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Celebrating 80 Years of FAO: Recognizing Outstanding Contributions to South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC)
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has embraced South
South-South and Triangular Cooperation
There has been rapid economic transformation across the developing world over the past three decades, with notable increases in economic output, improvement in human development, and expansion of trade, investment and finance. Some of these developing countries have become major players in global development and economic governance owing to their economic progress, technological advances and contribution to a global pool of tested solutions to pressing development challenges.
The 2030 Agenda places increasing emphasis on South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) as both means to support effective capacity-building and the objective of enhancing cooperation. It underscores the need to mobilize resources through SSTC and strengthen SSTC partnerships on capacity-building, science, technology and innovation.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has embraced South–South and triangular cooperation (SSTC) as a key delivery modality to catalyse agricultural development, food security, rural development. FAO has over 40 years of experience as a leading promotor and facilitator of SSTC in agriculture, food security and nutrition. Today, SSTC is fully integrated within FAO's Strategic Framework and is a key delivery modality in the implementation of FAO's projects and programmes.
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South-South and triangular cooperation (SSTC) in FAO
11/01/2022
FAO has embraced South-South and triangular cooperation (SSTC) as a key delivery modality to catalyze agricultural development, food security, rural development, poverty reduction and nutrition ove
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South-South and Triangular Cooperation Guidelines for Action
07/01/2022
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has embraced South-South and triangular cooperation (SSTC) as a key delivery modality to catalyse agricultural development, food security, rural development, poverty reduction and nutrition over the past two decades. FAO has strengthened its support for SSTC since 2012, and the SSTC portfolio has been expanding in line with the progressive institutionalization of SSTC in FAO.
Celebrating 80 Years of FAO: Recognizing Outstanding Contributions to South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC)
10/07/2025
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has embraced South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) as a catalytic means to advance agricultural development, food security and rural development.
Building on years of experience and an expanding portfolio, FAO has become a leading promoter and facilitator of SSTC in agriculture, food security and nutrition, in line with its growing institutional commitment to SSTC.
In 2025, FAO will mark its 80th anniversary, celebrating its technical leadership in food security, nutrition and agriculture worldwide. To commemorate the anniversary, FAO will introduce a special recognition to acknowledge outstanding contributions to SSTC, including good practices, successful partnerships, and innovative solutions that have significantly contributed to food security, agricultural transformation, and sustainable development, in line with the FAO’s efforts in SSTC.
Countries unite to scale up South-South cooperation for agrifood systems transformation
09/07/2025
A regional event on strengthening South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) in Africa opened today with a call for greater collaboration to unlock shared benefits. Organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and hosted by the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, the two-day event has brought together government ministers, technical experts, private sector leaders and development partners to promote more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems in Africa through South-South and Triangular Cooperation.
South-South Cooperation is the exchange of resources, technology, and knowledge between developing countries in the Global South, while Triangular Cooperation involves a third party, often a resource partner or multilateral organization, that facilitates or supports these exchanges. Together, SSTC provides an innovative model to accelerate progress on agrifood systems transformation.
FAO and China Reaffirm Strategic Partnership to Scale Up South-South and Triangular Cooperation
01/07/2025
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) of the People’s Republic of China reaffirmed their strong partnership and commitment to advancing South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) and accelerating agrifood systems transformation at the 13th Annual Consultation Meeting (ACM) of the FAO-China SSC Programme. The meeting, held in person at FAO Headquarters in Rome, was co-chaired by FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol and Mr Jiang Wensheng, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China.
In her opening remarks, Ms. Bechdol praised the remarkable achievements and progress of the FAO-China SSC Programme during 2024–2025, attributing the success to the close collaboration and dedication of both FAO and China. She underscored the Programme’s significant contribution to advancing FAO’s corporate initiatives, including the Hand-in-Hand Initiative, One Country One Priority Product (OCOP), 1000 Digital Villages, and Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). Ms. Bechdol expressed her deep appreciation to the Government of China for its sustained support, which has been instrumental in translating these initiatives into impactful action on the ground.
