FAO Package Programme 1999 to Support Food Security (8 projects)

GCP/INT/740/EC - Strengthening the Technical Capabilities of Global Information and Early Warning Systems (GIEWS) Workstation and Promoting its use (incl. Vegetation Data Transfer)

Project Rationale and Justification

The Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) was established in the wake of the world food crisis of the early 1970s. The system monitors the global food supply and demand in order to provide timely warnings about both food shortages and surpluses for individual countries; collects and archives information from many different sources ranging from in-country reports to near real-time satellite images covering several continents. GIEWS is the only comprehensive early warning system on the world’s food security situation and outlook, and remains a leading source of information - at global, regional, national and sub-national level - on food production and food security. In order to maintain this diverse information base, GIEWS, with funding and support from the EC, developed an integrated information system for the analysis of current and historical data for specified geographic locations known as the “GIEWS Workstation”.

The current version of the GIEWS Workstation and its associated database has proved a valuable asset at both GIEWS and external users. The adoption of the Workstation by other early warning units and institutions involved with food security has led to the exchange of information within the early warning community in a standard format, which, in return, has greatly increased to the information made available to GIEWS. In order to further increase the information available to FAO GIEWS, and to provide the GIEWS Workstation database to a wider audience on the Internet, an additional phase of Trust Fund Project GCP/INT/619/EC is being proposed as GCP/INT/740/EC.

Description

The proposed project will expand the current GIEWS Workstation information base to include information for developed countries and with new sources of “real time” information, as well as updating and maintaining the system with current year information for the existing databases. The project, with support from FAO ARTEMIS, will purchase and/or investigate several new sources of satellite information; in order to reach a wider audience, will expand access to information to external users on the Internet’s WWW.

The development objectives of the proposed project are: to improve the information base and analytical capabilities available to GIEWS and other early warning units through improvements and updates to the GIEWS Workstation software and associated databases; and to provide access to the GIEWS Workstation information bases via the Internet’s easy to use World Wide Web.

The present project is one of the eight components of the “Programme 1999 to Support Food Security” that will benefit insecure populations in a large number of countries and regions in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The overall objective of the Programme is to provide technical assistance and advice to a number of food insecure areas, strengthening local institutions.

Activities and main Results

The immediate objectives of the project are:

- expand the GIEWS Workstation database to include information for developed countries, other major foods, and newly available real-time information, as well as update and maintain the current database.

- provide access to external users to information held in the GIEWS Workstation database through the Internet’s WWW.

- improve analytical capabilities of the individual components of the GIEWS Workstation.

- continue to disseminate the GIEWS Workstation software and databases to other early warning units.

On-going activities include the identification of new data sources and the continual updating of the Workstation database. Data have been shared and exchanged with other FAO units and with the SADC food Security Programme. The GIEWS Geo Web site was update with improved access to maps and satellite images. The system was updated with new hardware and significant enhancements to the software. A research initiative has been established with the Centro de Relevamiento y Evaluación de Recursos Agricolas y Naturales, Universidad de Cordoba (Argentina) to evaluate the use of real-time satellite based vegetation index images for evaluating current crop conditions in South America.

Backstopping and training on the use and application of the different tools have been conducted. The recruitment of project staff was finalised.

Administrative and Financial Matters

- Commission Reference: 092975

- Administrative Overhead: 13 per cent (development project).

- Year Instalment: 80 per cent of the total budget upon signing of the agreement; a second disbursement of balance of year 1 plus 80 per cent of year 2; a third payment of the balance of year 2 plus 20 per cent of year 3 will be made upon presentation of the respective report; a final disbursement of 20 per cent of year 3 will be made, upon acceptance of final report, at project closure.

- EC Contact point: Mr. A. Hecker, Chief, F6

- FAO Contact point: Janos T. Lehel, Chief, TCAP.

GCP/INT/619/EC - System Definition and Development of a Computer Workstation for GIEW

Project Rationale and Justification

The Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) of the Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome monitors the global food supply and demand in order to provide timely warning about both food shortages and surpluses for individual countries. GIEWS is the only comprehensive early warning system on the world’s food security situation and outlook and remains a leading source of information on food production and food security.

