FAO emergencies and resilience

Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)

What is SFERA? The Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) is a flexible funding mechanism that enables FAO to rapidly respond to humanitarian crisis. Established in 2004, SFERA provides FAO with the financial means and flexibility to react promptly to emergency situations, reducing the time between funding decision and action on the ground.

Why invest in SFERA? 

SFERA has the following benefits:

  • It enables rapid and effective emergency agricultural assistance thanks to the quick release of funds within days after a disaster, even before official resource partner agreements are finalized.
  • Through rapid agricultural input delivery, it allows crisis-affected populations to restore food production and stabilize livelihoods.
  • A dedicated window for Anticipatory action enables FAO to act ahead of forecast shocks and mitigate their potential impacts
  • It provides strategic programme support to formulate resilience building response.
  • By reducing time and transaction costs for all stakeholders, it increases cost-effectiveness.

Most of the poor and hungry depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. These livelihoods are most affected by conflict and protracted crises, climate change and related natural hazards, transboundary animal and plant pests and diseases and socioeconomic shocks, making smallholder farmers, fishers and herders more vulnerable to shocks.

During a crisis, many productive assets such as seeds, livestock and fishing gear are lost. FAO’s first priority is to rapidly assist affected farming families to re-establish their food production capacity and rebuild their lives and livelihoods as quickly as possible while strengthening their resilience to future shocks.

When effective agriculture-based response is delayed, communities suffer a domino effect of further losses that plunge them deeper into poverty and make them dependant on external aid.

Working capital

The working capital component allows to advance funds for field operations when there is a donor’s commitment to fund a project and before funds are actually released. It reduces the reaction time to emergencies by enabling FAO to initiate activities and purchase the most critical assets before funding from resource partners is received. By enabling a rapid response, this component helps to mitigate the impact of threats and emergencies.

Revolving fund

The revolving fund component supports the efforts of FAO’s emergency country teams to identify the most critical needs of affected populations, strengthen response capacity, and develop and coordinate technically sound response programmes. For example, it provides the possibility to deploy staff and organize needs assessments. Through the Level 3 emergency preparedness and response window, FAO can prepare for and respond to the extraordinary challenges facing the agriculture sector during a Level 3 emergency.

Programme

The programme component facilitates faster and more programmatic assistance that can be tailored to evolving needs on the ground. SFERA provides the flexibility to adjust activities and support them according to their greatest need.

The programme component has three windows:

Agricultural Inputs Response Capacity (AIRC) window channels funds from resource partners towards the immediate procurement and delivery of time-critical agricultural inputs;

Anticipatory Action (AA) window enables FAO to act early once an impending threat has been identified, to reduce, mitigate or avoid losses of livelihoods before the disaster hits.

Large-scale Programme window supports big emergency programmes (e.g. highly pathogenic avian influenza, El Niño, desert locust, COVID-19 pandemic, etc.). Funds from resource partners are flexibly allocated according to evolving needs and priorities on the ground;

How to contribute?

  • Resource partners can provide an unearmarked contribution to SFERA or they can direct their funds towards a specific component or window.
  • Another way to contribute to SFERA is by authorizing the transfer of interests or unspent balances from closed projects to SFERA.

FAO will then allocate the funds to specific countries and activities on the basis of the needs of the crisis-affected populations. Through SFERA annual reports, resource partners receive information on the activities and results achieved, as well as project highlights and stories as reported below.

FAO seeks to further expand its partnership with resource partners through SFERA as an effective means to respond rapidly to shocks, maximize the impact on beneficiaries and increase the cost-effectiveness of preparedness, anticipatory action and emergency response, thereby reducing the need for costly external assistance in the longer term.

Publications
Publications
Asia and the Pacific: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) – Anticipatory Action window
09/2024

La Niña significantly impacts the Asia-Pacific region, leading to above‑average rainfall that often results in severe flooding and cyclones, which damage...

Publications
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela: Belgium’s contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) – Anticipatory Action window
09/2024

he Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is facing a socioeconomic crisis that continues to drive food insecurity, leaving 4.4 million people in rural and...

Publications
Colombia: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) – Anticipatory Action window
09/2024

Colombia is currently transitioning from the El Niño phenomenon to La Niña, which brings significant climate challenges such as heavy rainfall, floods...

Publications
La Niña: Anticipatory Action and Response Plan, September–December 2024
09/2024

Following the 2023−2024 El Niño event and the current El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) neutral state, La Niña (ENSO cool phase) is anticipated to...

Publications
Mozambique: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
09/2024

Mozambique has been particularly impacted by the 2023–2024 El Niño, with central and southern regions experiencing unprecedented dry spells and below‑average...

Publications
Contribution from the Government of Sweden to FAO: Annual report 2023
09/2024

In 2023, the Government of Sweden, through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), contributed SEK 120 million (USD 13.08 million)...

Publications
Afghanistan: Project Highlights – OSRO/AFG/210/JCA
08/2024

The Government of Japan contributed USD 12 843 911 to improve the livelihoods and food security of 81 400 farming, livestock-keeping and landless households...

