systems, urban food marketing systems and market infrastructure.
  • A series of five FAO Diversification Booklets were produced, describing new income earning opportunities for farmers.
  • Organic certification costs under alternative schemes were appraised in India, Thailand, Hungary, Czech Republic and Brazil.
  • Mechanisation guidelines were issued to provide information on sustainable and efficient mechanisation options and labour saving practices.
  • A rural-urban marketing linkages guide was prepared, including a methodology to identify and plan rural market and road infrastructure.
  • A guide addressing marketing and processing constraints was issued, providing planners with an approach for identifying domestic constraints that limit producers and exporters from taking advantage of overseas market access opportunities.
  • 120 new FAO-GTZ MicroBanking systems were installed in eight Asian countries.
  • Information was generated for agroprocessing enterprises on packaging, waste management, water use and safety and post-harvest management for fresh fruits.
  • Technical guidance was provided to improve quality and competitiveness in the rural agro-industry through efficient and sustainable use of energy.
  • Guidelines on agricultural pesticide application equipment were developed to help reduce pesticide hazards.
  • Data and information on agricultural mechanisation and farm power issues were analysed to help improve the understanding of member countries on these issues.


Regional impacts
170.     Regional studies on trader financing in Asia, Latin America and Africa helped identify proposals to enhance the availability of finance for traders' marketing operations. Progress was made on work related to agro-industries in West Africa. In Asia and the Pacific, support was provided to several community-based programmes to enhance livelihoods. The programme also provided support to the emergency programme in Iraq, as well as to the SPFS, particularly in Africa. In Central and Eastern Europe and selected Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, assistance was provided on farm commercialisation, agribusiness and rural enterprise development. In Latin America, the programme supported efforts to build productive partnerships, linking producers into higher return value chains.

Extrabudgetary resources
171.     Complementary trust fund resources were mobilised for work relating to small farmer incomes and livelihoods and for capacity-building of small and medium agroprocessing enterprises. Extrabudgetary support was provided for normative work in rural finance. Innovative linkages between formal and non-formal sectors to expand rural financial services were examined through linkage cases in Africa and Asia with the financial support of the Ford Foundation and in close partnership with universities.


The Rural Finance Learning Centre

Close contacts were established with various donors and expert partners to launch the Rural Finance Learning Centre (RFLC). This online reference centre contains a wealth of information and training tools for managers of rural finance institutions, policy-makers, and various clients. The site holds a collection of over 900 resources, is available in four languages, and has a dedicated training section with interactive online lessons, self study guides, streamed videos and details of training opportunities.


Programme 2.1.5: Agricultural Applications of Isotopes and Biotechnology

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 5,682  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers 280  
  Final Programme of Work 5,962  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 5,956  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 6  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work 4.9%  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 780  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 0  
  TCP delivery 0  
  Total Field Programme delivery 780  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 0.1  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 481  


Achievements
172.     The programme works to enhance capabilities within countries to alleviate constraints to sustainable food security by application of nuclear techniques and biotechnology. It is implemented jointly with IAEA and collaborates with other FAO programmes. The programme operates primarily through research networks, training courses and field projects in partnerships with NARS, CGIAR and national regulatory bodies, other UN organizations such as WHO and through assistance to international standard setting by the IPPC, Codex and OIE. Main achievements during the biennium included:

  • Induced mutants are being rediscovered by breeders as an alternative to transgenics-based GMOs. The number of released mutant varieties has increased continually, and more than 100 mutant lines were exchanged among countries. Their socio-economic impact in today’s agriculture is already measured in billions of dollars and millions of hectares. Beneficial mutant varieties encompass more nutritious, healthier crops, which are higher-yielding and with superior quality for food, feed and industry.
  • Techniques using fallout radionuclides to measure soil erosion and sedimentation at a watershed scale have been successfully transferred to East Asia and the Pacific countries where erosion is a major economic and environmental concern.
  • Areas of low pest prevalence and pest free areas are being developed in seven countries to address insect pests of major crops. Area-wide pest control policies and strategies to deal with fruit flies have been more widely accepted (see box). The first comprehensive text book Sterile insect technique: principles and practice in area-wide integrated pest management, compiled and edited by IAEA and FAO, was published in 2005.
  • There is only one small area (Somalia ecosystem) where rinderpest infection persists. All other countries worldwide are applying to the OIE to be declared free from rinderpest disease and infection. In 2004-05 OIE's declaration of freedom from rinderpest disease included: Eritrea, Senegal, Togo and Benin on a country-wide basis with CAR (zonal basis), Chad, Kenya (zonal basis); and Sudan and Uganda under evaluation. OIE's declaration of freedom from rinderpest infection included Burkina Faso, Burundi, Republic of Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Niger and Zambia; with Gambia, Mali, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda under evaluation.
  • The application of irradiation for sanitary and phytosanitary purposes has increased to almost 60 and 20 countries respectively, which reflects a 15% increase over the biennium. Work on practical agricultural countermeasures for enhancing food safety and security following a nuclear or radiological emergency has progressed satisfactorily.


Regional impacts
173.     In three regions (Asia, Europe and Latin America), ten isotope laboratories consistently demonstrated proficiency in total N and 15N measurements during this biennium. Twenty-seven laboratories were involved in producing quality assured data on the effectiveness of the use of fallout radionuclides (FRN) to assess the effects of conservation agriculture on land productivity and soil erosion. Regional mutant multilocation trials (RMMTs) were established in Asia and Africa. More than 100 mutant lines were exchanged among participating countries. In Africa officially released mutant varieties of sesame and cassava were transferred to other countries of the region. Rinderpest serological survey guidelines were submitted to the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme (GREP) of FAO. Protocols for relevant entomological sampling and population genetic assessment in support of SIT application against key pest insects were made available to collaborators in several regions. Contributions were made to feasibility studies for introducing food irradiation on a commercial scale in Asia and on capacity-building for pesticide management in Central America.

Extrabudgetary resources
174.     Managers of insect pest control programmes from 24 countries were trained for four weeks at an inter-regional training course on "The Use of the Sterile Insect and Related Techniques for the Integrated Area-wide Management of Insect Pests", co-financed by the US Government, the University of Florida, and IAEA TC Programme. Partnerships with the Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (IBAR), Pan African Programme for the Control of Epizootics (PACE), WHO, ILRI and SADC supported control of transboundary animal diseases (rinderpest, PPR, CBPP20 and others). In partnership with the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, a feasibility assessment of the Old World screwworm area-wide control was conducted in the Middle East.

175.     Extrabudgetary funding was provided by China, Japan, OPEC and the US for preparatory activities related to area-wide tsetse control. Partnerships continued with other UN organizations in the implementation of international standards and technical cooperation programmes (WHO, UNIDO, UNEP), IGOs in the elaboration of international standards (Codex, IPPC) and international NGOs in the elaboration and application of harmonised international guidance (IUPAC, AOAC, IFAH21).


Sterile Insect Technique

In 2005, the United States of America officially recognised all of Patagonia in Argentina as a fruit fly free region. This major success is the result of ten years of IAEA and FAO technical backstopping for the implementation of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) as part of an area-wide integrated pest management approach. This achievement will allow Patagonia to export fresh fruits and vegetables to the USA without any quarantine treatments, which represents annual savings of US$ 2 million. The elimination of these costly quarantine treatments concerns most of the 3 million boxes of quality pears and apples that this region also exports to many other regions in the world. It also opens the possibilities of exporting other fresh fruit crops, particularly stone fruits such as cherries. National and provincial authorities acknowledged the significant role of IAEA/FAO and the SIT in achieving this goal, which follows the establishment of similar free zones in Argentina’s Mendoza province.


Major Programme 2.2: Food and Agriculture Policy and Development

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 100,547  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers (570)  
  Final Programme of Work 99,977  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 99,928  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 49  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work (0.6%)  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 45,084  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 9,146  
  TCP delivery 11,107  
  Total Field Programme delivery 65,338  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 0.7  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 6,988  


185.     The major programme is implemented by the Economic and Social Department (ES) and the Library and Documentation Systems Division (GIL). Its overall thrust is to contribute to the eradication of food insecurity and rural poverty. Building on core statistical work, it monitors and analyses the reasons for insufficient progress in combating hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity, and proposes policies and programmes that can be applied, nationally and internationally, to resolve these problems. It disseminates information on food security and rural development through WAICENT22. The major programme plays a significant role in ensuring greater participation of developing countries in the formulation of a rules-based food and agricultural trading system that is supportive of food security, and in assisting the entire membership improve quality and safety of food and healthy diets for consumers.

Programme 2.2.0: Intra-departmental Entities

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 6,603  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers (260)  
  Final Programme of Work 6,343  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 6,334  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 9  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work (3.9%)  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 3,396  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 2,652  
  TCP delivery 82  
  Total Field Programme delivery 6,131  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 1.0  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 811  


Achievements
186.     This programme has clustered entities that are most directly related to the WFS target of halving the number of undernourished by 2015 and the UN-wide efforts towards the MDGs. It is inter-disciplinary in nature, with outputs implemented by units across the ES Department. Significant achievements include:

  • Development and review of a methodology for 'vulnerable livelihood profiling' (ESA) contributing to the Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping System (FIVIMS).
  • Improved format for Nutrition Country Profiles (published on the Internet and CD-ROM) and new tools for assessing dietary diversity as a measure of household food security (ESN).
  • Improvements to the Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS) Workstation, including through the development of database modules for use at international and national levels.
  • Two editions of the State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI) published, including updated undernourishment estimates (2000-02) and critical analysis of hunger issues in the context of changing food systems, WFS follow-up and MDGs.
  • Training sessions held for estimating undernourishment at subnational level derived from food consumption data from household surveys (ESS).
  • In collaboration with partner agencies, an external assessment of the Inter-Agency Working Group on FIVIMS found that while FIVIMS work did not achieve as great an impact at country level, the FIVIMS concept continues to be of high relevance and importance in regard to the WFS follow-up, and the MDGs and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) processes.
  • Countries improved their reports to the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) through a simplified format.
  • The special report FAO and the challenge of the Millennium Development Goals: the road ahead provided a framework for FAO’s contribution to MDGs achievement.
  • FAO co-authored the UN MDG Report (2005) presented to the General Assembly, and the MDG in the Arab Region 2005.
  • Contribution to the report Halving Hunger: it can be done of the Millennium Project’s Hunger Task Force.
  • Two sessions of the CFS, with side and special events raising awareness on the need for further investment in the agriculture and rural sector and highlighting the impact of emergency contexts, particularly armed conflicts and HIV/AIDS, on food security.


Regional impacts
187.     The Asia and the Pacific region made good progress in strengthening national FIVIMS activities and linking these to food security and nutrition planning and policy formulation. The FAO Food Security Statistics Web site was strengthened for the analyses at country, regional and global levels, and it has become a new window for users involved in food security information and analysis around the world. Coverage of the North Africa and Near East regions by the Nutrition Country Profiles was improved substantially following the release of enhanced profiles (Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Palestine, Iran and Jordan). Special attention was given to the food security situation in Africa and in small state islands. Six countries in Africa and Asia were assisted in preparing food security policies, while regional reviews of food security priorities in the different regions were conducted.