In order to facilitate the wide variety of data processing techniques conducted by GIEWS, ranging from the interpretation of satellite images to estimating food import requirements, an integrated information system or GIEWS Workstation needed to be developed. The concept and design of the Workstation was initiated in 1990 by GIEWS in collaboration with the University of Arizona and the FAO Remote Sensing Centre. This led to the EU Trust Fund Project GCP/INT/534/EEC entitled “System Definition and Development of a Computer Workstation for GIEWS: Phase I” which started in early 1992. During Phase I, the GIEWS Workstation Development Plan was produced and a first prototype of the Workstation was completed in June 1993.

In order to keep in step with the rapid changes in PC technology, the Workstation was redesigned for the MS-Windows environment. This was possible during a second phase of funding by EU (GCP/INT/534/EEC, Phase II), which started under the same code in July 1993. During Phase II a geographic based interface was developed which now provides access to the GIEWS information bases according to geographical location. A network and data server for GIEWS was installed to house the Workstation database so that all GIEWS officers, as well as other users within FAO HQ, have access to the full on-line database.

To provide continued assistance to the GIEWS for the expansion and dissemination of GIEWS information, further financial support was obtained from the EC for Trust Fund Project GCP/INT/619/EC, which began in August 1996 immediately after completion of the previous project, and ended in October 1998.

Description

The general objective of the present project is to improve the capacity of GIEWS in providing the international community with early warning of impending food supply difficulties and more accurate assessment of the food aid requirements in specified geographic locations, and to contribute to publishing high quality timely reports.

The project has four specific objectives. It intends to continue the expansion (of Africa) and the creation of on-line geographical referenced databases (for the other continents) in the standardised format established in phases I and II, containing: administrative, agronomic, socio-economic, geographic, meteorological and satellite information as required for early warning food security, crop assessment and the locations of areas of vulnerable population groups.

Secondly, the project aims at adding new modules to enhance the analytical capabilities of the GIEWS Workstation. Furthermore, the project distributes the GIEWS Workstation to interested outside users as a finished product with a detailed user manual, and establishes an on-line system for the regular updating of information in the Workstation for selected users such as UN agencies and major donors, through Internet facilities.

Finally, the project intends to establish a training programme and detailed training materials for GIEWS officers and external users in the optimum use of the workstation. Materials are provided for customising GEOFILE for the display of other geographically-referenced databases.

Activities and main Results

In relation to the first objective, the project expanded the on-line databases for Africa and established databases for other parts of the world at a sub-national/district level (specifically Central and South America, CIS and Asia). GIEWS officers have now access to sub-national level data on population, crop distribution and calendars, political boundaries, real-time rainfall and temperature data, and real-time satellite images for most countries in Africa, Asia, the CIS and Latin America.

In relation to the second specific objective, the Workstation software was modified to accept new data formats and to import and export data from a variety of new database management tools and geographic information systems. The Workstation modules were converted to a multi-lingual format, and the Workstation software and databases were made available, along with training materials, to several other early warning and food security units.

Concerning the third objective, GIEWS set up in collaboration with FAO/AFC an Internet FTP site outside the FAO firewall for access to GIEWS data by EC/DG-VIII. This site is also used by USAID Famine Early Warning System and the USDA World Agricultural Outlook Board to exchange data with the GIEWS. The project also made the GIEWS databases accessible through Internet’s World Wide Web through a new module called GeoWEB. This allows access to the GIEWS Workstation databases to non-GIEWS users.

As for the last objective, during the life of the project the various GIEWS Workstation software modules were complemented with user manuals, on-line help and reference guides. In addition, both the GIEWS Workstation software and databases were configured so that they could be easily distributed on CD-ROM or over the Internet. Several training documents were created in tandem with the development of the multi-lingual version of WinnDisp3 and GeoFile and, for the latter, on-line and paper versions of reference and help manuals both in English and French were developed.

Administrative and Financial Matters

- Project NTE was extended to October 1998 as per agreement signed by the EC on 3.2.98.

