PART I

Approach

BROAD STRATEGIC ORIENTATIONS

1. The formulation of the Strategic Framework 2000-2015 adopted by the Conference in November 1999, and most recently the substantial analytical process leading to the World Food Summit: five years later, have amply explored and documented the major problems and issues facing the international community, as regards the key sector of food and agriculture lato sensu. Many require immediate, compelling action, while others are of a longer-term nature, but equally important to address by countries individually and collectively.

2. This second version of the Medium Term Plan (MTP) covers the period 2004-2009, and is heavily influenced by the imperative of assisting Members in meeting their recently reconfirmed commitments under the World Food Summit (WFS) Plan of Action. This reaffirmation of the outcome of the WFS, is also to be seen as a re-endorsement of the relevance of the Strategic Framework, which was developed to elicit an agreed view of Members of FAO's role in helping them achieve the three global goals they endorsed in that document:

• Access of all people at all times to sufficient nutritionally adequate and safe food, ensuring that the number of chronically undernourished people is reduced by half, by no later than 2015.
• The continued contribution of sustainable agriculture and rural development, including fisheries and forestry, to economic and social progress and the well-being of all.
• The conservation, improvement and sustainable utilisation of natural resources, including land, water, forest, fisheries and genetic resources for food and agriculture.

3. It will be recalled that the expected responses from FAO were expressed in the Strategic Framework document, in terms of five major corporate strategies:

1. Contributing to the eradication of food insecurity and rural poverty;
2. Promoting, developing and reinforcing policy and regulatory frameworks for food, agriculture, fisheries and forestry;
3. Creating sustainable increases in the supply and availability of food and other products from the crop, livestock, fisheries and forestry sectors;
4. Supporting the conservation, improvement and sustainable use of natural resources for food and agriculture; and
5. Improving decision making through the provision of information and assessments and fostering of knowledge management for food and agriculture.

4. The need to relate all future substantive activities to these corporate strategies and underlying strategic objectives has, therefore, become an entrenched and essential dimension of the planning process, as demonstrated in Part II of this document.

RESOURCES

Background

5. In the MTP 2002-07¹, the case was made that FAO should be afforded the resources necessary to respond to the substantial demands of the membership. This was also predicated on the demonstrated capacity of the Organization to achieve maximum cost-effectiveness in the delivery of outputs and services, while assisting its Member Nations in meeting their goals. It was recalled in the same MTP that the Regular Programme resources of the Organization had suffered a major decline of 14.6% in real terms: that is, a US$ 95 million reduction in its biennial budget since the approved budget for 1992-93.

6. The approval by the last Conference of the Programme of Work and Budget (PWB) 2002-03 on the basis of zero real growth, marked a welcome departure from a worrisome pattern of zero nominal growth budget decisions in the previous biennia, regardless of the demand for FAO's services. However, it remains that FAO's budget for the present biennium of US$ 651.7 million is still less in purely nominal terms (and as recalled above, very much less in real terms) than the budget approved now more than 10 years ago.

Programme of Work and Appropriations

7. As endorsed by FAO's Governing Bodies, the Programme of Work and Budget is based on an integrated presentation method, i.e. resources stemming from Assessments on Members and miscellaneous income (both forming the basis for the Appropriations eventually voted by the Conference) combined with Other Income, i.e. additional resources closely associated with the implementation of the approved Programme of Work for the biennium. Examples of such Other Income include contributions by partner organizations to joint programmes, or reimbursements from funding sources of field project support costs, based on agreed policies. In the same way as in the PWB document, resource estimates in this MTP, particularly those in Part II, refer to the Programme of Work. For ease of understanding by Members, however, tables in this section and summary tables in Part II may also refer, as appropriate, to the share of Appropriations in the total Programme of Work.

8. A greater effort has been made in the context of the formulation of this MTP to identify and estimate the extent of Other Income which will directly support the implementation of component entities and major outputs, and thus the total Programme of Work over the 2004-09 period. The guidance provided to the concerned units was that such contributions should only be included if they were already available, or where the availability of such funding was reasonably assured. In order to achieve transparency and identify clearly the eventual significant variations in resource estimates under the pertinent programme entities on account of this refined forecasting effort, the standard entity tables in Part II show these Estimated Additional Voluntary Contributions in a separate row.

9. There are also some differences in presentation of resource estimates between the global picture in this Part I, and the more detailed picture for substantive work in Part II (i.e. the estimates at programme and entity levels) which are worth signalling:

1. centrally managed provisions, such as for computer services, or administrative support provided by the Management Support Service (MSS) of the AF Department, are not directly under the control of the responsible units, and are excluded from the detailed resource estimates in Part II;
2. provisions for programme management, which do not involve any material change in scope, are not included in Part II for the sake of brevity;
3. unprogrammed resources resulting from programme entities coming to completion between 2006 and 2009, and resources tentatively assigned to new entities with start dates from 2006 onwards are included in Part I, and in the programme-level summary resource tables in Part II, but do not show in the entity-level tables in Part II.