Extrabudgetary resources
188.     External funding provided by the European Commission, Japan, the Netherlands, UNDP, DFID23, Canada and Italy played an important role for FIVIMS activities, enabling FAO to achieve a greater impact at country and regional levels. Funds provided by the FNPP enabled the successful provision of food security policy assistance to six countries in Africa and Asia. Extrabudgetary funding from Germany supported the work of the Inter-governmental Working Group to finalise the Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Food.

Programme 2.2.1: Nutrition, Food Quality and Safety

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 20,626  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers 215  
  Final Programme of Work 20,841  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 20,831  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 10  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work 1.0%  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 14,206  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 2,248  
  TCP delivery 5,952  
  Total Field Programme delivery 22,406  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 1.1  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 1,996  


Achievements
189.     The programme contributes towards the achievement of nutritional well-being of people by: ensuring quality and safety of food for consumer protection and fair practices in food trade; promoting the access to, and consumption of, nutritionally adequate and safe food for all; and helping to ensure that agricultural development and improved food supply translates into better health and nutrition of populations. Significant achievements include:

  • Publication of the report and scientific background papers of the Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Human Energy Requirements along with the software application and report of the workshop on "Globalisation of food systems in developing countries and its impact on food security and nutrition".
  • Publication on CD-ROM of 63 nutrition country profiles produced since 1999, 11 of which were prepared during 2005 based on a new interactive template.
  • Widespread adoption of community-focused nutrition interventions linking food security, nutrition and livelihoods within the context of both development and emergency responses.
  • Strong nutrition advocacy, information, education and communication initiatives which promoted access to, and consumption of, nutritionally adequate diets.
  • More than 39 new or revised food standards have been adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission which also made significant progress in implementing the recommendations of the FAO/WHO Evaluation of Codex Alimentarius (see box).
  • Eight expert meetings were held jointly with WHO and addressed food safety issues related to the use of food additives and veterinary drugs in food production, chemical and microbiological food contaminants.
  • Jointly with WHO, three regional food safety conferences organised in Asia, Africa and in the Americas and the Caribbean, as well as a second Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators (see box).



Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme (Codex Alimentarius)

The Codex Commission completed all of its planned activities for the 2004-05 biennium by adopting over 39 new or revised Codex standards or related texts, as well as a number of maximum limits for food additives and contaminants and maximum residue limits for pesticides and veterinary drugs. The Commission pursued the implementation of the proposals originating from the FAO/WHO Evaluation of the Codex Alimentarius and other FAO and WHO Food Standards Work conducted in 2002. In particular, the Commission reinforced the strategic planning and programme management functions of its Executive Committee and enlarged its membership to include the Coordinators from regions. Stressing the importance of cooperation and coordination with other intergovernmental organizations in international standards setting, the Commission enhanced mutual links with OIE. The participation of members from developing countries in the Commission’s work was facilitated by the FAO/WHO Project and Fund for Enhanced Participation in Codex, which became operational in March 2004.



Food Quality Control and Consumer Protection, and Food Safety Assessment and Rapid Alert System

With the additional resources provided from the arrears, the Food Quality and Standards Service was able not only to complete its planned activities for the biennium, but also to expand it to include several training activities and the publication of a series of technical tools in all official languages. In particular 12 countries have received assistance in the review and reorganisation of their food safety systems; and 10 others in the establishment and operation of national Codex Committees. Jointly with WHO, three Regional Food Safety Conferences were held in Asia, Africa and in the Americas and the Caribbean and a second Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators was held. Four sessions of the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and four other expert meetings, covering risk assessment of microbiological hazards, biotoxins, acrylamide and substances without ADI/MRL were held and their reports published.


Regional impacts
190.     In Latin America, Asia and the Near East, the extensive training carried out on the management of Codex national activities has had a positive impact on the level and quality of participation of the countries of the region in Codex work. Over 1,100 professionals were trained in eight subregional and 40 national workshops held in the Andean Region on pertinent food safety issues. The training of over 200 professional trainers from Africa, Asia, Near East, Latin America and the Caribbean in good handling practices to ensure safety and quality of fresh fruit and vegetables is expected to have a positive impact on the access of these product in international export markets. Technical support nutrition and housefood security was provided to several countries including Afghanistan, Burundi and Mauritania, as well as in the Caribbean and areas affected by the Tsunami.

Extrabudgetary resources
191.     Technical assistance in school and community nutrition education was provided through TCP and GCP projects in 18 countries. Information briefs on nutrition, food safety and consumer protection were produced to promote the Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Adequate Food, and work began on a joint FAO/WAGGGS24 illustrated book for children on the right to adequate food and nutrition. Collaboration was strengthened with partners within the UN System: with WHO on Fruit and Vegetables for Health and Income and on Nutrition Friendly Schools; with UNICEF25 for producing school materials in Zambia; and with WFP for promoting school gardens.

Programme 2.2.2: Food and Agricultural Information

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 33,917  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers (980)  
  Final Programme of Work 32,937  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 32,924  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 13  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work (2.9%)  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 12,131  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 0  
  TCP delivery 3,418  
  Total Field Programme delivery 15,549  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 0.5  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 2,076  


Achievements
192.     The programme addresses FAO’s mandate to meet the needs of Members and the international community for comprehensive information through the collection of food and agricultural statistics relating to production, trade, food supply and consumption, as well as other socio-economic statistics related to agriculture. It also provides assistance at the national level in building capacity to electronically disseminate information and in strengthening statistical and technical information systems.

  • The modernisation of FAOSTAT, funded from arrears, resulted in development of new statistical frameworks, improved methodology and data quality; a statistical metadata system; new techniques for compiling, processing and disseminating data; and CountrySTAT (see box).
  • The major FAO statistical publications were combined into one FAO Statistical Yearbook 2005 in two issues, and regional yearbooks were published.
  • The data domain on prices received by farmers was reactivated in 2004 after a break of several years and has been updated in 2005.
  • The World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2010 was released to help countries plan their agricultural censuses during the period 2006-2015.
  • The new “Ask FAO” Service and Web site on “Best Practices” were released.
  • Guidelines, tools, standards and a Web Publishing Guide were developed to improve access to FAO’s wealth of information in WAICENT. User access increased from 40 million monthly hits (1.5 million monthly visits) at the end of 2003, to 100 million monthly hits (over 4 million monthly visits) by the end of 2005 (see box).
  • FAO publications were widely disseminated through the Corporate Document Repository, with 6,400 documents added to the catalogue during the biennium.
  • The strategic programme on Bridging the Rural Digital Divide (222S2) was launched to enhance the role of knowledge exchange and access to information in combating hunger and poverty and a new Web site was developed. Collaborative networks have been developed and strengthened, including a new vision for the International Information System for the Agricultural Sciences and Technology (AGRIS) formulated through an expert consultation.
  • More modules of the information management resource kit (IMARK) were published, and a new co-published Web site was launched including online versions of the modules (see extrabudgetary support).
  • Through the United Nations System Electronic Information Acquisition Consortium (UNSEIAC), enhanced access to electronic information resources by decentralized offices was pursued, and the FAO Library collaborated with over 55 participating institutions which shared the joint purchase of expensive electronic knowledge resources, thus reducing costs and extending access throughout the UN system.


Regional impacts
193.     National Demonstration Centres were established to strengthen the capacity of national statistical organizations in the design, collection, processing, analysis and dissemination of food insecurity statistics from their National Household Surveys. Partnerships with relevant regional institutions were strengthened in Latin America and the Caribbean and in the Near East for pilot national AGRIS networks, and for pilot rural information and communication systems. Regional publications included: Selected Indicators for Food and Agriculture for Arab States 1999-2003; Africa Statistical Yearbook and Selected Indicators of Food and Agriculture 1993 – 2003; and Selected Indicators of Food and Agriculture Development in Asia and Pacific Region 1994 – 2004.

Extrabudgetary resources
194.     Over 40 partner and collaborating institutions contributed resources to the development of the suite of IMARK e-learning modules through the provision of funds, expertise, peer reviews and dissemination at international and national levels. Extrabudgetary contributions to the latest IMARK modules exceeded 60% of the total costs of development including adaptation to other languages. Two major new modules, one in support of national food security information systems, and the other in support of right to food were initiated in 2005 and are fully funded by extrabudgetary contributions.


FAOSTAT and CountrySTAT

With funding from arrears, FAOSTAT has been redeveloped in its methodological framework, processing and dissemination systems as well as its coverage, classifications, statistical and meta databases to provide more updated and reliable statistics. FAOSTAT is the world’s only comprehensive and fully integrated agricultural statistical database providing access to over 3 million time-series and cross-section data items relating to food and agriculture for 210 countries and more than 250 primary products and inputs. Its new national version, CountrySTAT, is being developed and deployed in a number of pilot countries (Ghana, Kenya and Kyrgyzstan), providing a two-way access between national and international statistics on food and agriculture. The FAOSTAT and CountrySTAT family of databases are organised in modules around an analytical core that brings together and integrates the data contained in thematic databases covering areas such as agricultural production, consumption, trade, prices and resources.



World Agricultural Information Centre (WAICENT)

The auto-evaluation revealed the overall appreciation of the WAICENT programme by external users, who find FAO's Web site a very relevant resource; full text publications and statistics are particularly appreciated. One key finding was the very wide variety of searching skills and interests by target audiences, setting the stage for the "Ask FAO" question-and-answer service and the future formation of thematic knowledge networks. Another major achievement spurred by the evaluation was better knowledge of user profiles according to region, improvement of traffic analysis, and update of the WAICENT portal.


Programme 2.2.3: Food and Agricultural Monitoring, Assessments and Outlooks

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 15,119  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers 485  
  Final Programme of Work 15,604  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 15,599  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 5  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work 3.2%  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 2,850  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 395  
  TCP delivery 108  
  Total Field Programme delivery 3,353  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 0.2  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 652  


Achievements
195.     The programme serves to meet Members’ requirements for regular and timely flows of information on, and assessments of, the current food supply/demand situation and the outlook for agricultural commodities, and for strategic analyses and perspectives on longer-term food and agriculture and food security at national, regional and global levels. Main achievements in the biennium include:

  • First joint publication of global OECD-FAO26 Agricultural Outlook 2005-2014 (see box).
  • Publication of the first issue of the new FAO flagship publication, State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO).
  • Publication of the second issue of the new style Commodity Market Review (CMR) which concentrates exclusively on in-depth analyses of major issues identified by FAO as crucial to world agricultural commodity market developments.
  • Development of a new global multi-commodity projections model, Commodity Simulation Model (COSIMO), which is a joint venture with OECD.
  • GIEWS carried out 33 crop and food supply assessments and provided the international community with 26 special alerts on on various subjects in Africa, Asia, Central and Latin America.
  • Web-based reporting of food crises and monitoring has been much improved. The GIEWS Web site has been completely redesigned and, as of 2004, became available in the five main languages of the Organization.
  • Two editions of the State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) were published focusing on a single major theme (see box).


Regional impacts
196.     Regional SOFAs were prepared for Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean and they were presented in FAO’s regional conferences as well as in meetings of the African Union.

