Guidelines on country project application

The project proposals submitted to FAO by the countries should be submitted filling in Appendix 2 of the OCOP Action Plan and be aligned with the Country Programming Frameworks (CPF). They should also be linked to the Regional Priorities, FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other relevant FAO initiatives and programmes.

Guiding principles

• Potential project countries: Countries that have shown their strong interest and have officially submitted application to request support for a specific SAPs will be designated as Potential Project Countries. These countries will be considered for financial and technical support for their chosen SAPs and are invited to participate in the relevant OCOP activities and use the information and tools made available.


• Project countries: Those potential project countries are identified to showcase the implementation of the OCOP country projects and facilitate the subsequent implementation of the OCOP in other project countries. For example, the first round of the demonstration countries (one per region) have been selected based on the alignment of the project with the FVC criteria. They will be selected based on the availability and the nature of their resources as well as their comparative advantages for leading the implementation of the OCOP.


• Pilot project countries: Those potential project countries that get some financial supports from one or more resources and willing to implement the OCOP country projects following the example set by Demonstration Project Countries. The pilot project countries will be identified based on the availability and the nature of their resources.

In addition, FAO has started OCOP related activities in some potential project countries with initial support from its Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP), which will be treated as pilot or demonstration project countries.

Submission and approval of application procedure

The official request for project support along with the Concept Note should be submitted by the Government to the FAO Country Office for confirmation.

The FAO Country Office will submit the confirmed Concept Note to the FAO Regional Office for review, evaluation and prioritization after which it will be forwarded to the OCOP Secretariat at FAO headquarters for consolidation. The OCOP Secretariat will then submit the consolidated Concept Note to the OCOP Steering Committee for approval.

OCOP demonstration country projects

Five demonstration project countries were launched in the first round of the OCOP Initiative to share and disseminate their experiences, innovations and technologies during the development of their Special Agricultural Products. In December 2023, demonstration countries were expanded to a total of 16 across the five FAO regions.