Proposal for the six-year planning period

10. The prevailing context of high demand for FAO's services, its key role in assisting Members to achieve their goals, and its record as an Organization which has sought to reform itself, adjust to current times and maximise cost efficiency has been the dominant consideration in framing proposals for 2004-09. The expectation of the Secretariat is that the membership would now consider increasing the budget level in net terms over the next three biennia.

11. The following Table 1 shows the indicative level of resources proposed for the Programme of Work.

TABLE 1: MEDIUM TERM PLAN 2004-2009 PROGRAMME OF WORK
(AT CONSTANT COST LEVELS - US$ 000)

12. The overall rationale behind the above figures can be summarised as follows:

1. a vigorous increase in the provisions for technical programmes of the Organization, fully justified in detailed proposals in Part II of the document;
2. a major increase in TCP², as called for by Conference Resolution 9/89, aimed at raising its share of the Appropriation from the current level of 14.6% to 17% by the end of the planning period - this represents a 34.7% increase in TCP resources;
3. an increase in resources for FAO's country offices, as explained below; and
4. making the necessary adjustments or meeting clearly identified requirements under other headings.

13. At a more detailed level, the following features may be highlighted.

14. For FAO's substantive activities, i.e. the sum total of PWB Chapter 2, Technical and Economic Programmes, and Major Programme 3.1, Policy Assistance, no recommended "across-the-board" growth targets or mandatory ceilings have been imposed on the concerned departments and associated regional teams. Proposals under each major programme reflect a detailed bottom up planning process, wherein individual entities have been designed using results-based budgeting principles, as embodied in the programme model endorsed by the Conference (cf. more explanations below). To a large extent, the results reflect oft-expressed relative priorities, with overall increases of Appropriations in terms of percentages benefiting Major Programmes:

1. 2.4, Forestry (i.e. 28.4%);
2. 2.3, Fisheries (20.7%);
3. followed by 2.1, Agricultural Production and Support Systems (19.3%);
4. 2.2, Food and Agricultural Policy and Development (16.1%);
5. 3.1, Policy Assistance (16.6%); and
6. 2.5, Contributions to Sustainable Development and Special Programme Thrusts (13.5% excluding the increase on SPFS³).

15. Under the latter Major Programme 2.5, Programme 2.5.6, Food Production in Support of Food Security in LIFDCs⁴, is in fact afforded a much higher percentage raise as staffing must be increased to be able to support the anticipated very substantial and rapid rise in extra-budgetary activities. The responsible unit, TCOS⁵, may indeed face the challenge of handling projected extra-budgetary resources totalling US$ 675 million over the six-year MTP period.

16. Under Chapter 3 of the PWB, Major Programme 3.2, Support to Investment, has not been increased, in line with the signals from the partner financial institutions, to the effect that cooperation with FAO should normally continue at current levels. The increase for FAORs under Major Programme 3.4 is aimed, in the first instance, at strengthening the offices being run by outposted technical officers, with the addition of either NPOs⁶ or administrative assistants (G-6) and increased provisions for General Operating Expenses. This is not intended to relieve the governments concerned of their obligations, but merely to enable these offices to function on a par with other offices. The remainder is aimed at facilitating the FAORs' responses to UN system-led national development needs assessments and programming exercises.

17. Under Chapter 4 of the PWB, the TCP's share of the Appropriation would grow progressively, in accordance with Conference Resolution 9/89, as follows:

18. Under Chapter 5, Support Services, the overall increase of 1.4% is the result of a much larger increase foreseen in the first biennium, to be offset by reductions in the subsequent biennia. Public information work is to be strengthened by the addition of US$ 1 million in support of the cross-organizational strategy on Communicating FAO's messages.

19. The second increase reflects the preliminary outcome of major studies carried out by outside advisers on the AFF⁷ Division's structure (also on the AFI⁸ Division, but in view of the Pool arrangement for computer services, this affects all budgetary chapters). Some increases in posts (i.e. eleven posts in AFF, and ten posts in AFI) are included for the biennium 2004-05, while a decline in numbers is expected thereafter, based on the inherent assumption of further efficiency gains, through streamlining and improved information technology governance.

20. Finally, an additional US$ 1.5 million has been included to fund various initiatives in the staff development area, arising from needs of the cross-organizational strategies for Ensuring excellence, Enhancing inter-disciplinarity and Continuing to improve the management process (cf. short summary of the major purposes under Staff training below).

Impact upon budgetary proposals for 2004-05

21. The following Table 2 illustrates the impact of these proposals on the next biennium 2004-05, by comparing them with the budget base for 2002-03. The data is given at the level of the Appropriation so as to eliminate the impact of other income and focus on the distribution of the proposed level of Regular Programme resources.