Extrabudgetary resources
197.     The scope, comprehensiveness and quality of the crop and food supply assessment mission (CFSAM) reports have been enhanced by methodological improvements financed from donors.


OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2005-2014

This biennium saw the development of a completely new analytical tool for use in conducting medium-term projections and commodity and trade policy analyses for basic foodstuffs in full collaboration with the OECD. This unique example of cross-agency, as well as intra-divisional, collaboration culminated in the joint publication of OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2005-2014. FAO has taken the lead in developing the assessments and modules of the analytical framework and thus used its comparative advantage to ensure that the medium term outlooks that used to be carried out every 5-7 years can now be done every year. Moreover, because the resource and expertise base on which the analysis is based is much larger than any available to either of the institutions, the assessments have now become even more reliable.



The State of Food and Agriculture

The 2004 and the 2005 SOFAs are widely cited and used by the international development community including academics, research centres and donor countries. The 2004 SOFA report on Agricultural biotechnology: meeting the needs of the poor? was endorsed by more than 650 independent scientists and economists from around the world. The report won a prestigious award for Quality of Communications from the American Agricultural Economics Association and was selected as a "consensus scientific document" by the Netherlands-based organization GreenFacts. Several chapters from the report are being reprinted in the Edgar Elgar series Critical Writings in Economics. The 2005 SOFA report on Agricultural trade and poverty: can trade work for the poor? was also widely cited and, like the 2004 SOFA, is being used in class rooms for teaching. Many sections are reprinted as book chapters. Continuous requests for presentations are received and SOFA has one of the highest number of hits on FAO's Web page.


Programme 2.2.4: Agriculture, Food Security and Trade Policy

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 13,024  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers (195)  
  Final Programme of Work 12,829  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 12,819  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 10  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work (1.5%)  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 12,501  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 3,851  
  TCP delivery 1,547  
  Total Field Programme delivery 17,899  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 1.4  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 1,387  


Achievements
198.     This programme aims at sustainable improvements in the standard of living and nutritional status of the whole population, taking full advantage of the contributions made by agriculture to economic and rural development and to the reduction of poverty and food insecurity. Achievements include:

  • Policies considering new trends in food systems were explored through two workshops and publications, including the electronic journal e-JADE.
  • An international dialogue on "Agricultural and Rural Development in the 21st Century: Lessons from the Past and Policies for the Future", was held in Beijing.
  • Technical assistance was provided on design and implementation of social safety nets, including in the context of right to food, drawing lessons in order to inform FAO scale up of SPFS.
  • Publication of over 10 technical notes and policy briefs on a variety of trade negotiations issues, organisation of eight regional workshops covering a variety of negotiating issues, and convening of several informal expert round tables held in Geneva to directly reach trade negotiators.
  • Several expert consultations on commodity markets and policy were organised.
  • Collaboration with other international institutions was increased, notably with the World Bank and WFP.


Regional impacts
199.     Several aras of work had a regional focus.

  • A volume for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Current and Emerging Issues for Economic Analysis and Policy Research (CUREMIS) series was published.
  • Two projects were carried out in Central America exploring the issue of linking small farmers to modern distribution chains and catalysing the formation of coalitions among various stakeholders.
  • Technical contributions were made to regional workshops in Asia on the roles of international trade and food reserves in achieving food security.
  • Case studies on evaluation of food security strategies were carried out in Bhutan and Mozambique, and case studies on protracted crises were carried out in Afghanistan and Sudan.
  • Support to SADC to prepare for the Extraordinary Summit on Agriculture and Food Security held in Dar-es-Salaam.
  • Implementation of immediate responses to food needs through safety nets have expanded from Latin America to other regions.
  • An assessment of early warning systems in three subregions in Africa was prepared.
  • The Caribbean Regional Food Security Programme contributed to repositioning agriculture in the region.


Extrabudgetary resources
200.     Extrabudgetary support was provided for several activities.

  • Technical and financial support was provided to governments to introduce food security into the PRSPs and other national policy initiatives with support from the FNPP. Case studies received support from the European Commission.
  • Extrabudgetary support provided by Japan funded The Roles of Agriculture project. Support was also provided by the Norway FAO Partnership Programme.
  • Work on 'fair trade' was increased significantly, aided by major external funding.
  • Over 10 expert consultations on a variety of WTO negotiation issues were conducted with extrabudgetary funding.
  • Field projects were implemented in Africa, the Near East and Asia for improving food security information systems and vulnerability assessments for food policy formulation and appropriate food security interventions. Regional food security programmes have also received support.
  • Progress made in strengthening food security need assessments jointly with WFP, creating synergies between both organizations. Additional technical partnerships have been developed with OCHA, FEWS NET27 and UNICEF. Support from the EC, the FNPP and USAID have expanded FAO's capacity in the field.


Major Programme 2.3: Fisheries

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 47,222  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers 75  
  Final Programme of Work 47,297  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 47,263  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 34  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work 0.2%  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 36,906  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 16,839  
  TCP delivery 7,458  
  Total Field Programme delivery 61,204  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 1.3  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 5,274  


207.     During the biennium activities were intensified by the Fisheries Department to develop and manage fisheries and aquaculture on a long-term sustainable basis within the framework of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) and other related international, regional and national fishery instruments. Tremendous efforts were made in emergency relief and rehabilitation following the Tsunami disaster at the end of 2004.

Programme 2.3.1: Fisheries Information

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 7,573  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers 175  
  Final Programme of Work 7,748  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 7,740  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 8  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work 2.3%  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 1,477  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 0  
  TCP delivery 94  
  Total Field Programme delivery 1,571  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 0.2  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 330  


Achievements
208.     This programme provides comprehensive information and statistics on fisheries and aquaculture to Members in support of analysis, policy-making and planning, under the framework of the Strategy for Improving Information on Status and Trends of Capture Fisheries (Strategy-STF), adopted by the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) and the Council and endorsed by the UNGA in 2003. Although global in scope, the programme relies extensively on formal and informal collaboration with regional fishery bodies (e.g. GFCM, CIFA, CECAF, APFIC, IOTC, WECAFC, RECOFI28) and other institutions. The most significant achievements were:

  • The launching of the FishCode–STF project (supported by funds from Japan, Norway and the USA) dedicated to implementation of the STF (see box).
  • Work to improve the quality of statistics and information in line with the Strategy-STF was continued with the introduction of more detailed classifications for species and commodities, through statistical development utilising ARTFISH, enhancements to FIGIS and FAOSTAT2, through the FIRMS and ASFA Partnerships, the CWP29 and library networks.
  • FIRMS Partnership was established and a system developed to assemble the world's most authoritative and comprehensive information on status and trends of fisheries and fishery resources from ten regional fishery bodies (RFBs) and other intergovernmental agencies (supported by arrears funding).
  • Work on the development of the world's first inventories of fisheries and fishery resources as required by the Strategy-STF was intensified and completed for about half of the world’s marine waters.
  • Methodologies for describing and appraising national fishery statistical methodologies were developed by the FishCode-STF project.
  • The preparation and publication of two volumes of guidelines for designing data collection and sharing systems for co-managed fisheries, contributing as lead authors to the fishery section of the Food Chapter in the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, finalisation of the Handbook of Fishery Statistical Standards (CWP - HFSS) for publication on the Web, and leading preparation of Part 1 of the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA).
  • A marked growth in use of FIGIS, based on analysis of usage statistics and as noted by an auto/evaluation undertaken in 2004.
  • The ASFA database reached one million records, usage continued to grow and a professional librarian association rated again ASFA as the world's premier bibliographic database for aquatic sciences and fisheries.
  • Hosting of the 31st Annual Conference of the International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centres (IAMSLIC) which gave extensive exposure to Fisheries Department information outputs and activities, particularly in relation to the Code of Conduct.


Regional impacts
209.     Regional impacts were observed under some global programmes. The ASFA Partnership expanded with new partners for Indonesia, IOTC, Mauritania, SPC, Senegal, Iran and Nigeria. The FIRMS Partnership expanded with CCAMLR, EUROSTAT, NAFO and SEAFDEC30 joining.

210.     In the Asia-Pacific region, technical input was provided to a regional project on "Strengthening capacity in fishery information gathering" with Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Timor-Leste. In partnership with SEAFDEC, technical advice was given for the collection and analysis of the ASEAN countries. Through APFIC, technical advice was provided on fisheries information and statistics, particularly as they relate to "trash fish". A regional TCP on "Addressing the quality of information on inland fisheries" was initiated and implemented. A regional fishery statistics workshop for southeast Asian countries was held by the FishCode-STF project in collaboration with SEAFDEC. In China, technical assistance and financial support was given to undertake two pilot sample surveys on fishery statistics collection in major ports, and a Chinese version of the "Guidelines for routine collection of capture fishery data" was published.

211.     In the South Pacific subregion, support was provided for the improvement of statistics on coastal and subsistence fisheries and aquaculture and a joint SPC/FAO regional training workshop on fisheries management and statistics was held. A TCP on "Strengthening coastal fisheries legislation" in the Pacific Island States of Micronesia was implemented and a joint SPC/WPRFMC/FAO regional workshop on fisheries legislation and community-based fisheries management was held with a fishery statistics session as part of the programme. There was a study on improving data collections and fishery statistics in the Federated States of Micronesia.

212.     In Latin America, a TCP was implemented which had a component to enhance the fishery statistics in Guatemala and the project helped to establish a data base and protocols to raise information at selected small scale fisheries' landing places. Another TCP was implemented to strengthen fisheries and aquaculture statistics in Brazil, and a review was conducted at the request of the Government of Argentine on strengthening statistics system in support of fisheries management.

213.     In the African region, technical assistance was delivered to selected countries for capacity-building in fishery statistics collection, processing and analysis through expert missions and workshops in Angola and Sao Tome. Georgia was assisted in the implementation of statistical systems for artisanal fisheries. A national workshop on statistical methodologies was conducted for Lebanon.

Extrabudgetary resources
214.     France provided an APO to work on FIGIS/FIRMS. The UK Department for International Development (DFID)/MRAG provided funds for the preparation and publication of the guidelines for designing data collection and sharing systems for co-managed fisheries. The ASFA trust fund obtained contributions for its enhancement, particularly in developing countries, from the ASFA Publisher for royalties on its sale. The project "Training in fishery statistical information management" was implemented in Vietnam.


Project Launched to Improve Monitoring of Status and Trends of Fisheries

To promote and support implementation of the STF, the FishCode-STF project was launched in late 2004 supported by funding from Japan, Norway and the USA. The project aims at developing inventories, methodologies and operational guidelines for improved status and trends reporting, including in the use of small-scale fisheries and Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF). Field activities of the project aim at capacity-building in developing countries, improvement of national fisheries monitoring systems and strengthening RFBs in respect of fisheries information.

During 2005 the Project has co-organised three major international meetings jointly with other agencies, including one regional workshop for South-East Asia (with SEAFDEC), one global workshop on the role of RFBs in Strategy–STF implementation (with CWP), and one global workshop on interdisciplinary assessments for small-scale fisheries (with WFC).


