Evaluation of FAO’s Multi-Country Programme in the Pacific Islands

This evaluation assessed the strategic relevance and contribution of FAO in the Pacific region in responding to national/subregional needs and challenges within areas of FAO’s mandate. It covered the period from January 2018 to December 2021, aligning with the start date of the current Country Programming Framework (CPF). The evaluation identified lessons learned and recommendations to inform the planning of FAO’s future engagement in the subregion.

The evaluation found that FAO’s presence in the Pacific is of strategic importance due to its global technical expertise and comparative advantage particularly in food system development.

Nevertheless, the inadequate/understaffed human resources in the subregional office and its thinly spread portfolio limit FAO’s impactful contribution to the subregion’s development process. The evaluation recommended that FAO should:

• Put in place a structure with adequate technical and operational capacity in the subregion to enhance the portfolio and ensure the programmatic approach
• More strategically and actively engage with regional partners, including Council of Regional Organizations in the Pacific (CROP) agencies, focusing on the impactful areas (this includes engaging wider stakeholders during the design stage of programming framework and programmes, and communicating with knowledge and resource partners to build on and scale up the results.
• Continue undertake capacity building as an integral to FAO projects to enhance the technical and operational capacities of the governments.