- Administrative Overhead: 13 per cent (development project).

- Year Instalment: 40 per cent (ECU 195,000) upon signing of the agreement; ECU 265,000 in the second year; a final disbursement of any balance due (ECU 40,000) upon operational closure.

- EC Contact point: Mr. A. P. Hecker, Head of Unit, F6

- FAO Contact point: Janos T. Lehel, Chief, TCAP.

GCP/INT/736/EC - Assisting ACP Countries to prepare for the Multilateral Trade Negotiations in Agriculture

Project Rationale and Justification

The economic performance of many African countries was not positive during the last two or three decades, particularly in agriculture. Economic trends in the Caribbean and the Pacific were comparatively better, but agriculture stagnated or declined in most of the small island states of these regions. Several problems have affected agricultural export trade and food imports of the ACP countries. In general, global markets of their traditional exports have been characterized by declines in real prices and weak import demand; food imports have continued to grow in most of them, and efforts to diversify exports into other fast growing commodities, including processed products, have had limited success; finally a large number of countries have been unable to take full advantage of their Lomé Convention and other trade preferences in the EU.

The Uruguay Round (UR) Agreements present opportunities to all countries to benefit from greater access to world markets. Developing countries need to improve their knowledge of these Agreements, in order to assess their specific circumstances, their commitments and the benefits from the opportunities that may arise.

FAO had provided technical assistance to the developing countries during the UR negotiations and, following the coming into force of the Agreements in 1995, made considerable efforts to assist them in the follow-up process. The World Food Summit Plan of Action called upon FAO and other international organizations to strengthen these efforts. Similarly, the last FAO General and Regional Conferences requested the Secretariat to carry out a special training programme on WTO issues and Multilateral Trade Negotiations (MTN) in agriculture.

Description

The “Umbrella” Programme for Training and Uruguay Round and Future Negotiations in Agriculture entails the implementation of between 14 and 19 sub-regional training courses in the various economic development and transition regions. It has been designed taking into account the complementarities and synergies of the countries involved in the programme, the more general training on multilateral trade conducted by other international institutions (notably WTO, WB, ITC, UNCTAD, etc), and other sector-specific assistance provided by FAO to individual countries. Its main purpose is to enhance the capability of the ACP countries to deal with MTN in agriculture in order to maximise benefits as current or potential WTO members, taking into consideration their preferential trade relationships with the EU under the Lomé Convention and GSP Agreements. In particular the project will:

- improve understanding of the existing WTO Agreements so that countries are well prepared and knowledgeable about their rights and obligations as well as able to discuss future negotiations;

- prepare participants to analyse new issues that are likely to arise in the negotiating process and the consequences for them of alternative positions;

- take up and discuss special issues of regional/sub-regional concern.

In addition, the training programme will provide information and guidance on electronic access to sources of information covering interpretation, impact, transition measures and debate on these UR Agreements.

Activities and main Results

The training activities of this project will directly enhance the capacity of the relevant ministries, private sector and academic institutions to deal with agricultural trade policy/legal related issues, including Codex Alimentarius, animal and crops health, intellectual properties rights, etc, in particular those associated with the WTO negotiations and agreements. This will also include the reinforcement of their direct links with FAO and other international institutions dealing with MTN and Agreements.

Five sub-regional workshops directed to ACP countries reached a total of 312 participants from 62 countries from the following regions:

- Caribbean region (Kingston, 23-27 October 2000)
- West Africa (French speaking) (Yaoundé, 4-8 December 2000)
- Eastern Africa (Addis-Ababa, 15-19 January 2001): 59 participants
- Southern Africa (Lusaka, 8-12 January 2001): 79 participants
- Pacific (Tonga, 9-13 July 2001): 35 participants

In this way, they are also better prepared to receive the regular technical assistance provided by FAO and other international institutions on these matters. The information and training materials produced will be available to a large group of institutions and persons of the civil society, such as Parliamentary bodies, universities, farmers associations and NGOs.