Programme 2.3.2: Fisheries Resources and Aquaculture

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 12,358  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers 370  
  Final Programme of Work 12,728  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 12,718  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 10  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work 3.0%  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 11,655  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 1  
  TCP delivery 2,649  
  Total Field Programme delivery 14,305  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 1.1  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 1,870  


Achievements
215.     Programme 2.3.2 assists Members in ensuring the sustainable contribution of marine and inland water fisheries and aquaculture to food supply, food security and general economic growth with due regard to the state of resources and the ecosystem. During the 2004-05 biennium, the programme was largely implemented as planned.

216.     Regarding marine capture fisheries, the programme contributed to:

  • Better identification of resources, including a catalogue of the sharks of the world, and development of global information systems such as FIGIS and FIRMS.
  • Adaptation and integration of resources assessment methodology, for example in relation to risk assessment for listing fishery species in CITES31, and development of Bayesian methods in stock assessment.
  • Implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries, including production of technical guidelines and analysis of interactions between turtles and fisheries.
  • Improved global monitoring of the world marine fishery resources, such as: updated review of the state of world marine fishery resources; review of highly migratory, straddling and high seas stocks as an input to the 2006 UN Conference on the Fish Stock Agreement.


217.     Regarding inland capture fisheries and aquaculture, the programme contributed to:

  • The development of an improved conceptual basis for responsible development, including responsible use of alien species; review of cage culture; use of world seeds resources; habitat rehabilitation in inland fisheries, surveillance and zoning for aquatic diseases, biosecurity guidelines for shrimp hatcheries and, more generally, interactions between aquaculture and fisheries.
  • The further development of databases and assessment methods through GIS-32 and Web-based information systems; useful biodiversity in rice/fish farming; the Aquatic Animal Pathogen and Quarantine Information System (AAPQIS), developed with the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA); and DIAS, the Database on Introductions of Aquatic Species.
  • Monitoring and reporting at global scale, focusing on a series of regional reviews (40 National Aquaculture Legislation Overviews, 120 National Aquaculture Systems Overviews and 30 aquaculture species fact sheets).


Regional impacts
218.     In Africa, activities on cage culture have raised awareness and promoted this farming system. The result of the regional aquaculture development review for African region has been used by the AfDB to develop a regional programme to promote aquaculture business in the region. Assistance has been provided in resources assessment particularly off West Africa, new projects have been prepared, and funding located, for continuation of the activities in support of the improved assessment and management of fisheries and the furthering of the ecosystem approach to fisheries in the coming years. Close collaboration has also been developed with other GEF-funded projects under a large marine ecosystem context.

219.     In the Asia-Pacific region, studies have been conducted on: the framework for fisheries management in Cambodia; development of best practices in shrimp aquaculture and work on species introduction in shrimp culture; emergency intervention on diseases in koi carp project (Indonesia); a review of stock enhancement practices in the inland water fisheries; organic aquaculture (Vietnam); rice field biodiversity and nutrition (Lao PDR and Thailand); large marine ecosystem management in the Bay of Bengal; and regional review of aquaculture. Assistance was also provided in assessing the impacts of the Tsunami as well as in the relief and rehabilitation activities.

220.     In Latin America and the Caribbean, the programme has generated strong interest in rice-cum-fish farming systems. Assistance has been provided towards implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries in the Lesser Antilles, the International Plan of Action (IPOA) on Sharks and EAF in general.

221.     Globally, the programme has continued to give priority to more demanding issues of particularly vulnerable deep sea and other straddling and high seas fishery resources of global interest. It has pursued the implementation of EAF in the Caribbean, South West Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, as well as in West and Southwest Africa and the Lesser Antilles. The programme has also initiated, in collaboration with WFC an "Approach to interdisciplinary assessment of small-scale fisheries". A global review of the state of aquaculture has been undertaken, through a series of regional reviews and a global synthesis. The document has been used by the World Bank for its concept paper on aquaculture. The increased international awareness on the state of exploitation of living marine resources and the need to promote EAF has exceeded expectations. An updated and upgraded world review of the state of world fishery resources was issued during the biennium and special attention has been requested from the UN regarding analyses of the state of highly migratory, straddling and other high seas resources, vulnerable shark and deep sea resources.

Extrabudgetary resources
222.     In general, synergies between normative and operational activities have been facilitated by various GCP projects (funded by Italy, Japan, Norway and Spain) and have been effective in enabling both the projects and related programme entities to achieve their respective goals and objectives. The programme has maintained and developed cooperation and partnership with selected universities, museums and research centres, for example for work on species identification and resources assessment. Some important activities were carried out in partnership with other international and regional organizations, governmental or non-governmental, such as IMO, NACA, WWF, IUCN, CBD, FEAP33, WFC, etc.


Aquaculture Networks

Responding to the recommendations by the COFI Sub-Committee on Aquaculture, consultations were undertaken to explore the potential for establishing aquaculture networks, like NACA, in other parts of the world, which was welcomed in all regions. In November 2004, the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Eastern Europe (NACEE), with a membership of 31 institutions from 13 Central and Eastern Europe countries was established. HAKI, the Hungarian Research Institute for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Irrigation became the Coordinating Institute. The establishment of such networks in Latin America and Africa is ongoing.


Programme 2.3.3: Fisheries Exploitation and Utilisation

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 9,882  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers (325)  
  Final Programme of Work 9,557  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 9,550  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 7  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work (3.3%)  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 2,203  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 16,624  
  TCP delivery 2,517  
  Total Field Programme delivery 21,344  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 2.2  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 1,367  


Achievements
223.     This programme supports the improvement of responsible and sustainable fish production, utilisation and trade within the framework of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. The programme aims at reducing the environmental impacts of fishing gears, reducing wastage in fisheries, promoting sustainable and effective utilisation of fisheries resources and responsible fish trade. The most significant achievements were:

  • Methodology for the assessment of discards in fisheries and re-estimation of global discards.
  • Studies on the impact of fishing gear on environment.
  • Training workshops and publications on the use of "Turtle excluder devices (TEDs) and bycatch reduction devices (BRDs)".
  • Updated guidelines to avoid incidental catch of seabirds.
  • Four regional workshops on vessel monitoring system (VMS).
  • Revised Code of Safety for fishermen and fishing vessels.
  • South Pacific regional meeting on sea safety.
  • Case studies and local/national workshops on micro-enterprise development for small-scale fishing communities and on microfinance for women.
  • Experimentation and dissemination of appropriate technologies to improve fish preservation and utilisation for human consumption.
  • Technical assistance and training in safety and quality systems, traceability and risk analysis.
  • Technical assistance and training in main trade issues of relevance to fisheries within the framework of the WTO Doha Development Round.
  • Successful organisation of the regional workshop of African fish technology experts and of the 6th World Congress of Seafood Trade and Safety.


Regional impacts
224.     While more focus was on aquaculture in Asia and to some extent Latin America, support in Africa was mainly on marine capture fisheries. Likewise, regional collaboration and network strengthening was the focus in Asia, while more national undertakings were implemented in Africa and the Near East.

225.     Two regional workshops on microfinance (in support of the sustainable development of inland capture fisheries and the rehabilitation of fisheries and aquaculture in Tsunami-affected countries) and a technical consultation on sea turtles conservation and fisheries were held in Asia in collaboration with national fisheries officers and representatives from financial institutions. In Africa, a consultation of fish technology experts was held in Tanzania, and a regional workshop on bycatch in shrimp trawling and the ecosystem approach to fisheries management was held in Mozambique within the framework of the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC).

226.     In the Caribbean, a regional workshop was held on the use of socio-economic and demographic information in fisheries and coastal area management, including an inter-regional exposure visit of fisheries officers from the Caribbean to the Philippines and Malaysia. Preparatory work was made for the preparation of technical guidelines on good aquaculture practices and hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) in aquaculture and their dissemination through regional workshops in Asia and Latin America. These activities resulted in increased awareness regarding the impact of fishing operations on the environment, strengthened support to small-scale fisheries, market access issues, sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), technical barriers to trade (TBT) and traceability with greater opportunities for FAO work in this area.

227.     Major contributions towards the restoration of fish production following the Tsunami which affected (end 2004) countries bordering the Indian Ocean enabled these countries to resume fishing and develop national strategies for responsible fisheries management.

Extrabudgetary resources
228.     Activities under this programme were enhanced by several TCP projects in Africa, extrabudgetary resources from GEF, Sweden, the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and The Hanseatic City of Bremen, partnerships with UNIDO, WTO, WHO, and collaboration with the Fish InfoServices and the Globefish partners.

229.     These resources and partnerships contributed to the implementation of normative activities related to improved safety and efficiency of small-scale fishing operations as well as in improved disaster preparedness and impact assessment in fishing communities. High levels of synergy were drawn between these activities and the emergency assistance following the Tsunami, particularly related damage assessments, fishing vessel design and construction, safety at sea, etc.

230.     The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)-funded project on WTO and fisheries, enabled the organisation of three regional workshops in West Africa to address the issue of market access requirements and negotiations under the framework of WTO. Three major CFC-funded projects on fish value addition technology were implemented in Latin America, Near East and Asia and support to prepare similar projects for Africa and Near East was provided.


Tsunami

The Fisheries Department has supported affected countries in addressing the direct and indirect impacts of the December 2004 Tsunami on fisheries and aquaculture. This support has taken three forms. First, in providing technical advice and support to flash appeal projects largely aimed at rebuilding people’s livelihoods by supplying critical inputs such as vessels, fishing and processing equipment and rebuilding associated service industries and infrastructure. Second, in supporting governments in the coordination of the large number of assistance agencies, mostly NGOs, in their relief and rehabilitation efforts, not least to ensure sustainable levels of fishing capacity rehabilitation and the supply of good quality equipment and facilities. Third, in assisting Tsunami-impacted countries to develop and implement longer-term strategies and projects aimed at building a sustainable future for fisheries and aquaculture resource users. This latter role is part of the ongoing work of the Fisheries Department focusing on supporting better fisheries management and aquaculture development through implementing the CCRF.


Programme 2.3.4: Fisheries Policy

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 11,406  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers (325)  
  Final Programme of Work 11,081  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 11,074  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 7  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work (2.8%)  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 21,571  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 214  
  TCP delivery 2,198  
  Total Field Programme delivery 23,984  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 2.2  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 1,593  


Achievements
231.     The programme aims at promoting the implementation of the CCRF including inland fisheries and aquaculture. It focuses on the social and economic aspects of capture fisheries and aquaculture, the analysis, development of appropriate policies and management strategies for the sector and the strengthening of governance in fisheries. The most significant achievements include:

  • The publication and dissemination of SOFIA 2004.
  • Increased awareness on negative aspects of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and the development of numbers of national plans of action to combat this blight.
  • The adoption of guidelines for the ecolabelling of fish and fishery products from marine capture fisheries.
  • Development and preparation of reviews on specific issues of particular interest globally and for the regions, particularly on the impact of commercial aquaculture on economic growth, poverty alleviation and the achievement of food security in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
  • More involvement of fishers in the fisheries management processes and strategy for increasing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security.
  • Establishment of new RFBs and acknowledgment of their increased role played in implementing the CCRF. Special efforts were undertaken to strengthen FAO RFBs and increase their efficiency as well as to improve and enhance cooperation between all FAO and non-FAO RFBs.
  • Successful organisation of regional and national workshops on the development of the Plan of Action on IUU and Capacity with particular emphasis on training.
  • Successful assistance provided to Members on fisheries policy and management strategy formulation, directly from headquarters or through regional or subregional offices and in coordination with FAORs where appropriate.