TABLE 2: COMPARISON OF MEDIUM TERM PLAN'S FIRST BIENNIUM (2004-2005) WITH THE
PROGRAMME OF WORK AND BUDGET 2002-2003 APPROPRIATION (NET BUDGET)

22. It is emphasised that these resource projections are indicative, while resulting from a detailed analysis of requirements and seeking to redress significant resource gaps for FAO to perform efficiently and effectively. It is also noted that the amounts have not yet been subject to the analytical rigour associated with the preparation of proposals for inclusion in the Programme of Work and Budget. However, they should assist Members in making the policy level decisions required in the context of the Medium Term Plan.

Staff training

23. Part III of the MTP gives considerable prominence to the need to enhance staff development and training in FAO. Contrary to practices in many private companies and national administrations, this has often been a well-recognised but largely under-financed priority over so many years, often the unintended victim of budgetary stringency. The proposed main areas of emphasis are summarised below.

24. Current staff development programmes: while other ongoing topics of interest are mentioned under the following rubrics, it may be recalled that current training programmes cover the upgrading of skills in office automation and Web-based information and communication systems; competencies for the smooth operation of the Oracle financial and human resource management systems; and language training - to be progressively extended to the full range of FAO's official languages.

25. Development of skills and competencies in support of cross-organizational strategies: training programmes in this area will address managing inter-disciplinary teams and related facilitation skills; project design, management and evaluation; strategic communication and media; negotiation and conflict management; and managing people effectively.

26. Core management competencies: in consistency with related UN system initiatives, the training will seek to introduce new managers, or staff expected to move from technical specialist positions to managerial ones, to the roles, functions and skill requirements for effective management.

27. Staff development in decentralized offices: the increased decentralization in FAO's activities must be matched by adequate staff development and learning opportunities in offices outside Headquarters, taking into account the constraints of distance and cost. Urgent needs exist particularly for training in project cycle management, design and evaluation, but other areas such as professional and technical development, communication skills, information technology and orientation for new staff should be put progressively on a par with opportunities offered at Headquarters.

28. Professional development: to maintain FAO as a centre of excellence, technical staff and managers will be further encouraged to keep up their professional skills in respective disciplines, through participation in external training programmes and technical seminars, active membership of professional societies and associations, on-the-job training and developmental assignments, whenever possible.

29. Enhanced skills for staff using training as a means of action in delivering technical programmes: the need for an effective training-the-trainers programme has arisen out of the review of training activities by the Programme Committee. A wide cross section of FAO's staff is, in fact, involved in delivering training to external clients and partners in the field. This programme will be of a modular nature, including needs identification, course development and design, training approaches, with adult-learning principles, monitoring and evaluation of training.

30. Development of a learning resource centre: this initiative should assist with a continuous learning culture at FAO, i.e. the ability for staff to learn, grow and change, individually and collectively. Flexible approaches will be adjusted to the desired pace of staff members, and a Learning Resource Network (LRN) developed. The LRN should facilitate self-study and will be supported by learning materials and modern technologies.

Capital budgeting

31. Current times of rapid technological change in office automation and communications, and the need to put in place new generations of better performing administrative systems at recurrent intervals, imply high-cost acquisitions by the Organization, concentrated in short periods. The same considerations apply to major enhancement of premises. However, FAO operates on the basis of a biennial budget, without possibility to carry over or accumulate "reserves" at the end of the period. Moreover, its budget has been subject to severe restrictions regarding growth in the last biennia, and even suffered a substantial reduction in both nominal and net terms.

32. Commercial companies can account for depreciation and may contemplate capital budgeting arrangements, while governments can make provision for exceptional one-time expenditures in public administrations without necessarily forcing them to "absorb" the cost within their budget. FAO is not a private company, while the natural reluctance of its Members to facing increased assessments is certainly not overlooked. Yet, FAO is still expected to deliver its programmes in a cost-effective, efficient and timely manner, something which can be disrupted by the above sudden jumps in financial requirements, for which no reserves exist. Regrettably, it is forced to "scrape by", trying to juggle through the necessary one-time investments, within a fixed budget envelope. This has often led to delays and frustrations or - worse - could at times lead to less than optimal results. A recent example concerns the Oracle project, where significant implementation problems were attributed, at least in part, to the lack of sufficient and assured resources.

33. The membership may, therefore, consider whether it would be the time to introduce the concept of capital budgeting in FAO. This concept would imply that, beyond the budget for normal expenditures, there should be a budget for one-time "capital items" (e.g. major equipment purchases, one-time development costs of major systems, etc.). Reputable firms of management consultants have also recently recommended introduction of the practice in FAO's context. It may be noted that the issue of capital budgeting was raised in the MTP 1992-97, but the Conference reacted somewhat evasively, as follows:

"The Conference also noted the suggestion regarding the possibility of introducing the concept of capital budgeting into FAO budgetary practices. It observed that such a concept could be introduced only if it were compatible with budget regulations in Member Nations, and that it could return, to the issue at some future date."