Administrative and Financial Matters

- Commission Reference: 084360

- Administrative Overhead: 6 per cent

- Year Instalment: 80 per cent of the total budget upon signing of the agreement; a second disbursement 15 per cent will be made after receipt of the first progress report; a final disbursement of 5 per cent will be made, upon acceptance of final report, at project closure.

- EC Contact point: Mr. A. Hecker, Chief, F6

- FAO Contact point: Janos T. Lehel, Chief, TCAP.

GCPS/INT/741/EC - Supporting Pilot Applications of the Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems (FIVIMS) Initiative in Less Developed Countries

Project Rationale and Justification

Information on food insecure and vulnerable people is fundamental for the design and the implementation of programmes aiming at reducing food insecurity and underlying poverty.

While many countries have information systems that gather at least partially such information at national level, other ones lack totally this locally-collected data increasing the situation of the food insecure and vulnerable. Moreover, the existence of relevant information systems is not ensuring in itself effective and efficient results; it’s also necessary integration across sectors and different levels of aggregation.

The Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems (FIVIMS) initiative is intended to work with countries to identify existing relevant sources within a country and suggest areas where coverage is inadequate from both an integrated perspective and from one using information to facilitate and improve implementation of action programmes. Ideally, all countries will develop information systems that help to better identify food insecure populations and provide them with minimum safety net assistance.

The pilot applications in less-developed countries are to produce better information on food insecure and vulnerable people, including details on the location and underlying reasons for their food insecurity and vulnerability.

Description

The present project is one of the eight components of the “Programme 1999 to Support Food Security” that will benefit insecure populations in a large number of countries and regions in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The overall objective of the Programme is to provide technical assistance and advice to a number of food insecure areas, strengthening local institutions.

Moreover, this project is parallel in design to, and run in conjunction with GCP/INT/742/EC.

The development objective of the project is to improve food security, in particular for the most insecure and vulnerable population groups at country level, through improvement in the quality of the food security information collected by national FIVIMS organisations and through enhanced use of that information to improve the performance of action programmes dealing with both transitory and chronic food insecurity.

In particular the immediate objectives are:

- establish or improve the capabilities of national FIVIMS organisations in four larger ACP pilot countries to collect and disseminate critical food security information;

- increase the capability of the IAWG FIVIMS Secretariat, in collaboration with IAWG members and national governments, to provide enhanced project design, implementation, monitoring, and lessons-learned services to collaborating national FIVIMS and supporting regional organisations;

- provide specific lessons-learned from the pilot experience to assist the personnel of the EC RESAL and other IAWG FIVIMS partners through a variety of training and internet dissemination channels.

Activities and main Results

To establish/improve the capabilities of national FIVIMS organisations in the four selected countries the activities will vary from the inventory and evaluation on national data and information systems, through the draft of a document with a clear identification of vulnerable and food insecure groups, to policy seminars and technical training workshops to build awareness among key decision makers, and creation of a FIVIMS network of food security institutions. FIVIMS focal points have been nominated and missions organised in the four countries, a training course has been carried out (17 trainees) and the software tested. The project has a full complement of professional staff, ensuring the collaboration with the other related projects (i.e. RESAL).

The FIVIMS Secretariat is gathering, analysing and producing comparative lessons learned from the pilot country experiences and presenting these in a series of national FIVIMS Working papers, seminars, training (and the different internet channels, in order to disseminate the achieved results.

Administrative and Financial Matters

- Commission Reference: 092183

- Administrative Overhead: 13 per cent (development project).

- Year Instalment: 80 per cent of the total budget upon signing of the agreement; a second disbursement of balance of year 1 plus 80 per cent of year 2; a third payment of the balance of year 2 plus 20 per cent of year 3 will be made upon presentation of the respective report; a final disbursement of 20 per cent of year 3 will be made, upon acceptance of final report, at project closure.

- EC Contact point: Mr. A. Hecker, Chief, F6

- FAO Contact point: Janos T. Lehel, Chief, TCAP.

GCPS/INT/742/EC - Supporting Pilot Applications of the Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems (FIVIMS) Initiative in Small Island Developing States

Project Rationale and Justification

Information on food insecure and vulnerable people is fundamental for the design and the implementation of programmes aiming at reducing food insecurity and underlying poverty.