Regional impacts
232.     Many countries already cooperate regionally in fisheries matters of common concern through both FAO and non-FAO regional organizations. Where such organizations exist, and where there is a history of cooperation, efforts towards the implementation of the CCRF are a logical extension of ongoing arrangements. A regional approach may be absolutely essential in many parts of the world given the degree of shared fisheries and level of fishers migration. It is particularly important also to address the issues of access control and vessel monitoring and initiatives under the programme which have been leading to increased collaboration in this respect, particularly in West Africa.

233.     Capacity-building exercises and related activities have been sponsored and carried out in 2004-05, such as raising awareness of the CCRF through workshops, meetings and special publications (e.g. SEAFDEC Region - Consultation on Regionalisation of the Code of Conduct) and also through direct assistance to countries for the development of national plans of action. Such was the case in Central America, at the level of the Organización del Sector Pesquero y Acuícola del Istmo Centroamericano of (OSPESCA) as well as in several member countries of the Organización Latinoamericana de Desarrollo Pesquero (OLDEPESCA) for the development of plans of action to combat IUU fishing, to manage fleet capacity and for the management of sharks. Several workshops on the IPOA on IUU fishing were held in the different regions (Malaysia, October 2004; Trinidad and Tobago, November 2004; Fiji, August 2005; Ghana, October 2005; Egypt, December 2005).

234.     Publication of studies and documents of interest for the regions was also achieved under the programme, such as by RAP on “Increasing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security” and "Mainstreaming fisheries co-management in the Asia Pacific", as well as the preparation of reviews on specific issues of particular interest for the regions. For the preparation of SOFIA, a number of regionally originated issues were selected, taking into account that they had become or might become of global nature.

235.     During the biennium many FAO regional fishery bodies met (e.g. EIFAC, CECAF, GFCM, APFIC, CIFA, IOTC, RECOFI, COPESCAL34; WECAFC, SWIOFC). SWIOFC held its first session in April 2005 and WECAFC adopted new statutes. Meetings were also held between the Secretariats of the FAO RFBs and other RFBs (Fourth Meeting of Regional Fishery Bodies, Rome, March 2005) as well as between the Secretariats and other relevant entities (e.g. the meetings between the APFIC Secretariat and the Mekong River Commission (MRC), NACA, SEAFDEC, WFC.

Extrabudgetary resources
236.     Most of the extrabudgetary resources have been channelled through the FishCode Programme, including from Norway, Sweden, USA, Japan and Finland, to a wide range of field activities that are designed specifically to support the implementation of the CCRF. Other extrabudgetary funding was used to support field work, including TCP funding for activities carried out at the national level, or to provide assistance to RFBs.

237.     A thematic example of activities undertaken under the programme at the national level is the assistance provided for national level planning and policy development in the field of aquaculture, where activities were made possible with TCP and extrabudgetary funding. The results and experiences gained with these activities were integrated in the normative work. In many cases, national, regional and international partners were also requested to contribute (e.g. bilateral donors, NACA, INFOPESCA, World Bank and IUCN), which led to the constitution of a number of very productive partnerships, both formal and informal.


Sustainable Fisheries Livelihoods Programme

The Sustainable Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (SFLP) was established as a partnership between the DFID, FAO and 25 countries in West and Central Africa.

Among other outputs, the work of the programme has provided a better and more comprehensive understanding of poverty, vulnerability and social exclusion among people engaged in fishing-related activities. It highlighted, in particular, that in order to achieve responsible fisheries, development interventions would need to address the factors that most immediately and directly threaten the sustainability of fisherfolk’s livelihoods. Often, these factors are not related to their fishing activities and the status of the resource, nor are they specific to fishing communities. Rather, they apply - to a greater or lesser degree - to the poor in general, especially to the rural poor living in remote areas with little access to social services, infrastructure and markets.



Arrears Project: Strengthening National Capacity to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing

An arrears project supported the planning and implementation of several activities related to IUU fishing, in particular to convene a series of regional workshops to broaden and deepen the implementation of the 2001 International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA-IUU).

The workshops sought to (i) raise awareness about the deleterious effects of IUU fishing and the need for countries to act in a concerted and decisive manner to combat such fishing; (ii) provide a comprehensive understanding of the IPOA-IUU, its relationship with other international fisheries instruments (e.g.1993 FAO Compliance Agreement and the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement) and its relevance to the fisheries situation in participants’ countries; (iii) define more clearly steps that fisheries administrations should take to develop national plans of action on IUU; and (iv) share information about the merits of harmonising measures on a regional basis to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing.


Major Programme 2.4: Forestry

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 35,374  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers 775  
  Final Programme of Work 36,149  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 36,117  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 32  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work 2.2%  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 36,879  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 440  
  TCP delivery 8,759  
  Total Field Programme delivery 46,078  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 1.3  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 4,797  


245.     Sustainable forest management has three main dimensions: environmental, economic and social which are addressed under Major Programme 2.4. Programme 2.4.1: Forest Resources addresses the environmental and production functions of forests, including key aspects of forest conservation and management. Programme 2.4.2: Forest Products and Economics addresses the economic functions of forests promoting rational use of the forest and encouraging appropriate valuation of forest goods and services. Programme 2.4.3: Forestry Policy and Institutions focuses on the social and institutional dimensions of forests and finally, Programme 2.4.4: Forestry Information and Liaison, provides cross-cutting support to the other three technical programmes, while coordinating FAO contributions to major international initiatives in forestry including the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF).

Programme 2.4.1: Forest Resources

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 9,131  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers 375  
  Final Programme of Work 9,506  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 9,497  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 9  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work 4.1%  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 20,515  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 415  
  TCP delivery 4,076  
  Total Field Programme delivery 25,006  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 2.6  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 2,068  


Achievements
246.     This programme addresses the environmental and production functions of forests, including key aspects of forest conservation and management, as well as established work on forest resource assessments, with the following key achievements in the biennium.

  • Consultative multi-stakeholder processes were initiated to develop voluntary Codes for Planted Forests and for Fire Management.
  • The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 was finalised, involving 880 people in the preparation of the world’s most comprehensive forest assessment to date, covering all countries and reporting on progress towards sustainable forest management.
  • Capacity-building through the organisation of courses in Community Based Fire Management was initiated in Southern Africa and Latin America in partnership with the Global Fire Monitoring Centre and the Nature Conservancy.
  • Support to national forest assessments was completed in four countries, and initiated in another 20, all in developing regions. A knowledge reference was developed in partnership with the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU).
  • FAO played an active role in the development of a global initiative on forest landscape restoration, in collaboration with countries, civil society, and the private sector.
  • FAO assumed a leading role in providing technical support to the climate change negotiations and the Secretariat of the UNFCCC35, as well as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and in building capacity and providing information to countries on implementing the Kyoto Protocol in regard to forests.
  • As a result of a global watershed management review, four case studies have been published (Burundi, Latin America, Mediterranean Area, Nepal) and five proceedings volumes were prepared for the regional workshops in Arequipa, Kathmandu, Megève, Nairobi and the international conference in Sardinia.
  • Support to Low Forest Cover Countries (LFCC) continued through a regional study on tree, forest and rangeland data availability and national capacities, involving seven countries of the Near East (Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen). The study aimed at designing a regional project on forest and rangeland policies improvement and harmonisation.


Regional impacts
247.     Include:

  • A study on Excellence in forest management in the Asia-Pacific region identified 28 cases of exemplary forestry practices which were shared throughout the region in one of the most widely-distributed FAO forestry publications in history.
  • A regional network on invasive species was established under the leadership of the African Forestry and Wildlife Commission.
  • A regional and two subregional strategies for collaboration on forest fire management in the Latin American and the Caribbean Region have been developed and are in the process of implementation (see box below).
  • FAO continued to play an active role in promoting collaboration among LFCC, including co-sponsorship of a major workshop in Mali with the participation of African and Near East countries; capacity-building support was provided to seven Near East countries.
  • The North American and European Forestry Commissions made significant progress in cooperation on watershed management.
  • Silva Mediterranea was re-activated with a successful meeting in Morocco.
  • Regional reviews of national State of forest genetic resources were published on FAO's Web site.
  • Regional workshops promoted implementation of the clean development mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto protocol on forests.


Extrabudgetary resources
248.     In 2004-05:

  • The Mountain Partnership Secretariat was established, hosted by FAO and funded by Switzerland and Italy.
  • The “Acacia Operation” funded by Italy, has made important advances. Plantations have been established in more then 100 sites in six countries, covering more than 6000 ha.
  • The ten-year "Fouta Djallon highlands integrated natural resources management" was approved for funding by GEF with FAO as executing agency in eight countries in West Africa.
  • Training in community-based fire management was implemented in Africa and Latin America in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy.
  • Support from Sweden, the Netherlands and TCP enabled FAO to assist Guatemala, Cameroon, Lebanon and the Philippines in completing national forest assessments; “Integrated land use assessments” including forests and other lands were initiated in Zambia and Kenya; climate change workshops were held in Central America.
  • Resources from Spain enabled FAO to revitalise its support to Latin American countries in national parks and protected areas management, as a way to contribute to biological diversity conservation.
  • TCP projects supported country efforts to increase planted forests, including community forests, sustainable mountain development, watershed management, and improved forest health and support wildland fire management.



Cooperation for the Prevention, Control and Fight against Forest Fires in Latin America and the Caribbean

A regional TCP project was implemented with the objective of strengthening the capacity of the Latin America and the Caribbean countries to prevent and manage forest fires. The project involved participation from all countries in the region through a series of sub-regional workshops and at the Pan American Conference on Wildland Fires in San José, Costa Rica, in October 2004. This Conference brought together the heads of 28 National Forestry Agencies from throughout North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. In the San José Declaration, the countries agreed to develop regional and sub-regional strategies for fire cooperation. Subsequently, the countries in the region succeeded in meeting the objectives of the project. In fact, the regional effort led to approval of a process to begin developing a global strategy by the Third Ministerial Meeting on Forests and the 17th Session of the Committee on Forestry when they met at Rome in March 2005.


Programme 2.4.2: Forest Products and Economics

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 9,193  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers (35)  
  Final Programme of Work 9,158  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 9,157  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 1  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work (0.4%)  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 1,847  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 7  
  TCP delivery 1,123  
  Total Field Programme delivery 2,977  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 0.3  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 821  


Achievements
249.     This programme addresses the sustainable harvesting, processing and utilisation of wood and non-wood forests products (NWFPs), as well as the economic functions of forests; with the following key achievements in the biennium.