34. A tentative capital budget proposal is included in Table 3 below. This is not accompanied by any firm proposal for appropriate financial mechanisms, subject to reactions of the Finance Committee and Council to the concept, when considering this MTP. Most of these items were proposed for funding by eventual arrears payments in the current biennium, as endorsed by the Conference in its Resolution 6/2001. Hence, they are not taken into account in the preceding overall tables of estimates for 2004-09.

TABLE 3: CAPITAL BUDGET PROPOSAL FOR THE PLAN PERIOD OF COVERAGE (US$ 000)

35. Although well known to the Finance Committee, some explanation may be warranted for the item on ASMC. It may be recalled that this is an area of cost, which was not being fully funded. Initially, FAO operated on a "pay-as-you-go" approach (i.e. enough to cover current claims). However, following actuarial valuations, two problems were recognised:

1. FAO had an outstanding liability for ASMC (e.g. over US$ 200 million at 31 December 2001) which from an accounting viewpoint had to be disclosed in the accounts of the Organization; and
2. a practical implication was that pay-as-you-go payments would grow exponentially in the coming years, as the ratio of the retiree population to active contributors will increase the Organization's share of premiums to proportions which would distort the budget by huge amounts.

36. The response, as endorsed by the Governing Bodies, has been to:

1. budget for current service cost, as well as the pay-as-you-go cost (this prevents the outstanding liability from growing further); and
2. allow surpluses on investments to be set aside in the General Fund to cover the ASMC accrued liability (this has resulted in US$ 97 million being successfully set aside for this purpose).

37. However, apart from the use of investment gains, which are unlikely to be repeated in the next few years at the rate experienced in the 90's, the Governing Bodies have not decided on any funding formula to cover the remaining outstanding liability. It is, therefore, proposed that the capital budget include a provision of US$ 14.1 million per biennium, being the funding required for the remaining 24-year amortisation, which will be made in the biennial accounts.

EXTRA-BUDGETARY RESOURCES FOR FAO'S NORMATIVE
AND OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES

38. Part III of this document contains an updated and detailed strategy for Leveraging resources for FAO and its Members. Implementation of this strategy should enable the Organization and the membership to capitalise on the very auspicious reversal of past declining trends in field programme delivery, as being experienced during the present year 2002. The mobilisation of extra-budgetary resources for operational - and normative - activities will, therefore, remain a major preoccupation of staff at all levels under the leadership of the Technical Cooperation Department. As emphasised by the Declaration adopted at the World Food Summit: five years later, the FAO Trust Fund for Food Security and Food Safety should serve as a major vehicle in this resource mobilisation effort.

39. It is recalled that the Trust Fund contemplates three main areas of intervention:

1. food security and food safety;
2. emergency prevention of transboundary animal and plant pests and diseases; and
3. assistance in project and programme studies to increase investment in agriculture.

40. As for the MTP 2002-07, no attempt has been made in this Plan to forecast with any degree of precision the evolution of FAO's field programme over the six-year planning period, given the number of variables and the often unpredictable external factors which impinge on its development.

Resources to leverage FAO's action

41. Nevertheless, FAO's technical departments have been invited to assess opportunities of extra-budgetary support under specific programme areas, i.e. where these resources could further leverage and extend the impact of programme entities. This effort went beyond the identification of firm instances of possible additional income to reinforce the Programme of Work in 2004-09, as mentioned above in the section entitled Programme of Work and Appropriations.

42. The guidance given in this respect was that these opportunities should, of course, be firmly based on the objectives, outcomes and outputs of the respective programme entities and their potential application to the field. In addition, in the assessment of prospects, units were advised not to feel constrained by the likelihood of actually obtaining the extra-budgetary funding.

43. Paragraph 131 of the Strategic Framework document is worth quoting in this connection:

"For the Organization's normative programmes it is important that extra-budgetary resources be mobilized:"

1. to support FAO pilot programmes aimed at testing and proving normative hypotheses in response to emerging issues;
2. to support activities of the Regular Programme directly so as to increase the total level of resources made available for the normative functions of FAO, ensuring that, in doing so, the independence of FAO's work (e.g. in standard setting) is not compromised; and
3. to maximize the impact of its targeted programmes and foster the synergy between normative and field activities, utilizing, as appropriate, its own human and financial resources and promoting joint undertakings with donors."

44. This exercise should also be seen as meeting at least on a preliminary basis, a request made by the Programme Committee at its May 2002 meeting, to the effect that it should: "be provided at its next session with information on those FAO activities which were expected to be funded from extra-budgetary resources, relating such activities to the programme priorities in the medium term."

Indicative and selective list

45. As a result of this analysis of possible opportunities, a tentative - while not exhaustive - list is given in Table 4 below.