While many countries have information systems that gather at least partially such information at national level, other ones lack totally this locally-collected data increasing the situation of the food insecure and vulnerable.

Recent research has shown that the economies of Small Island developing States (SIDS) are in general more vulnerable to outside economic and physical shocks and have less capacity to bounce back from or compensate for these shocks than other developing contries’ economies. This economic vulnerability is also a product of small economies that are often quite dependent on one or a few export commodities. This is why the Commonwealth Secretariat sponsored recent work to develop a composite vulnerability index.

It is to study the consequences and capability to react to economic shocks that FIVIMS Secretariat proposes specifically testing the challenges and opportunities posed by establishing national FIVIMS in these environments.

This effort, in addition to the normal challenges associated with establishing national food security systems, will also need to deal with these extra circumstances of greater economic and human vulnerability that coexist with a generally weaker ability to cope with these shocks.

Description

The present project is one of the eight components of the “Programme 1999 to Support Food Security” that will benefit insecure populations in a large number of countries and regions in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The overall objective of the Programme is to provide technical assistance and advice to a number of food insecure areas, strengthening local institutions.

Moreover, this project is parallel in design to, and run in conjunction with GCP/INT/741/EC.

The development objective of the project is to improve food security, in particular for the most insecure and vulnerable population groups at country level, through improvement in the quality of the food security information collected by national FIVIMS organisations and through enhanced use of that information to improve the performance of action programmes dealing with both transitory and chronic food insecurity.

In particular the immediate objectives are:

- establish or improve the capabilities of national FIVIMS organisations in four pilot small island developing states as a means of reducing food insecurity and, through the use of appropriate regional institutions, of allowing donors and technical agencies to more effectively respond to changing circumstances of individual countries;

- increase the capability of the IAWG FIVIMS Secretariat, in collaboration with IAWG members and national governments, to provide enhanced project design, implementation, monitoring, and lessons-learned services to collaborating national FIVIMS and supporting regional organisations;

- provide specific lessons-learned from the pilot experience to assist the personnel of the EC RESAL and other IAWG FIVIMS partners through a variety of training and internet dissemination channels.

Activities and main Results

National FIVIMS start-up programmes have been implemented in four small island developing states, Barbados, Capo Verde, Comoros and Western Samoa, each of them with different level of development, colonial heritage, nature of food security problems and current/potential remedial action programmes. The project has a full complement of professional staff, which has made initial contacts with RESAL staff and Solagral staff for informal information exchanges. The RESAL website is currently linked to the FIVIMS website, that is being revised and more extensively developed.

At the end of the three year project period this project will have resulted in better functioning food security information systems in the four pilot countries, with key lessons to be shared with other country programmes.

The ultimate beneficiaries of it will be poor and food insecure populations in the selected countries and other similar “micro-countries”, benefiting from the receipt of improved targeted food assistance and poverty reduction programmes; the national and regional FIVIMS institutions will be strengthened and made more sustainable; donors and technical agencies will have better technical and methodological guidance to provide to national collaborators.

Administrative and Financial Matters

- Commission Reference: 092991

- Administrative Overhead: 13 per cent (development project).

- Year Instalment: 80 per cent of the total budget upon signing of the agreement; a second disbursement of balance of year 1 plus 80 per cent of year 2; a third payment of the balance of year 2 plus 20 per cent of year 3 will be made upon presentation of the respective report; a final disbursement of 20 per cent of year 3 will be made, upon acceptance of final report, at project closure.

- EC Contact point: Mr. A. Hecker, Chief, F6

- FAO Contact point: Janos T. Lehel, Chief, TCAP.

GCP/INT/758/EC - Provision of Consultancy Services

Project Rationale and Justification

The purpose of this project is to make available consultancy services to developing countries and regional organisations in pursuit of the goal of promoting national/regional food security and rural development. The Facility (for the provision of consultancy services) is primarily directed to support government-driven agricultural (including livestock, fisheries and forestry) sector programmes and activities, but may also be used to support activities of regional organisations; and to assist non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations. The project may be used to assist countries with such activities as:

- preparation of country food security strategies, poverty reduction strategy, etc

- preparation of sectoral studies, policy decision papers, constraints analyses, etc

- identification and formulation of investment projects

- formulation of regional food security strategies

- identification and formulation of technical cooperation projects, including monitoring and evaluation.