Vice Minister Jiang Wensheng also commended the milestone achievements of the Programme and praised FAO’s efforts in driving forward the tangible results seen during the reporting period. He emphasized the importance of aligning Programme activities with national agricultural development plans and country-driven priorities, tailoring interventions to local needs, fostering stronger synergies to leverage additional resources, and ensuring robust monitoring and regular reviews to sustain impact and enable continuous learning.
The meeting reviewed the Programme’s progress in 2024–2025. Both sides acknowledged the Programme’s expanding and diversified portfolio, comprising 22 global, regional, national, and triangular cooperation projects, with a cumulative budget of nearly USD 68 million. These projects span a wide array of thematic areas, including crop and livestock production, aquaculture, plant health, pest and pesticide management, digital agriculture, and sustainable water and soil management.
Both sides recognized a number of major achievements over the past year, including the continued mainstreaming of SSTC into FAO’s Strategic Framework and flagship initiatives; strengthened bilateral and multilateral partnerships; greater contributions to high-level global policy dialogues; enhanced monitoring and evaluation systems; and improved communication and outreach, which significantly boosted the Programme’s visibility and impact.
The meeting approved the workplan for 2025-2026 and endorsed in principle six new project proposals for funding under the FAO-China SSC Programme. In the context of the workplan for 2025-2026, this ACM explored strategies to further enhance Programme delivery. Key areas of focus include strengthening coordination between FAO and China, expanding institutional partnerships between Chinese and developing countries centres of excellence, mobilizing additional resources—including from traditional donor, private sector and public finance investment—and scaling up outreach and communication to broaden the Programme’s global visibility and impact.
The annual meeting concluded with a strong consensus by FAO and China to continue deepening their collaboration and to further leverage SSTC as a catalyst for agrifood systems transformation and accelerate implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Building Capacities through South-South Cooperation (SSTC) - GCP/SEC/023/TUR
02/04/2025
FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programmes. Building Capacities through South-South Cooperation (SSTC) - GCP/SEC/023/TUR. A variety of challenges including but not limited to climate change, conflicts and economic shocks are impacting agrifood systems. In the face of these risks, multi-stakeholder collaboration, knowledge exchange and expertise sharing have become more important than ever.
South-South Cooperation for Sustainable Land Management and Ecosystem Restoration
16/10/2024
An online survey and a series of workshops were organized in 2022 to assess demand and expertise for South-South Cooperation (SSC) about Sustainable Land Management (SLM) and Ecosystems Restoration (ER). Three regions were selected: Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), Central Asia (CA) and Near East and North Africa (NENA). The knowledge brief sets out the case for investment in SSC in the context of SLM and ER.
Support to the diversification and sustainable crop production intensification for smallholder farmers in the drylands of Borno State (GCP/INT/1019/TUR)
24/05/2024
Agriculture is the main contributor to Nigeria's national economy, with over 65 percent of the population directly or indirectly relying on it for their livelihoods. Women and youth make up 50–70 percent of the sector's economically active population. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Türkiye and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is supporting the capacity development of farmers and institutions.
South-South Cooperation (SSC)
South-South Cooperation (SSC) is defined as a mutual sharing and exchange of knowledge, experience, technical and financial resources related to agriculture and food systems between two or more developing countries, as well as collective actions in pursuit of their individual and/or shared development objectives.
Triangular Cooperation (TrC)
Triangular Cooperation (TrC) is defined as a development cooperation framework whereby two or more developing countries, alongside other development stakeholders, engage in mutually beneficial collaboration and exchanges with the support of a developed country(ies) and/or multilateral organization(s).
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discussion 27 Jan 2025 - 30 Apr 2025
- Silvio Alejandro Ricardo Catalano
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Contact
South-South and Triangular Cooperation Division (PST)
FAO Headquarters
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00153 Rome, Italy