  • The European and the Latin American Forest Sector Outlook Studies were completed.
  • Substantial progress was made in implementing the Forestry Outlook Study for West and Central Asia, including the preparation of 20 country outlook papers, and the various thematic studies. Five workshops were organised to improve national capacities in strategic planning.
  • A global assessment of the trends and current status of the contribution of the forestry sector to income and employment was completed and the results disseminated widely.
  • Data on forest products statistics were collected, compiled, synthesised and disseminated as the Forest Products Yearbook.
  • Collaboration with the private sector was enhanced through the Advisory Committee on Paper and Wood Products.
  • Technical information on NWFPs, wood energy and forest harvesting was analysed and disseminated.


Regional impacts
250.     In 2004-05:

  • The regional forest sector outlook studies have catalysed action at the national and regional levels. The Forestry Outlook Study for Africa formed the basis of the forestry component of NEPAD-CAADP.
  • The European Forestry Sector Outlook Study has formed the basis of a series of discussions on forest policy issues including research priorities in Europe.
  • The code for environmentally-sustainable harvesting of wood has been adapted to the specific needs of Africa, and efforts have been made to enhance its use by various stakeholders. Country-level codes of forest harvesting are under preparation in the Indochina subregion, based on the regional code for Asia and the Pacific.


Extrabudgetary resources
251.     Include:

  • Taking advantage of the findings of the Forestry Outlook Study for Africa, FAO in partnership with the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry and the African Academy of Sciences developed a joint programme “Lessons learnt on sustainable forest management in Africa” with a focus on building country capacity.
  • FAO is a major player in the multidonor Liberia Forestry Initiative helping to improve and rationalise the system of forest concession management (see box below).
  • FAO is a key partner in the Asian Development Bank’s regional initiative “Poverty alleviation in upland communities through improved community and industrial forestry”.
  • FAO and Japan completed the project "Impact assessment of forest products trade in the promotion of sustainable forest management".
  • The German trust fund project “Enhancing food security through non-wood forest products in Central Africa” created synergy among international donor agencies, research institutes, NGOs, private sector and governments, and raised awareness of the importance of NWFPs as an integral part of sustainable forest management.



Liberia Forest Initiative (LFI)

The Liberia Forest Initiative (LFI) was established in 2004 as a multi-agency partnership to assist with forestry sector reforms in Liberia. The LFI comprises 20 international partners, including the World Bank, IMF, US Government, IUCN, FAO and the EC. The purpose of the LFI is to promote and assist with reforms in the Liberian forestry sector that will result in the transparent management of forest resources and to ensure that these resources are used for the benefit of the Liberian people. LFI support to Liberian forestry sector reform is organised around three main themes: commercial forestry, community forestry and conservation. In addition, the LFI works on cross-cutting issues, such as: governance and the rule of law; transparency and information management; policy development; legislation; capacity-building; and security. FAO’s contribution to the LFI has been the development of a new forestry policy for Liberia, advice on reforming the forest concession and forest revenue system, support to data collection and maintenance of the LFI Web site.


Programme 2.4.3: Forestry Policy and Institutions

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 5,788  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers 420  
  Final Programme of Work 6,208  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 6,202  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 6  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work 7.3%  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 10,355  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 18  
  TCP delivery 3,560  
  Total Field Programme delivery 13,933  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 2.2  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 1,527  


Achievements
252.     This programme focuses on the social and institutional dimensions of forests, with due attention to capacity-building, with the following key achievements.

  • Through TCP projects and the National Forest Programme Facility, 50 countries were supported in implementing their national forest programmes, with emphasis on civil society participation and capacity-building.
  • 27 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America were assisted in updating, modernising and reinforcing their institutional structures within the forestry sector and public service administrations that impact forests.
  • "Best practices for improving law compliance in the forest sector", developed jointly with the International Tropical Timber Organization, illustrates concrete steps countries are taking to combat illegal logging and trade.
  • "Microfinance and forest-based small-scale enterprises” was published, describing the specific microfinance needs of small, forest-based enterprises.
  • Assistance was provided to seven countries in revising their forest policies and operational procedures to facilitate greater involvement of civil society.
  • Legislation on forest management planning by smallholders and communities of over 40 countries was analysed to promote community forest management.


Regional impacts
253.     Comprise:

  • The Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission studied the impact of the policy environment on commercial and public investment in forest plantations, which underscored the importance of clear, consistent and stable policies and a favourable investment climate for the development of forest plantations.
  • In Latin America, capacity of foresters in financing forest stewardship and management was strengthened through new and innovative tools.
  • In Southeast Asia, a comprehensive study on forest tenure arrangements led to a major report on tenure and sustainable livelihoods.
  • In Eastern and Southern Africa, awareness was raised about cross-sectoral linkages in forestry through subregional workshops.


Extrabudgetary resources
254.     Include:

  • Through assistance from the Government of the Netherlands, eleven countries and two regional organizations were supported in revising forest policies and legislation, strengthening forest law enforcement and increasing the participation of stakeholders.
  • Forestry Officials in Ghana, Uganda and Guyana were trained in participatory approaches in forestry through assistance from the United Kingdom.
  • Through collaboration with the National Forest Programme (NFP-Facility), capacity-building on national forest programmes training has been carried out in Facility partner countries, thus strengthening stakeholder participation in NFP implementation in these countries (see box).
  • The partnership with the International Tropical Timber Organization was crucial in developing and disseminating best practices for improving law compliance in the forest sector.
  • Extrabudgetary support from the Government of Norway provided the basis for capacity-building, policy support and assistance to 12 countries seeking to employ community-based participatory methods to assess the market potential for small-scale enterprise based on forest products.



The National Forest Programme Facility

The Facility is a funding mechanism hosted by FAO to support to active stakeholder participation at country level in the development and implementation of national forest programmes, with a focus on capacity-building and information sharing. It also offers information services on NFPS worldwide.

The Facility's trademark is to stimulate participation in the NFP process by providing grants directly to stakeholders in partner countries, based on a competitive and transparent process to call and select proposals by stakeholders interested in Facility support.

Since it was created in 2002, the Facility has developed partnerships with 42 countries and four subregional organizations. During the 2004-05 biennium, the Facility has allocated US$ 3 million under 120 grants to stakeholders, 80% of which are non-governmental. Facility grants supported informed participation of stakeholders in formulating policies and strategies, broadening NFPs to a wide range of topics and developing new legal, fiscal and institutional instruments. The Facility also developed an NFP information platform on the Web and launched dynamic information sharing initiatives on NFPs.


Programme 2.4.4: Forestry Information and Liaison

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 5,457  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers 25  
  Final Programme of Work 5,482  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 5,474  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 8  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work 0.5%  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 4,162  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 0  
  TCP delivery 0  
  Total Field Programme delivery 4,162  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 0.8  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 303  


Achievements
255.     This programme provides cross-cutting support to the other three technical programmes, while covering important information activities and coordinating FAO's contributions to major international initiatives in forestry including the UNFF and the CPF. It had the following key achievements in the biennium.

  • The 17th session of the FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO) was attended by over 600 delegates including 90 national heads of forestry organizations.
  • The 3rd Ministerial Meeting on Forests brought together 47 Ministers responsible for forests who requested FAO to work with partners to develop an international strategy for cooperation on forest fires, and called on countries to take concrete actions to implement sustainable forest management.
  • FAO launched a Web site for featured news stories about forests, publishing over 50 Web stories in the official FAO languages.
  • FAO initiated Infosylva, a unique bi-weekly electronic news service about forests and forestry that has expanded and now counts more than 10,000 subscribers.
  • The State of the World’s Forests 2005 was produced in five languages; over 1,000 requests have been received for copies, in addition to the initial distribution of 10,000 copies to countries, libraries, organizations and individuals.


Regional impacts
256.     During the biennium:

  • The six FAO Regional Forestry Commissions emerged as the most important regional mechanisms for implementing sustainable forest management. Participation in the six Commission sessions in 2004 exceeded 550 people representing 133 countries and 104 organizations.
  • Regional networks to combat invasive species were initiated and supported by FAO in Asia and the Pacific and in Africa.
  • The first Pan American Conference on Wildland Fire, sponsored by the North America and Latin American and Caribbean Forestry Commissions with TCP support, brought together the heads of forestry organizations from 28 countries in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, resulting in a more effective and better coordinated regional approach to forest fire prevention and management.
  • Targeted regional information approaches were strengthened, including new Web sites and publications that focused on key regional issues.


Extrabudgetary resources
257.     Include:

  • The Collaborative Partnership on Forests, a unique coalition of 14 organizations and convention secretariats chaired by FAO, made progress towards streamlined country reporting to international organizations and processes on forests and forestry.
  • FAO developed and hosted a Web site for the Global Forest Information System (GFIS), a forestry research-oriented initiative in partnership with IUFRO.


Major Programme 2.5: Contributions to Sustainable Development and Special Programme Thrusts

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 52,640  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers (280)  
  Final Programme of Work 52,360  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 52,317  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 43  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work (0.5%)  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 83,744  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 13,291  
  TCP delivery 14,226  
  Total Field Programme delivery 111,261  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 2.1  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 8,507  


259.     This major programme ensures an integrated approach to planning, coordinating and monitoring of FAO’s work on sustainable development, with particular emphasis on the social, environmental and human dimensions. It also covers the Regular Programme’s provision for the SPFS, ensuring house-wide coordination of its implementation.

Programme 2.5.1: Research, Natural Resources Management and Technology Transfer

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 17,853  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers 70  
  Final Programme of Work 17,923  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 17,919  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 4  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work 0.4%  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 16,029  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 824  
  TCP delivery 4,360  
  Total Field Programme delivery 21,212  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 1.2  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 3,243  


Achievements
260.     The programme combines the use of environmental analysis, agricultural research and education, extension and communication to assist countries in their sustainable agriculture and natural resources management activities. The main achievements during the biennium were:

  • Development and use of environmental databases and decision support tools for analysis, natural resource management and policy formulation for environmental conventions and agreements including: the Convention on Biodiversity, the Convention to Combat Desertification, the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Commission on Sustainable Development and Small Islands Developing States.
  • Progress in global environmental governance through support to mechanisms to deal with global issues such as loss of biological diversity, climate change and desertification.
  • Assistance to National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) through institutional strengthening and capacity-building; policy formulation and strategic planning; and development of databases on field-tested technologies, funding sources and agricultural research institutions.
  • Support to countries on biotechnology policy formulation, biosafety management and development of a policy knowledge base on biotechnology. The Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) supported regional and subregional fora through electronic means and global research partnership programmes.
  • Assistance to national and agricultural extension systems through policy advice on institutional reform, participatory planning and guidance on technical content. Four information and communication technology networks, including the Virtual Extension and Research Communication Network (VERCON) and its spin-off networks, strengthened the linkages between agricultural research, extension and education systems and rural communities in 49 countries.
  • Bioenergy was recognised as a major international priority during the biennium and addressed by FAO Members. Following technical discussion by COAG and COFO, and consideration by the Council, the 28th FAO Conference endorsed the expansion of bioenergy activities and the establishment of an interdepartmental working group. In addition, UN-Energy, a system-wide coordinating mechanism for Bioenergy was supported with FAO serving as its Vice-chair.
  • Geospatial infrastructure (programme entity 251P1) underwent a comprehensive auto-evaluation which commended the quality of support provided to FAO technical units working with geospatial data for agriculture, forestry and fisheries as well as to the UN system, notably: DPKO, OCHA, UNHCR36 and WFP. Assistance included providing ground- and satellite-based cartographic material in response to the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.
  • Completion of the Food Insecurity, Poverty and Environment Global GIS Database (FGGD) which made available environmental and geospatial information related to poverty and food insecurity, particularly concerning agro-ecological and farming system zones, accessibility to markets and crop and livestock production systems.