Publications
Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities – Annual report 2023
08/2024

The Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) enables the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to take...

Publications
Zambia: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
07/2024

Zambia is experiencing a severe El Niño-induced drought that has resulted in reduced agricultural production, water scarcity and crop failure. So far,...

Publications
Bangladesh:  Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
07/2024

Through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities, the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium contributed USD 500 000 to the Food and...

Publications
Nicaragua: Belgium’s contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
06/2024

To mitigate the adverse impacts of El Niño on people’s lives and livelihoods in Nicaragua, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations...

Publications
Malawi: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
05/2024

Since late-2023, Malawi has been affected by the El Niño phenomenon, which is typically associated with drier conditions in the country.

Publications
Cameroon: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
04/2024

Cameroon, as most countries in the Sahel, is currently facing shocks that are affecting people’s food security and livelihoods.

Publications
Chad: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
02/2024

In Chad, about 2.9 million people are projected to experience high levels of acute food insecurity (Cadre Harmonisé Phase 3 and above) during the 2024...

Publications
Palestine: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
12/2023

The escalation of hostilities in Israel and Palestine is drastically affecting all dimensions of food security.

Publications
South Sudan: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
10/2023

The outbreak of conflict in the Sudan has driven over 5.4 million people to flee in search of safety. Of this total, over 290 000 have sought refuge...

Publications
Bangladesh: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
09/2023

Through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities, the Government of Belgium contributed USD 500 000 to the Food and Agriculture...

Publications
The Plurinational State of Bolivia: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) – Anticipatory Action window
08/2023

The population of the Altiplano, mostly indigenous, has the highest poverty rate in the country, and relies on subsistence agriculture as its main livelihood...

Publications
Uganda: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) – Anticipatory Action window
08/2023

Uganda is a disaster-prone country affected by various types of hazards, with a 16 out of 191 countries ranking in terms of risk, driven by the increasing...

Publications
Madagascar: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) – Anticipatory Action window
08/2023

In a general economic context marked by high levels of poverty, Madagascar is particularly vulnerable to hazards that impact agricultural activities,...

Publications
Priority countries: Belgium’s contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
08/2023

The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium contributes flexible funding to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through the...

Publications
West Africa and the Sahel: Germany’s contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) – Anticipatory Action window
07/2023

In Central America’s Dry Corridor, long periods of drought interspersed with heavy rains threaten the food security of vulnerable populations.

Publications
Dry Corridor: Canada’s contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) – Anticipatory Action window
07/2023

In Central America’s Dry Corridor, long periods of drought interspersed with heavy rains threaten the food security of vulnerable populations.

Publications
Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities: Briefing note
03/2023

The Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA), established in 2004, enhances the capacity of the Food and Agriculture Organization...

Publications
Tajikistan: Mitigating the locust spread in Tajikistan and neighbouring countries through Anticipatory Action
03/2023

In March–April 2022, the Republic of Tajikistan witnessed an increase of Moroccan locust infestations in its southern areas, and the infestation threatened...

Publications
Mongolia: Belgium’s contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) – Anticipatory Action window
01/2023

In Mongolia, the frequency, intensity and unpredictability of weather extremes such as the harsh winter (dzud), drought, snow and dust storms, heavy...

Publications
Zimbabwe: Sweden’s contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) – Anticipatory Action window
01/2023

Zimbabwe has been plagued by multiple hazards over the last decade, suffering from a series of climatic shocks including cyclones, droughts, floods...

Publications
Cuba: Belgium’s contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
11/2022

On 27 September 2022, Category 3 Hurricane Ian hit the western region of Cuba with strong winds, significant storm surge and coastal flooding.

Publications
Iraq: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
11/2022

To mitigate the impacts of climate-induced risks on the livelihoods of wheat farmers, the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium contributed USD 625 000...

Publications
Pakistan: Belgium’s contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
11/2022

The lives and livelihoods of around 3.3 million people in Pakistan, mostly living in rural areas, have been significantly disrupted by this year’s massive...

Publications
Ethiopia – Tigray: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
09/2022

Through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities, the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium is supporting FAO's efforts to ensure...

Publications
The Niger and Burkina Faso: Sida’s contribution to the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) – Anticipatory Action window
09/2022

The Sahel region is experiencing a food crisis, with 38.3 million people projected to be in acute food insecurity during this year’s lean season (June–August...

Publications
Cabo Verde: Belgium's contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
08/2022

The situation in Cabo Verde has deteriorated significantly following five consecutive years of drought, the economic effects of COVID-19, rising prices...

Publications
Bangladesh: Belgium contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
08/2022

Through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA), the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium contributed USD 500 000 to FAO...

Publications
Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA): Annual Report 2021
07/2022

This annual report provides a brief description of the major operations initiated with the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities...

Publications
Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA): Annual Report 2020
05/2021

The Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) enables the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to take...

Publications
Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA): Annual Report 2019
07/2020

The Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) enables the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to take...

Publications
Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA): Annual Report 2018
03/2019

The Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) enables the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to take...