Resources
Partnerships
Impact
2019

The Hunger-Free Latin America and the Caribbean Initiative Project brings together governments, parliaments, academy, civil society, the private sector and regional bodies who are prioritizing the fight against hunger in their national and regional political agendas.

With FAO technical support, the project strengthened institutions and helped to design and implement regulatory frameworks and public policies for Zero Hunger. FAO also supported 20 participating countries with resource allocation schemes that met the magnitude of the problem in each country.

Results

• 20 national congresses as well as 2 subregional (PARLANDINO and PARLASUR) and 1 regional (PARLATINO) parliaments have created Parliamentary Fronts against Hunger (PFHs), as plural political platforms inside their own structures.

• 30 laws on food security and nutrition.

• + 2.2 million boys and girls in Guatemala benefited from the approval of a new school meals law.

• A strong alliance between legislatives and academia, where 60 universities as members of the Right to Food Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean (RFO-LAC) work permanently with PFHs in their countries.

• 83 000 public servants, including parliamentarians, have received training from 2008 to 2019.

• A solid alliance was built between Brazil, Mexico and Spain in support of the PFHs and RFO-LAC.

• Launch of the first-ever Global Parliamentary Summit against Hunger and Malnutrition.

Mangroves are one of the world’s most productive terrestrial ecosystems and are a renewable natural resource. Mangrove ecosystems on the coast of Cameroon are valuable both for their contributions to local livelihoods and the globally important biodiversity that they contain.

However, these areas are threatened by many development pressures as well as unsustainable harvesting practices of local communities. 'Sustainable Community-Based Management and Conservation of Mangrove Ecosystems in Cameroon' is a FAO–GEF project that has increased community awareness on the importance of mangrove ecosystems.

Through the inclusive participation of local communities and other key stakeholders, the project’s activities aim at long-term sustainability of mangrove forest ecosystems and their biodiversity.

Results

• 25 members of NGOs and 75 state employees trained to conduct environmental and social impact assessments.

• More than 600 people (51% women) were trained in sustainable fishing, processing, packaging and selling of oysters.

• More than 500 inhabitants trained on Mangrove management.

• More than 7 hectares of mangrove areas reforested.

• 14 local women groups trained in income generating activities in connection with the ecosystem services of the mangroves.

• 1 400 inhabitants learned about sustainable management of mangroves as well as methods to enhance low impact income-generating activities.

• Creation of the first mangrove community forest in the Manoka region covering 2 700 hectares.

Even though rural women make up 65 percent of farmers, they do not have equal access to the resources and opportunities that would enable them to be more productive. The goal of the 'Rural Women`s Empowerment in Agriculture Programme (RWEAP)' is to reduce rural poverty and enhance food security and nutrition by accelerating rural women’s economic empowerment. The programme has been implemented in three countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini and the Gambia.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, RWEAP is scaling up Dimitra Clubs, a successful FAO participatory approach that promotes rural women and men’s socioeconomic empowerment. The clubs are the main community-level entry point and have triggered behavioural changes, food and nutrition security, better access to information, opportunities, and women’s participation in decision-making and leadership.

Results

• In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 496 people (310 women and 186 men) from 23 newly formed Dimitra Clubs improved their organizational, problem-solving and leadership skills throughout the process. As a result, women play an active role in local decision-making processes and have engaged in various empowerment initiatives based on collective action.

• 243 women benefited from training in vegetable gardening and 87 in aquaculture.

• 14 treadle water pumps were distributed to the 14 Dimitra Clubs engaged in the vegetable gardening reducing the effort and time required by the farmers, in particular women, to water the gardens.

• 23 Dimitra clubs have created their own village savings and loans association.

• In Eswatini, 36 women’s groups, a total of 603 beneficiaries, participated in capacity building activities on sweet potato processing and preservation methods to diversify their use of sweet potatoes at household level and improve nutrition in their homes.