Proposal in related technical fields may be considered so long so their contribution to national/regional food security is demonstrated.

Description

The project is one of the eight trust fund projects funded by the EC under the Implementing Agreement for FAO Package Programme 1999 to Support Food Security; the Facility, for the provision of consultancy services, is a collaborative effort of the FAO and the EC in pursuit of the goal of promoting food security in developing countries.

The project is operating on the principle of accountability and transparency and request by a competent national authority/regional organisation.

The facility is intended for fill critical gaps and resolve specific problems for which local resources are not immediately available.

The proposals for consultancy services should meet the following criteria:

- be coherent and consistent with the EC Country Development Strategy

- be accorded priority by government/regional organisation

- be technically sound and sustainable

- involve the recipient organisation/institution in implementation

- limited and clearly defined scope, TORs and outputs as a basic follow-up action

- complement, without duplicating, other activities

- involve the most effective and efficient method of execution, ensuring the highest quality of the output.

Activities and main Results

The expected results are advice and assistance on food security, trough approximately 30-40 consultancy missions.

The Programme Coordinator has been designated as the “responsible officer” for the implementation of the project.

Guidelines and procedures for the implementation of the project were prepared in consultation with the EC. Emphasis was placed on consultation between FAO Representatives and EC Delegates, in addition to the government authorities concerned, in the identification and formulation of proposals for consultancy missions. In some cases they are closely collaborating in the formulation and endorsement of proposals for consultancy missions.

During the last reporting period, the situation was the following:

- proposals rejected: 28
- proposals pending: 13
- projects approved: 12

Administrative and Financial Matters

- Commission Reference: 093009

- Administrative Overhead: 13 per cent (development project).

- Year Instalment: 80 per cent of the total budget upon signing of the agreement; a second disbursement of balance of year 1 plus 80 per cent of year 2; a third payment of the balance of year 2 plus 20 per cent of year 3 will be made upon presentation of the respective report; a final disbursement of 20 per cent of year 3 will be made, upon acceptance of final report, at project closure.

- Amendment 1:

- EC Contact point: Mr. A. Hecker, Chief, F6

- FAO Contact point: Janos T. Lehel, Chief, TCAP.

GCPS/RAF/351/EC - Strengthening SADC Capacity for Early Warning for Food Security and Advancement of Agricultural and Rangeland Monitoring Sensing

Project Rationale and Justification

The 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) established in 1980, promotes regional cooperation in economic development. The Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources (FANR), designated in 1999 as a Development Unit by the SADC, has the food security as a policy objective that cuts across a number of sectors. Main objective is that adequate food be available to meet the needs of individual households and the total population as a whole.

Within the SADC-wide structure of FARN, the Regional Early Warning System (REWS) provides a mechanism for assembling, analysing and dissemination of food security information, thus enhancing food security interventions and management at national and regional levels. Many national economies within SADC are undergoing structural economic change and the introduction of the commercial market into many aspects of food security has resulted in a change of information needs and flows. This gives FANR much wider reaching interests in the utility of remote sensing, agrometerorology and GIS.

The current project GCPS/RAF/351/EC will both enhance capacity within the regional FANR and consolidate the decentralisation activity that has been carried out through the previous Regional Remote Sensing project, GCPS/RAF/296/NET, establishing a body of expertise across the SADC region.

The present project is one of the eight components of the “Programme 1999 to Support Food Security” that will benefit insecure populations in a large number of countries and regions in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The overall objective of the Programme is to provide technical assistance and advice to a number of food insecure areas, strengthening local institutions.

The GCP/RAF/351/EC project contributes to promote SADC ownership of the various activities with a view to ensuring sustainability of operations beyond the project, within the established SADC infrastructure.

