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DocumentPromoting agricultural inputs under the Food Aid Convention to increase food production in emergency-prone developing countries 2010
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No results found.Assistance needs for the rapidly increasing emergency situations require more judicious responses on the part of donors, including the provision of critical agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and farming implements for reconstruction and recovery of the agriculture sector. The institutional framework governing food-related assistance has been at an impasse for some time, with the renegotiation of the Food Aid Convention (FAC) remaining in suspense, awaiting the conclusion of the un certain Doha Round of negotiations, although there have been fresh efforts to move the FAC process forward. The Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations is the key agency within the multilateral system responsible for coordinating donor efforts in the rehabilitation of agriculture in the aftermath of emergencies. The Organization has a keen interest in seeing that the FAC process is concluded soon, taking on board the new realities on the ground, in particular assisting affect ed communities to resume agricultural activity and return to self-reliance. An analysis of trends in natural and human-induced disasters over the last 30 years confirms the large increase in protracted emergency situations, whereby several countries experience a food emergency year after year. In addition, many of these countries suffer serious chronic food insecurity and these two problems (the transitory and the structural) cannot be addressed separately. A stop-gap approach based on sho rt-term food assistance is not sustainable in these situations. Interventions should also aim to break the cycle of long-term structural problems feeding into greater vulnerability in the short term. Increasing donor support in the form of agricultural inputs, together with meeting immediate food needs, is critical in expediting recovery and helping agricultural communities getting back on their feet. Meeting immediate food emergency needs has become the main priority of donors with nearly 80 percent of total food aid now used for that purpose compared with well below 20 percent up to 1990. At the same time donors’ funding arrangements have become more flexible with a large majority of donors providing cash resources to facilitate local purchases and triangular transactions, as well as funds for the purchase of agricultural inputs. While support for the agriculture sector within the United Nations Consolidated Appeals Process has increased in recent years, agriculture remains he avily underfunded in relation to identified needs and other sectors, with only 41 percent of the sector’s needs being met in recent years. Overall, FAO’s efforts in rehabilitation and recovery of the agriculture sector have been compromised by a lack of adequate funding. An analysis of a multitude of arrangements governing food-related assistance (the Consultative Sub-Committee on Surplus Disposal [CSSD], World Trade Organization [WTO] and FAC) shows that although they are guided by the legiti mate objective of food aid doing more good and less harm, often for a variety of reasons they are not conducive to a coherent framework and may compromise the effectiveness of this assistance. Among them, the FAC is much broader than the CSSD and the WTO, both as regards its food security objective and the specific provisions contained therein. Recognizing the importance of the FAC and expediting its negotiation to better meet its objectives has been the focus of attention by the internationa l community for some time and recent intensified 6 efforts by the Food Aid Committee aim at launching formal negotiations. This would also respond to recent policy initiatives and strategies of donors whereby humanitarian food assistance is increasingly seen as an integral part of efforts to address the structural causes of chronic food insecurity. The FAC is no longer seen as simply having an ‘instrument focus’ (i.e. food aid) but also a ‘problem focus’ (i.e. food security), becoming a part of the broader processes of needs assessment and the related longer-term developmental responses. This paper aims at making a contribution in the process of renegotiating the FAC, in particular as regards the recognition of the importance of agricultural inputs for the recovery and rehabilitation of the agriculture sector. -
Brochure, flyer, fact-sheetRepublic of Korea and FAO
Partnering for food security and inclusive and sustainable rural development
2019Also available in:
No results found.Since it joined the Organization in 1949, the Republic of Korea has transformed from being a recipient country to a key resource partner, becoming one of FAO’s top 15 contributing members in 2018. This is also mirrored in its in-kind contributions, including through the assignment of 18 Korean interns to FAO in 2018 and an additional 13 in 2019. Thanks to the rich experience gained as a result of its radical development, the country contributes to the achievement of FAO’s strategic objectives in a range of fields, including animal disease and plant pest control, forestry and fisheries, and climate change mitigation, in addition to playing a key role in promoting and developing South-South and Triangular Cooperation. -
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