TABLE 4: INDICATIVE AND SELECTIVE LIST OF POSSIBLE FAO'S ACTIVITIES WHICH COULD BE FUNDED FROM EXTRA-BUDGETARY RESOURCES

FURTHER APPLICATION AND REFINEMENT OF THE PROGRAMME MODEL

46. The formulation of substantive activities in the 2004-09 period to respond to the Strategies to Address Members' Needs, continued to build on the main features of the enhanced methodology or "programme model", as approved by FAO Governing Bodies, i.e.:

1. full description of the rationale for proposed activities, the intended outcomes, the outputs to be produced, and the inputs required;
2. incorporating inter-disciplinary inputs from various units to address cross-sectoral requirements or problems [cf. following section on Priority Areas for Inter-disciplinary Action (PAIAs)]; and
3. ensuring that all necessary elements are clearly identified to facilitate and support appraisal, evaluation and performance reporting to both management at various levels, and to the Governing Bodies.

47. It is recalled that the model recognises three types of programme entities for the substantive work of FAO: technical projects (TPs), continuing programme activities (CPs) and technical service agreements (TSs), which are summarily defined as follows:

1. TPs cover a set of actions that can have a duration generally of up to six years; their design should encompass precise, time-bound objectives and benefits to the target users and demonstrate their relevance and contribution to the Organization's strategic objectives;
2. CPs also include outputs that contribute to the strategic objectives, but they are not of the same time-bound nature as technical projects (e.g. statistical series); and
3. TSs generally cover the provision of services such as field programme support and technical advice to countries, where individual activities cannot be defined far in advance and may include servicing statutory bodies where the work is in general support of the sector.

48. As per established practice, Headquarters units were required to consult with their outposted staff in Regional and Sub-regional Offices, so that the proposed entities reflect a fully integrated programme of work, with common objectives and major outputs.

49. As for the MTP 2002-07, the results of this formulation effort are reflected in Part II of the document, where substantive work is conventionally understood as the sum total of the five major programmes comprising Chapter 2, Technical and Economic Programmes, and Major Programme 3.1, Policy Assistance, of the Programme of Work and Budget.

Search for improvements

50. The preparation of proposals for inclusion in the MTP 2004-09 was marked by greater efforts to improve the quality and consistency of programme entity formulation. Training courses were held for technical staff to promote more thorough understanding of the application of results-based planning principles. A Web-based and user-friendly computerised system (PIRES) was developed and put in place to serve the analytical process in a more comprehensive manner. This system, in particular, pulled together and made widely available to the staff at large, instructions, internal departmental guidance, regional priorities as identified by Regional and Sub-regional Offices, and baseline information from the MTP 2002-2007.

51. More importantly, changes were introduced to some important conceptual elements of the programming approach, and more firm rules enforced, as explained below.

52. Changes in programme entity titles, numbers and timeframes: structural changes (deletion, addition, combination of programme entities, changes in titles, type and numbers) were kept to a minimum, in order to maintain continuity and comparability with the MTP 2002-07. Care was also taken to avoid extensions of end dates of TPs, lest undermining the intended time-bound nature of these entities. Only eight TP extensions were allowed, on the basis of well-documented reasons. A list of all structural changes is provided in Table 5 below, to facilitate understanding of changes in the underlying structure.

53. Content of technical service agreements (TS): in addition to addressing their basic purpose as recalled above, the content and resource estimates of TS entities have been improved, e.g. by hosting in a more recognisable manner, work of limited nature in support of PAIAs, small specialist inputs to programme entities in other units, and where not already the case, inputs to major UN and international conferences and processes.

54. Stronger focus on users of FAO's products and services: user orientation is clearly a key dimension of results-based management. The success and impact of FAO's programmes are predicated on how well the products and services generated under these programmes, effectively reach and serve the institutions and people they intend to support. Therefore, programme managers were asked to identify as precisely as possible the people and organizations targeted at each conceptual level of definition of entities (rationale, objectives and outcome of major outputs), in order to clarify the dissemination strategy for each output and the whole entity, and to lay the foundation for client-satisfaction surveys in evaluating programme effectiveness.

55. Clearer distinction between outcomes and objectives: in the MTP 2002-07, the objectives and outcomes were placed more or less at the same level in the means-end analysis used in the design of entities. The objective(s) was basically seen as a summary of all expected outcomes in a particular entity. This is no longer the case in the present MTP proposals, because a distinction was introduced between the outcomes of major outputs on the one hand, and the programme entity objective on the other, i.e.:

1. the Outcome should specify the immediate use of each major output by someone outside the particular unit producing it (most often outside FAO). It usually corresponds to the first step in an effective dissemination strategy (e.g. training material is taken up by training organizations, general development issues are publicised through specialised media, production techniques are tested in research centres);
2. the Objective is now to be seen as the expected result of all the outcomes of a programme entity and is, therefore, located a step further in the means-end analysis, between the Outcomes and the higher order Rationale. Usually, it should correspond to a significant change at the country level, in member countries' institutions, policies, programmes or farmers support systems.

56. One of the consequences of this modified approach is that the programme entity objective(s) may be stated in more ambitious terms than in the MTP 2002-07. The intention is to make more evident what would be the ultimate impact of programmes: e.g. changes in the way agricultural development and food security are tackled at the country level, beyond the mere use and dissemination of FAO's normative or information products by the most immediate level of FAO "clients".