Description

The GCP/RAF/351/EC project will take specific actions to the assessment and operationalisation of early estimation of agricultural production trough the use of simulation models. This may draw on current experimental methods that are being development in a number of institutions. The main thrust will be to compare and assess methods and implement those on an operational basis that are most promising and have scientific credibility, with documentation and training as integral elements.

The immediate objectives of the project are:

- enhanced capacity within the SADC Sector Unit and throughout the SADC region to operate a pro-active monitoring system, including a viable interface with a broad user community;

- an increasingly quantitative approach to food security early warning issues, advancing the methodology towards quantitative estimation of agricultural production and grazy conditions;

- pro-active handling of broader SADC-FANR issues through collection and analysis of data and dissemination of information products.

Activities and main Results

The results expected from the project are several:

- enhanced the technical support capacity of the SADC regional Remote Sensing Unit, complete with the development of a strategic plan for continued sustainability within SADC;

- participated in development of a sustainable training schedule for SADC nationals through a combination of syllabus preparation, high quality facility provision, and documentation;

- improved the regional capacity for imagery and vector data capture, analysis and product generation for food security and broader FANR issues, by means of documentation, training and backstopping;

- improved and documented efficient processing and communications systems for dissemination of data and products, including e-mail and the World Wide Web;

- facilitated the extension of the user-base for FANR products to include, amongst others, national early warning systems, governmental offices, donors, non-governmental organisations, and the commercial sector;

- operationally implemented appropriate, available methods developed in the global scientific community for early estimation of agricultural production and livestock condition suitability based on combinations of remotely sensed imagery, mechanistic models and GIS.

The outputs produced during the last reporting periods are several:

- with data and monitoring systems in place, regular 10 day and monthly bulletins were produced;

- 2 in-service trainees recruited and trained at the RRSU for 4 months;

- through participation in disaster management meetings, role of project enhanced

- 20 national agrometereologists trained at a regional workshop in Harare;

- recruitment of additional project staff completed

- 1 national user-producer forum conducted in Lesotho.

Administrative and Financial Matters

- Commission Reference: 073529

- Administrative Overhead: 13 per cent (development project).

- Year Instalment: 80 per cent of the total budget upon signing of the agreement; a second disbursement of balance of year 1 plus 80 per cent of year 2; a third payment of the balance of year 2 plus 20 per cent of year 3 will be made upon presentation of the respective report; a final disbursement of 20 per cent of year 3 will be made, upon acceptance of final report, at project closure.

- Amendment 1: project is operational as of 19 July 2000, termination date will be 31 July 2003.

- EC Contact point: Mr. A. Hecker, Chief, F6

- FAO Contact point: Janos T. Lehel, Chief, TCAP.

GCPS/RAF/360/EC - Improving Early Warning and Food Security Information in Countries Subject to Complex Emergencies

Project Rationale and Justification

With the increase of complex emergency situations, the difficulty of obtaining reliable and timely information for decision-makers has multiplied. The provision of information on how the emergency has affected people’s food security and nutrition situation is crucial for designing appropriate and timely responses.

The present project is one of the eight components of the “Programme 1999 to Support Food Security” that will benefit insecure populations in a large number of countries and regions in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The overall objective of the Programme is to provide technical assistance and advice to a number of food insecure areas, strengthening local institutions.

The GCP/RAF/360/EC project contributes to improve country level food security information for its normative and advisory nature and facilitates the work of other in-house units and field projects on food security. The project aims at the development of a conceptual and methodological framework, that will focus on how to improve early warning and food security information in countries subject to complex emergencies. The improved access and quality of the information relating to food security and nutrition would help all the involved bodies (local institutions, NGOs, donors, UN agencies) to respond in a quicker and informed way to emergencies, and to design appropriate rehabilitation and recovery programmes for affected population groups.

The GCP/RAF/360/EC project has a high degree of synergy with newly designed PAIA REHAB (Priority Area for Integrated Action on Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Preparedness and post-Emergency relief and rehabilitation), which determined the need for substantive changes in the project operational set-up and work plan.