Regional impacts
261.     Technical assistance for improving national research and extension systems increased in Africa, Near East and the Asia and the Pacific regions. Two events, "The Green Revolution in Africa" and "Dakar Agricole" were organised to support research and technology in Africa. Asian Bio-Net, a network of Asian countries collaborating in biosafety capacity-building, analysed the national biosafety capacities and promoted regional harmonisation through consultations and training on biosafety-related matters. Countries participating in the network included: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam, with resource constraints limiting its expansion to other interested countries in the region. TCPs on biosafety were completed in Bolivia, Grenada, Kenya, Malaysia, Paraguay and Swaziland and training in biosafety at national level was provided in Benin, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire and Syria. A demand-driven, gender-sensitive, participatory and pluralistic extension system for natural resources management was developed and pilot tested in Pakistan. As a result, IFAD financed a large project on community development based on the approach.

Extrabudgetary resources
262.     The CGIAR Science Council (SC) was created in 2004, replacing the previous Technical Advisory Committee, and hosted by FAO. The SC ensured the quality and relevance of science in the CGIAR Centres through external reviews of the Centres, system-wide programmes and cross-cutting themes. The SC Secretariat provided support to planning, organising and implementing a major priority and strategies exercise for the CGIAR and a range of thematic studies. Similar support was provided in assessing the medium-term plans of the 15 Centres and 4 Challenge Programmes and in facilitating impact assessments across a range of CGIAR research outputs. In fulfilling its newest function of mobilising global science, the SC completed a survey of CGIAR Centres' ongoing scientific collaboration and prepared a publication on Science for Agricultural Development.

263.     Arrears funds, together with extrabudgetary support from UNEP, CGIAR, OCHA and WFP supported the development of significant additional corporate satellite capacity and geospatial infrastructure for use in early warning systems, global change assessment, and environmental and natural resources management. Development of GeoNetwork, an open-source catalogue service for identifying and downloading maps, was expanded (see box). IFAD cooperated with FAO in scaling up a model of grassroots planning for demand-driven extension services, originally developed in Pakistan, to other regions under its new project on community development. Technical assistance funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Government of Egypt was provided to extension services in Egypt, jointly educating farmers in the inter-relationship between population, environment and agricultural production. In cooperation with UNEP, Italy and other partners, the Global Land Cover Network (GLCN) was developed to facilitate access to harmonised land cover data at the national, regional and global levels.

264.     The programme benefited from Associate Professional Officers supported by Spain, the Netherlands and Germany, whose contributions led to the development of research databases, climate change analysis, bioenergy assessment and other information products.


GeoNetwork

FAO started the development of GeoNetwork, joined by WFP and UNEP in 2003, to provide a global library and standardised access for geospatial data and information. During 2004-05, GeoNetwork was extended to include the OCHA, UNHCR, WHO, the 15 CGIAR research institutes, the European Space Agency, as well as national institutions in the Czech Republic, France, Great Britain, South Africa and the United States.

FAO and WFP organised technical workshops during 2005 that generated further interest and support for the network. A flyer and CD-ROM with the GeoNetwork open source software supporting free geospatial tools was released. In recognition of its relevance, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), a standards setting body, offered to further develop the GeoNetwork open source software into the Reference Implementation for its Catalog Services standard. A special feature of GeoNetwork allows users to compose new customised maps with data originating from one or more sources, such as illustrating how a region rich in agriculture, but with a poor transport infrastructure, is not able to realise its full potential. The expanding collaboration with other partners ensures more effective and comprehensive sharing of geographic information in the fields of agriculture, environmental assessment, natural resources management, food security and emergency operations.


Programme 2.5.2: Gender and Population

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 6,058  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers (250)  
  Final Programme of Work 5,808  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 5,794  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 14  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work (4.1%)  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 4,938  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 7,514  
  TCP delivery 1,389  
  Total Field Programme delivery 13,841  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 2.4  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 1,244  


Achievements
265.     The programme provides policy support for the incorporation of gender perspectives into the agriculture sector in countries, as well as within FAO, particularly in the areas of: gender-disaggregated data and statistics; gender equity in land reform and land legislation and HIV/AIDS. Main achievements in 2004-05 were:

  • Capacity-building through the organisation of national and regional training workshops in the tools and methods of the Socio-economic and Gender Analysis Programme (SEAGA), gender-disaggregated data (GDD), HIV/AIDS and Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS).
  • Development of tools and methodologies for gender mainstreaming within FAO including: sector specific SEAGA guides on livestock (2004), emergency and rehabilitation (2005) and agriculture planning (2005); and sector-specific HIV/AIDS resource guides and handbooks.
  • Awareness raising and development of knowledge systems concerning gender dynamics within FAO’s technical programmes through research, publications and multimedia on a broad range of subjects including: gender and trade; the multi-sectoral nature of HIV/AIDS and its critical linkages to agriculture, gender equality, rural development and food security; implications of rural ageing on rural development and food security; gender-sensitive indicators for natural resource management; household resource management; FAO's action for egalitarian agricultural development; gender and dryland management; gender and rice; and a gender perspective on land rights.
  • Promotion of gender mainstreaming within FAO and its constituency, resulting in an increased number of Members adopting special action plans and/or strategies for gender mainstreaming in their agriculture sector; an increased number of gender-related TCP requests in all regions; the success of the special event at the 33rd session of the FAO Conference and the positive reception by the FAO Conference of the second progress report on implementing the FAO Gender and Development Plan of Action (2002-2007). Active participation continued in partnership with other organizations, in several UN system-wide task forces concerned with gender mainstreaming.
  • The experience gained in dealing with gender and HIV/AIDS was leveraged to help address the socio-economic impacts of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) together with AGA. Contributions included the investigation of gender and social issues associated with the impacts of HPAI and its control on rural livelihoods and the development of a global strategy. The need to tackle the disease from both the livestock and human perspective simultaneously was recognised.


Regional impacts
266.     Capacity-building, training and networking on gender analysis in management of water resources and designing gender-sensitive indicators were carried out for 21 North and sub-Saharan African and Asian countries, with many of the tools and methods drawn from the extensive SEAGA documentation. National, regional and distance-training in GDD and statistics, gender indicators and SEAGA were undertaken in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Peru, with participants from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Venezuela. Partnerships remained a crucial aspect of SEAGA within the regional offices, where for example, RLC collaborated in research, publications and training with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), and the Inter-agency Gender Group in Chile.

267.     Technical/policy support and capacity-building was carried out in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland, Togo, Tanzania and Zambia regarding the collection and analysis of GDD in the framework of agricultural census, HIV/AIDS mainstreaming in follow-up to the Beijing Plan of Action, and gender and agricultural development strategies. Policy advice on gender and agriculture was also provided to Chile, Ecuador, and Venezuela and to Morocco on gender issues in agriculture, forestry and aquatic resources.

268.     Regional consultations were held on "Advancement of Rural Women in Beijing Plus 10 Era: Policies and Programmes" and "Gender Dimensions in Asian Rice Livelihood Systems". A CD-ROM was developed on "Gender and Women in Agriculture and Rural Development in Asia" and training courses organised for Southeast Asian representatives and Indian institutions using a CD-ROM based learning resource. GDD and statistical support to national agricultural census data was also provided to Georgia and Hungary and GDD training workshops held for national statisticians from Albania, Armenia, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Georgia, Moldova and Romania with support from the Czech Government.

Extrabudgetary resources
269.     FAO together with WFP and UNICEF launched the international Alliance on Orphans and Vulnerable Children's Livelihoods and introduced Adult Farmer Field and Life Schools (AFFLS) and Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS) (see box). SEAGA materials and trainers were used extensively by IFAD, WFP, a joint World Bank/AGLW-SDW workshop, ILO/Turin, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and by other FAO divisions. SEAGA training workshops were held in Afghanistan, Brazil, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Honduras, India, Macedonia, Morocco, Panama, Philippines, Slovenia, Togo, Uganda, and Venezuela where more than 600 agricultural extension agents, researchers, NGO staff, community workers, and others were trained. Extrabudgetary staff and non-staff resources in support of gender- and HIV/AIDS-related activities were provided by Belgium, Finland, Italy, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom and UNAIDS.


Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS)

A serious consequence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic is the growing number of orphans and other vulnerable children. In 2005 there were an estimated 34 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, with 11 million arising from AIDS. By 2010, this number is expected to rise to 18.4 million. These children are growing up without a source of agricultural skills and knowledge, endangering their food security and their prospects for earning a livelihood. In response to this situation, FAO together with WFP, UNICEF and other partners piloted JFFLS in several African countries.

JFFL schools impart agricultural knowledge, entrepreneurial skills, and life skills to orphans and vulnerable children between 12 – 18 years of age to enable them to grow up as independent, conscientious and enterprising citizens, with positive values in respect to gender and human rights. The schools emphasise the learning of agricultural production skills that could not be passed down because of the early deaths of one or both parents. For the life skills component, the schools address such issues as HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, gender sensitivity, child protection, psychosocial support, nutritional education, and business skills. Food support plays a central role in the schools, both as attendance incentive for the children and their guardians and to ensure the children have enough energy to actively participate. Experience from the field schools has shown that they provide a safe social space for both sexes, where peer support and community care allow youths to develop their self-esteem and confidence. During the biennium, JFFL schools were launched in Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia, and planning undertaken for their introduction in Lesotho, Malawi, Sudan, Swaziland and Tanzania. As a result of the successful pilot, the US Peace Corps has become an active partner in the implementation of the JFFLS/AFFLS in Namibia and Zambia.


Programme 2.5.3: Rural Development

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 8,580  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers 75  
  Final Programme of Work 8,655  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 8,647  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 8  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work 0.9%  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 16,165  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 3,195  
  TCP delivery 3,860  
  Total Field Programme delivery 23,220  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 2.7  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 2,461  


Achievements
270.     The programme encompasses policy advice and capacity building on land tenure, sustainable agriculture and rural development (SARD), and farmer, producer and civil society organizations. Main achievements during the biennium include:

  • Improved secure access to land in recognition of the role of land tenure in the eradication of food insecurity and rural poverty. An auto-evaluation identified a significant impact of the programme in the areas of: territorial development, land consolidation, rural property taxation, land conflict management, equitable leasing arrangements and post-violent conflict land administration.
  • Policy support for the incorporation of SARD policies in mountain regions, in farming systems analysis, and in identifying, promoting and implementing SARD best practices.
  • Technical assistance for the restructuring of ministries of agriculture to enhance their services to small farmers.
  • Capacity-building of farmer and producer organizations, cooperatives and community-based institutions concerning sustainable livelihoods in order to improve members' participation in policy-making and strengthen their preparedness for, and response to, natural disasters and adaptation to climate change.
  • Development of tools and methodologies in support of participatory processes, the preparation of publications, and maintenance of the FAO Web sites on participation, SARD and the UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security.
  • Development of partnerships and networks with the UN, donor groups and CSOs, especially in support of SARD, and farmers’ organizations and cooperatives.