57. In order not to burden the document with excessive detail, outcome descriptions and indicators for major outputs were not included in Part II of the present MTP, which only lists the rationale, objective, objective-level indicators and major outputs of TPs and CPs. Outcome descriptions and indicators at lower level, will be posted on the associated Internet database.

58. Means of verification and targets now complement indicators: indicators were defined at both the outcome and objective levels. They are to be quantitative and qualitative variables which can be objectively verified (measured or assessed) to determine the extent to which the outcomes or objective(s) are achieved. They are now complemented with means of verification and, whenever possible, target values and dates. Again, for the sake of brevity, this type of detail is not included in the present document.

59. As a consequence of the distinction between objective(s) and outcomes and of the exclusion of outcome-level information in this document, the indicators shown in Part II, while aiming at demonstrating stronger and more significant results, are fewer in number than in the MTP 2002-07, and perhaps more difficult to measure and attribute in a straightforward fashion to FAO's work. However, outcome indicators, relatively easy to measure and attribute, have been formulated and will be included in the Internet database.

Overview of TP and CP changes

60. In order to facilitate comparison, an overview of changes introduced to the constituent TPs and CPs since the MTP 2002-07, is provided below.

TABLE 5: OVERVIEW OF CHANGES TO TPS AND CPS

LINKS TO CORPORATE STRATEGIES AND
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

61. The following Figure 1 portrays the distribution by corporate strategies (A to E) of resources applied to technical programmes for substantive activities over the entire 2004-2009 period, i.e. the total of the lifetime resource estimates for the programme entities listed in Part II under Chapter 2, Technical and Economic Programmes, and Major Programme 3.1, Policy Assistance.

62. It may be noted that the above distribution of resources reflects the attribution of the major outputs planned under the various TPs and CPs to the strategic objectives of major relevance. However, a less rigid rule was applied this time than in the MTP 2002-07, which could lead to modified patterns. Instead of a (somewhat too inflexible) one-to-one relationship which had to be established between each major output and one of the 12 strategic objectives, units could link each output to various objectives of relevance, on a percentage basis. Also resources under TSs have not been pro-rated according to the pattern of contributions to strategic objectives of the TPs and CPs under the same programme heading (e.g. Programme 2.1.2, Crops), but links identified in the same manner as for TPs and CPs, depending on the content of the programmed TS activity.

63. Table 6 below provides in matrix form, the distribution of the same resources by the two key dimensions of major programme and strategic objective (from A1 to E3), i.e. representing the aggregated picture of the various programme-level tables in Part II of this document.`

TABLE 6: DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES OF TECHNICAL PROGRAMMES BY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
(ENTIRE 2004-2009 PERIOD)

Major Programme

A1

A2

A3

B1

B2

C1

C2

D1

D2

E1

E2

E3

2.1

Agricultural Production and Support Systems

2.2

Food and Agriculture Policy and Development

2.3

Fisheries

2.4

Forestry

2.5

Contributions to Sustainable Development and Special Programme Thrusts

3.1

Policy Assistance

Legend

Greater than zero, less than US$ 5 million

US$ 5 million to 10 million

US$ 10 million to 25 million

More than US$ 25 million

64. Table 7 below provides in percentage terms the breakdown of total programmed resources for substantive work over the Plan period, by strategic objectives (A1 to E3). The table includes comparative data for the MTP 2002-07.

TABLE 7: DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES OF TECHNICAL PROGRAMMES
BY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES (PERCENTAGES)

65. The most prominent feature is the increased share of resources contributing to corporate strategy D - Supporting the conservation, improvement and sustainable use of natural resources for food and agriculture. In effect, the relatively low percentage (7%) of resources assigned to strategy D in the MTP 2002-07 risked sending the wrong message to the membership and other stakeholders. It must, however, be recognised that FAO's units encounter some difficulty in allocating activities and resources between strategies D and C - Creating sustainable increases in the supply and availability of food and other products from the crop, livestock, fisheries and forestry sectors, where the efforts to ensure sustainability in increased production might be viewed also as efforts to support the sustainable use of natural resources.

66. With this in mind, and also in the light of less inflexible allocation rules, the concerned units were invited to take the opportunity of the MTP formulation process to review and correct as appropriate the links to D. From the table above, it is clear that a better delineation between C and D has been achieved, since the share of corporate strategy C has declined from 28.5% to 20.7%, with offsetting increases elsewhere, including under D which increases from 7% to over 10%.

67. In general, the variations in percentages seem to reflect a better balance among the corporate strategies approved by Members in November 1999.