• 12 women’s farmer groups, numbering more than 300 members in total, participated in capacity development in farmer mobilization, business planning and management and financial literacy to strengthen entrepreneurship skills and form savings groups with better linkages to markets. The project also provided women’s groups with processing equipment including tables, dough-mixing machines, baking ovens, gas cookers, weighing scales, kitchen scales and thermometers, for baking secondary products of sweet potato flour.

• In the Gambia, more than 450 family poultry farms, members of the Rural Poultry Farmers' Association, benefited from a new feed mill to prepare quality poultry feed and improve the profitability of their poultry farms.

• 5 feed mills and feed production units were set up in beneficiary villages.

FAO’s ambitious global, regional and national programming on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is helping countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean boost agricultural efficiency while addressing the underlying drivers for the misuse and overuse of antibiotics and other antimicrobials.

Building on the FAO Action Plan on AMR (2016–2020), FAO is guiding worldwide efforts and working closely with countries to raise awareness and motivate changes in practice; strengthen policy and governance; and improve surveillance of antimicrobials and resistant microbes across the food chain. A key focus of these efforts is helping countries develop ‘One Health’ National Action Plans to protect the health of people, animals and the environment.

Results

• The World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW) is a tripartite-led campaign and rallying call for action. So far, 110 countries held targeted, nationwide campaigns, and nearly 500 events were organized in 2018.

• FAO and WHO piloted the Smart Phone for Change programme in the Near East and North Africa region, targeting health, pharmacy and veterinary students to become key influencers for responsible antibiotic use in their fields.

• FAO developed a methodology with OIE to analyse national legislation relevant to AMR. This has been applied in 10 countries, triggering regulatory reform in five of them.

In 2018 violence continued to disrupt livelihoods in Yemen, displace more people and restrict the movement of both humanitarian goods and workers, limiting their capacity to reach the most vulnerable. Despite this, FAO was able to significantly scale up its humanitarian programme in the country through the 'Support to Yemen' programme.

Thanks to the support of resource partners and in collaboration with local partners in all areas of the country, FAO’s team in Yemen delivered crucial support to millions of people at risk of severe hunger.

As a result of their efforts, FAO’s expertise in farming, livestock, fisheries and forestry is increasingly acknowledged as a critical part of the humanitarian response in Yemen and is not just saving lives, but is securing and restoring agricultural livelihoods.

Results

• More than 3 million people reached with crop and vegetable seeds, fishing gear, poultry production kits and cash support.

• More than 2.4 million livestock reached through FAO’s animal vaccination and treatment campaigns.

• 46 086 households, including those with malnourished children under five and pregnant and nursing mothers, received farming hand tools and nutritious vegetable seeds in the Al Hudaydah and Abyan regions.

• 2 065 households, of which 85 percent were headed by women, received feed for egg-laying chickens and poultry housing equipment.

• 54% of rural women in Yemen were involved in agricultural activities.

• 2 900 women-headed households each received 3 to 5 sheep or goats, animal feed concentrate and feed blocks.

• 850 women-headed households received dairy equipment to improve milk production.

• 6 030 women-headed households were trained in animal health feeding, milk production, and sheep and goat fattening in the Lahj, Abyan, Al Hudaydah and Hajjah regions.

The 'Global Strategy to improve agricultural and rural statistics' inititative aims at developing modern and sustainable agricultural statistics systems to boost data production for 21st century policies.

Concluded at the end of 2018, the first phase of the Global Strategy aimed to develop cost-effective methodologies and strengthen capacities of developing countries in the field of agricultural and rural statistics.

The initiative has been implemented by FAO, the UN Economic Commissions for Africa and Asia-Pacific and the African Development Bank in two regions, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

Results

• The initiative has been critical for the uptake of cost-effective methodologies in 21 countries in Africa and 18 in Asia-Pacific.

• 50 cost-effective methodologies have been developed, 120 guidelines and training materials disseminated.

• Innovative methodologies and tools have been field-tested in more than 50 countries in the world.

• Strategic Plans for Agricultural Statistics (SPARS) have been prepared in 40 countries in Africa and in Asia-Pacific.

• More than 1000 participants from 85 countries have been trained on cost-effective methods and 80 long-term scholarships at the Master’s level provided in Africa.