Regional impacts
271.     Policy assistance for land consolidation was provided to countries in Central and Eastern Europe to address the widespread problems of small and fragmented farms. In Latin America and Asia, countries received assistance for developing policies in land reform and negotiated territorial development. Countries in Asia and Africa were supported in the development of rural property taxation policy and its implementation toward decentralization and more effective rural development. In addition, land tenure management in relation to post-violent conflict land administration, was provided in Latin America and Africa.

272.     A wide range of land administration projects for improving secure access to land were undertaken in Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America. Support was also given to strengthening farmers’ organizations and cooperatives in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe and the Near East, and eight cities in four regions were supported through the Food for the Cities PAIA. Assistance was provided for community-based response mechanisms to natural disasters and adaptation to climate change in Bangladesh, China, the Caribbean, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and Peru.

273.     Case studies were carried out on: SARD-farming systems in the Philippines, Mali and Honduras, and were discussed in regional workshops; and on SARD policies for mountain regions in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Central America and Europe. SARD best practices were also identified in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Training on SARD and in the use of participatory methods and processes and livelihoods approaches and analyses, was undertaken in the Mediterranean Basin and in Latin America, Central America and Africa.

Extrabudgetary resources
274.     A wide range of extrabudgetary resources and partnerships contributed substantially to the development, field application and dissemination of activities within the programme, for example in policy assistance on the consolidation of small, fragmented farms in Central and Eastern Europe. Guidelines on post-violent conflict land administration were prepared in consultation with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT). Linkages with the World Bank, through the WB/FAO cooperative programme, assisted the work on land administration, with particular cooperation on rural property taxation and expropriation. Land tenure guidelines and information were also supported and disseminated by the International Land Coalition and the International Federation of Surveyors.

275.     Substantial extrabudgetary support was provided by the UK (US$ 7.2 million over 5 years) for the interdepartmental livelihood support programme. France and Japan supported the 3-year SARD-farming systems evolution project while France, Japan and Switzerland financed the SARD in a mountain regions project. The SARD Initiative (see box) also received funding from Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and Finland for a project on computerisation of agricultural cooperatives’ management and member information systems.


The SARD Initiative

The SARD Initiative helped five countries in three regions (Kenya, Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua and India) to strengthen capacities and improve inter-ministerial and inter-stakeholder coordination in the development of, and reporting on, sustainable agriculture and rural development policies and programmes, based on good practices that address the social, economic and environmental dimensions of human well-being. National processes and normative tools helped to strengthen the capacities of four International Development Association (IDA)-eligible countries (Kenya, Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua), 25 civil society representatives, 60 experts, numerous farmer field schools, two projects, and a number of project designers and managers in good SARD practices. In response to the recommendations of the 19th Session of COAG (2005), the SARD Initiative also helped to improve communication, enabling a wider range of stakeholders to gain access to and use existing good practices, lessons, resources and training materials, and policy and partnership options related to integrated natural resource management, sustainable livelihoods, and sustainable intensification. It also supported coordination and partnerships with civil society organizations, particularly disadvantaged groups such as women, youth, indigenous peoples and workers, in the implementation of SARD programmes and policies.


Programme 2.5.6: Food Production in Support of Food Security in LIFDCs

Regular Programme   US$000  
  Programme of Work 11,644  
  Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers (210)  
  Final Programme of Work 11,434  
  Expenditure against Final Programme of Work 11,425  
  Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work 9  
  Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work (1.8%)  
Field Programme   US$000  
  Extrabudgetary TF and UNDP delivery 46,612  
  Extrabudgetary emergency project delivery 1,758  
  TCP and SPFS delivery 4,617  
  Total Field Programme delivery 52,988  
  Ratio of Field to Regular Programme delivery 4.6  
  Technical Support Services, professional staff cost 1,388  


276.     The concept and coverage of the Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) has evolved progressively in line with the WFS commitments and in response to the MDGs. From its origins as a programme of small pilot projects aimed at demonstrating to small farmers the productivity and income benefits of adopting improved water management and crop production technologies, the SPFS has become a major catalyst for national and international investment in comprehensive, large-scale programmes covering both the production and the access aspects of food security. In terms of scale and coverage, National Programmes for Food Security (NPFS) now reach millions of farm families as compared to the few thousands of the initial phase. Regional Economic Organizations have been assisted in the preparation of Regional Programmes for Food Security (RPFS), which aim to remove economic constraints at regional level and to develop trade opportunities at international level.

Achievements
277.     Main achievements during the biennium included:

  • Preparation of a concept paper for expanding food security programmes to a national scale based, inter alia, on recommendations of the SPFS Oversight Panel in September 2004.
  • Field-testing of the monitoring and evaluation guidelines that were prepared during the 2002-03 biennium, uploading them on the SPFS Web site and distributing them for use by national project teams.
  • Establishment of technical support teams of FAO staff for countries where the SPFS was being upscaled and/or national food security programmes were being formulated.
  • Mobilisation of extrabudgetary resources amounting to over US$ 110 million during the biennium 2004-05, an increase of 23% over the cumulative total of US$ 487 million achieved through 2003, from a range of bilateral and multilateral donors, international financing institutions and the national budgets of developing countries.
  • Continued growth in the country coverage of the programme. As of end-December 2005, there were SPFS programmes in 105 countries, 20 of which were implementing extended pilot projects or newly-formulated NPFS; RPFS were operational in 3 regions; and South-South Cooperation (SSC) agreements were in force in 37 countries (see Table 2.5.1). In addition, 40 NPFS and 20 RPFS had been formulated or were under formulation.
  • Increase in the number of SSC experts and technicians in the field from 400 to over 600 by the end of the biennium with the following distribution: Africa 491, Asia and the Pacific 79, and 57 in Latin America and the Caribbean.



SSC agreement between China, Nigeria and FAO

The largest SSC agreement is between China, Nigeria and FAO. It was signed in March 2003 and amounted to US$ 22.7 million, with funding provided entirely by the Government of Nigeria. The Government of China provided some 20 experts and more than 500 field technicians with expertise in various fields of agriculture. As of December 2005, 370 Chinese experts and technicians were already in Nigeria.


278.     The growth in the number and scale of programmes is associated with greater national ownership. FAO has had a catalytic role in fostering increased political commitment in the fight against hunger and in assisting governments in the design of NPFS. Although programmes at the national scale have only been operational for a relatively short period, and it is still premature to evaluate their impacts, the SPFS has demonstrated already a number of significant successes:

  • According to the mid-term review carried out during 2005 in the eight SPFS projects funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), these projects demonstrated a wide range of best practices in different agro-ecological and socio-economical zones. These practices included small-scale irrigation schemes in Cameroon and Tanzania, drip irrigation in Cape Verde, pedal pumps for vegetable production in Ghana, bottom land development in Guinea, successful farmer field schools in Malawi and Mozambique, strengthening farmer associations in Mauritania and aquaculture in Mozambique. Significant steps have been taken in six of the eight countries to assist the governments in the design and implementation of more comprehensive and large scale programmes for food security under national ownership. In Tanzania, for instance, this has led to the approval by AfDB of a US$ 54 million loan for district agriculture in November 2004, and in Ghana some US$ 51 million have been allocated for the expansion of SPFS activities.

SPFS in Tanzania

The introduction of more productive crop types such as maize and rice coupled with innovative, but low-cost irrigation techniques, allowed farmers to increase their average harvests. The programme established paddy and maize milling facilities, which allow farmers to store, package and market their products at a better price. The creation of savings and credit groups which provide credit to farmers also improved productivity and contributed to the projects' sustainability. The SPFS has developed a model for working with farmers through farmer field schools. It also helped improve nutrition levels of the vulnerable segments of the population. Impressed by the positive impact the SPFS pilot projects had on the participating farming communities, the Government of Tanzania undertook the upscaling of the SPFS pilot project results to a nation-wide programme through the Agriculture Sector Development Programme.


  • In a number of countries, the role of women in the development and implementation of the programme's activities is particularly significant. There are several instances in which women were the primary beneficiaries of SPFS activities, especially those relating to the diversification component. An SPFS activity in Bangladesh has trained 2,000 women in diverse production and processing skills. Under an Italian-funded project that seeks to support the SPFS in Africa and Asia, four SEAGA regional training workshops were held in Cambodia and South Africa. The workshops focussed on supporting the participatory planning of irrigation schemes and the integration of socio-economic and gender issues in farmers' water management.
  • In Cambodia the SPFS has been integrated in the National Poverty Reduction Strategy by developing a National Programme for Food Security and Poverty Reduction. This will draw on SPFS experiences with dissemination of knowledge and community-based actions and explicitly apply its methodology and approach, which has produced tangible benefits for participating farmers and their households.

Table 2.5.1: Status of SPFS and SSC Implementation (December 2005)

Region STATUS  
  Operational Formulated Under Formulation  
Africa        
SPFS 44 0 1  
SSC 26 4 0  
Asia        
SPFS 19 1 4  
SSC 3 6 0  
Europe        
SPFS 2 0 1  
SSC 0 1 0  
Latin America & the Caribbean        
SPFS 26 0 2  
SSC 5* 1 0  
Oceania        
SPFS 14 0 0  
SSC 3* 0 0  
TOTAL        
SPFS 105 1 8  
SSC 37 12 0  
* Including four Regional SSC Programmes (two in the Caribbean and two in the Pacific)


13 Southern African Development Community

14 Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

15 Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Western Region (CLCPRO); Desert Locust Control Committee (DLCC); United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

16 New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)

17 Non-governmental organizations (NGOs); Pesticides Action Network (PAN); Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF)

18 Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)

19 Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Disease Operations (ECTAD)

20 Peste des petits ruminants (PPR); contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP)

21 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC); Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC); International Federation for Animal Health (IFAH)

22 World Agricultural Information Centre (WAICENT)

23 UK Department for International Development (DFID)

24 World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS)

25 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

26 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

27 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET)

28 General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), Committee for Inland Fisheries of Africa (CIFA), Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF), Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC), Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC), Regional Commission for Fisheries (RECOFI)

29 Approaches, Rules and Techniques for Fisheries statistical monitoring (ARTFISH); Fisheries Global Information System (FIGIS); Corporate Database for Substantive Statistical Data (FAOSTAT); Fisheries Resources Monitoring System (FIRMS); Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts database (ASFA); Coordinating Working Party on Fishery Statistics (CWP)

30 South Pacific Commission (SPC); Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), Statistical Office of the European Communities (EUROSTAT); Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO); Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC)

31 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

32 Geographical Information System

33 International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP)

34 European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission (EIFAC),Commission for Inland Fisheries of Latin America (COPESCAL)

15 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

36 United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO); Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

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