68. The scope of underlying activities contributing to the 12 strategic objectives is further explained below.

A.1 Sustainable rural livelihoods and more equitable access to resources

69. The strategy outlined in the Strategic Framework centred in particular on the diversification of income opportunities for the rural poor, and the responsiveness of policy interventions to the requirements of disadvantaged groups. Several major outputs and even whole entities, i.e.:

1. 214A1, Enhancing Small Farmer Livelihoods;
2. 224P2, Agriculture, Poverty Alleviation, Rural Development and Food Security: Analysis of Linkages;
3. 243P4, Participatory Forestry and Sustainable Livelihoods;
4. 252P1, Promotion of Gender and Population in Policies, Legislation and Civil Institutions, Legislation and Civil Institutions;
5. 253A2, Improved Rural Institutions and Services to Promote Sustainable Rural Livelihoods;
6. 253A4, Participatory Approaches and Methods to Support Sustainable Livelihoods and Food Security,

were designed to promote and support special measures to improve rural livelihoods, from complementary sectoral or institutional perspectives. Many pertinent activities are also contributing to the PAIA on Local Institution Building to Improve Capacity for Achieving Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (cf. the PAIA section below).

A.2 Access of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups to sufficient, safe and nutritionally adequate food

70. The nature of this objective makes it of utmost relevance to Programme 2.2.1, Nutrition, Food Quality and Safety. The programme contributes particularly when supporting national plans for nutrition and nutrition interventions targeted at household food security, and also when it comes to nutrition education and communications. Several analytical studies planned under Programme 2.2.4, Agriculture, Food Security and Trade Policy (i.e. impact of policies on access to food and the economic cost of hunger) and targeted interventions in some sectors such as crops (e.g. promotion of alternative crops) and livestock also contribute to A2.

A.3 Preparedness for, and effective and sustainable response to, food and agricultural emergencies

71. The major contributions continue to come from the GIEWS, EMPRES (both components) and the entity on migratory pest management, 212P3. However, other preventative and preparedness activities may be mentioned such as work on seed security, the global system for plant genetic resources and household food security strategies for emergencies, as part of the advisory work of regional policy assistance teams. Work on forest fires and on fisheries rehabilitation in emergencies also feature under this strategic objective.

72. Another PAIA, covered in the following section, is of direct relevance to objective A.3 in addressing both Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Preparedness and Post-emergency Relief and Rehabilitation, which clearly require inter-sectoral collaboration.

B.1 International instruments concerning food, agriculture, fisheries and forestry, and the production, safe use and fair exchange of agricultural, fishery and forestry goods

73. Work on the key instruments developed under the aegis of FAO is directly responsive to this strategic objective: e.g. the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources and the recently concluded Treaty on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), the Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides, the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent (PIC), Codex Alimentarius, the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

74. These instruments reflect on the one hand FAO's key function as a forum to develop an appropriate regulatory framework for the agricultural sector, and on the other, its facilitation of dialogue and understanding of issues among Members, through pertinent technical inputs, the use of expert bodies (especially for food safety) and networking activities across countries and regions. Hence, the relevance also of trade-related work under, for instance, entity 224P4 Analysis and Consensus-Building on Emerging Commodity and Trade Issues, and of several entities of Major Programme 2.3, Fisheries, in support of concerted fisheries management measures.

B.2 National policies, legal instruments and supporting mechanisms that respond to domestic requirements and are consistent with the international policy and regulatory framework

75. The implementation of this strategic objective complements that of B.1 by supporting national actions. It, therefore, involves a number of activities designed to assist Members in the necessary adaptation or updating of national policies and legal frameworks. The scope of these activities extends from water policy and river basin management to national forest policies, through seed quality control and certification mechanisms, safe use of pesticides in conformity with international codes and conventions, phytosanitary measures consistent with external obligations, risk analysis and application of food standards, national fisheries development frameworks in line with international commitments, and adaptation to new trade regimes or agreements, resulting from Multilateral Trade Negotiations.

C.1 Policy options and institutional measures to improve efficiency and adaptability in production, processing and marketing systems, and meet the changing needs of producers and consumers

76. This strategic objective embodies the extensive requirements of countries for well-tested options to guide the evolution of their agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors. The strategy components outlined in the Strategic Framework called for an active FAO role in connection with improving production and distribution systems; promoting diversification and specialisation of production; and encouraging structural adaptations so as to respond to evolving consumption patterns and exploit complementarities among sectors.

77. In response, a significant number of major outputs in 2004-09 are covering such critical aspects as: management of land resources, various aspects of sustainable crop production systems, plant biotechnology applications, efficient commercial services to the agricultural sector, support to technology transfer, aquaculture development, and forest products. The Special Programme for Food Security has also pride of place in the implementation of this objective.

78. Most relevant PAIAs include those dealing with Food for the Cities, Biotechnology Applications and Organic Agriculture.

C.2 Adoption of appropriate technology to sustainably intensify production systems and to ensure sufficient supplies of food and agricultural, fisheries and forestry goods and services

79. This objective implies that FAO should have a proactive role in facilitating effective research and its application in the field - from advising Members on the most appropriate technologies through to actively influencing the international research agenda based upon practical experiences in the field (e.g. the important contribution of entity 251P4, Secretariat of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the CGIAR).

80. The PAIA on Biotechnology Applications in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, is also quite relevant in addressing issues such as the benefits and potential risks of biotechnology, its importance to national development and capacity-building requirements in developing countries.

81. Again, a significant number of major outputs are expected to contribute to this objective, in dealing with such key aspects as: efficient water use and conservation, land and soil productivity, integrated crop management practices and IPM²⁹ techniques, veterinary services and livestock production technologies, mechanisation and post-harvest management, the application of nuclear techniques through AGE³⁰, research and extension links and support to NARS³¹, exploitation of marine resources, inland fisheries and aquaculture, and the enhanced utilisation of forest products.

82. The SPFS will also be a very important contributor to this objective, demonstrating with a fully participatory approach the potential of well-tested and simple technologies in an expanding range of projects and countries.

D.1 Integrated management of land, water, fisheries, forest and genetic resources

83. Activities contributing to this strategic objective reflect the broad range of natural resources upon which agriculture, fisheries and forestry depend: sound land and water management under Programme 2.1.1; the conservation of plant and animal genetic resources under Programmes 2.1.2 and 2.1.3, as exemplified by the Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the Global Strategy for the Management of Farm Animal Genetic Resources; support to responsible inland fisheries and aquaculture and sustainable management of forests, including institutional aspects; and the gender dimension of natural resource management.

84. Action under this strategic objective also includes support to implementation of Agenda 21 of UNCED, and related international environment agreements. The SPFS pays due attention to supporting objective D1, as well as the companion objective D2.

D.2 Conservation, rehabilitation and development of environments at the greatest risk

85. The most relevant PAIA is that dealing with Strengthening Capacity for Integrated Ecosystem Management which initially concentrates on drylands and mountains, including follow-up to the International Year of Mountains held in 2002. The prime focus of entity 241A4, Conservation in Forests and Fragile Ecosystems, is also relevant to D2. Work on climate change under the corresponding PAIA is also of major importance. Normative work on the economics of environmental sustainability (224P3) will also contribute, as will support to environmental agreements and promotion of integrated environmental planning (251A6).

E.1 An integrated information resource base, with current, relevant and reliable statistics, information and knowledge made accessible to all FAO clients

86. The very large number of entities and major outputs linked to this strategic objective, reflects the pervasive nature of the information collection and dissemination function of FAO, with pride of place for statistics-related activities and for WAICENT³² under Programme 2.2.2. Two PAIAs are, moreover, fully responsive to this strategy, in dealing with Definitions, Norms, Methodologies and Quality of Information and Spatial Information Management and Decision Support Tools. However, it also benefits from the work on databases on land and water, crops (including lesser known cultivars) and grasslands, rural finance, known nutrient requirements, food additives, living marine and other fishery resources, fish safety information, fish trade and forestry data.

87. The special provision introduced in the Programme of Work and Budget 2000-2001 (programme entity 222P5) for the Improvement of Language Coverage is to be extended until 2004-05, but should be phased out thereafter, as requirements for language balance should normally be met by the respective units' allotments.

E.2 Regular assessments, analyses and outlook studies for food and agriculture

88. The range of activities pertinent to this strategic objective reflects self-evidently the importance given to assessment and projection work in the various sectors (livestock, commodities, fisheries, forestry, natural resources) while one PAIA deals with needed cooperation in this area, particularly as regards Global Perspective Studies. The major publications include: Agriculture Towards 20XX, the State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA), the State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA), the State of the World's Forests (SOFO), the Commodity Market Review, complemented by other outlook studies.

E.3 A central place for food security on the international agenda

89. This strategic objective is closely related to E2, while the main contributions include work on World Food Summit follow-up monitoring, in particular the medium-term review in 2006, and support to the CFS³³ (all under the new Programme 2.2.0). One key relevant publication is the State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI). Other entities and outputs may contribute in less direct ways.

¹ CL 119/17

² Technical Cooperation Programme

³ Special Programme for Food Security

⁴ Low-income, Food-deficit Countries

⁵ Special Programmes Coordination and Monitoring Service

⁶ National Professional Officers

⁷ Finance Division

⁸ Information Systems and Technology Division

⁹ Global Environment Facility

¹⁰ United Nations Development Programme

¹¹ Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases

¹² Plant Protection Service

¹³ Environmental satellite system

¹⁴ Integrated Pest Management

¹⁵ Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

¹⁶ Transboundary animal diseases

¹⁷ Special Programme for Food Security

¹⁸ UK government Department for International Development

¹⁹ Inter-agency Working Group

²⁰ European Community

²¹ United States Department of Agriculture

²² Associate Professional Officers

²³ Global Information and Early Warning System

²⁴ New Partnership for Africa's Development

²⁵ Global Partnership for Responsible Fisheries

²⁶ Multilateral trade negotiations

²⁷ Forest resource assessment

²⁸ World Summit on Sustainable Development

²⁹ Integrated Pest Management

³⁰ Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture

³¹ National Agricultural Research Systems

³² World Agricultural Information Centre

³³ Committee on World Food Security