Description

Countries subject to complex emergencies are often characterised by weak governance and institutions that are unable to provide needed information. This project will develop and test normative techniques and methodologies for improving the quality and the access possibilities to crucial information related to food security and nutrition situation in prolonged emergency situations.

The overall objective is to greatly reduce food insecurity among populations subject to the consequences of complex and protracted emergencies through improved quality of crucial information relating to food security and nutrition situation of vulnerable population groups.

In particular the projects aims at:

- appropriate institutional support structures and linkages at national and international levels for improved information systems in complex and protracted emergencies, and well-functioning networks amongst national and international stakeholders established in four selected countries;

- improved food security information system methods and techniques developed for wider application in the context of complex and protracted emergencies;

- information on areas and population groups vulnerable to complex emergencies assembled and disseminated.

Activities and main Results

The results expected from the project are several:

- review of ongoing activities relating to information system work in complex emergencies at national and international level with the view of enhancing collaboration and networking to better meet user needs;

- institutional capacity in case study countries to collect and disseminate food security, nutrition and vulnerability information;

- local experts trained in the use and application of field-tested methods and techniques for the collection and dissemination of information;

- a forum of experts and users on the mentioned themes, including experts and users from disaster-prone developing countries;

- a comprehensive review of methods and techniques currently used and a n assessment and identification of potentially relevant methods and techniques for the collection and dissemination of information to be field-tested;

- a set of methods for the collection and dissemination of information related to four case studies: Somalia, RDC, Angola and Burundi; consequent comprehensive analysis of the results; a set of guidelines relating to the application of such methods;

- a baseline databank for areas that are prone to emergencies;

- incorporation or linking and use of database in FIVIMS Common International Database; a databank maintenance procedure.

The establishment of PAIAs in FAO’s Medium Term Plan 2002-2007 is relevant for the implementation/activities of the project GCP/RAF/360/EC. Mainly the project should focus on developing a conceptual and methodological framework to support improvements in food security information work globally, with a focus on Africa, covering the various stages on the disaster management cycle. A process of participatory concept development should replace the case-studies structure. The case studies should cover a wider spectrum (in terms of countries and issues) than the four cases originally foreseen. Given the relevance of improved food security information for conflict and crisis prevention.

Administrative and Financial Matters

- Commission Reference: 093017

- Administrative Overhead: 13 per cent (development project).

- Year Instalment: 80 per cent of the total budget upon signing of the agreement; a second disbursement of balance of year 1 plus 80 per cent of year 2; a third payment of the balance of year 2 plus 20 per cent of year 3 will be made upon presentation of the respective report; a final disbursement of 20 per cent of year 3 will be made, upon acceptance of final report, at project closure.

- Amendment 1: signed on 4 August 2000, termination date will be 31 July 2003.

- Amendment 2: the progress report for the period 1.1.2001 - 30.6.2001 has not been submitted since project document and budget has been substantially revised. Project objectives and the overall project budget remain unchanged.

- EC Contact point: Mr. A. Hecker, Chief, F6

- FAO Contact point: Janos T. Lehel, Chief, TCAP.

GCP/INT/814/EC - Intensified Monitoring of Food Security in Five CIS Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan)

Project Rationale and Justification

As part of the conditionality of the EC Food Security Programme, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have established, with EC technical and financial assistance, a Food Security Information System (FSIS), also referred to as the Food Security Observatoires (FSO). Their role is to collect, process and analyse data related to food security and to issue, on a regular basis, a bulletin to provide clear analysis to policy decision makers (and later on to donors).

The GCPS/INT/814/EC match different needs. Firstly, to evaluate the food security data being generated by the currently operational and planned systems of data collection to determine if, and how the methodologies/practices need to/could be improved. Secondly, to develop the national capacity to make timely crop forecasts, to monitor and analyse the food security situation, to enhance inter-ministerial collaboration, to streamline the flow of information and to marshal it to build meaningful food security indicators, covering both the supply and demand side. Thirdly, to focus and harmonise the food security information bulletins being prepared. Fourthly, to develop the format of a food security and nutrition data base, to contain the information that is essential for the crop forecasting and early warning as well as the food security analysis activities. As a consequence the EC has requested that the focus of the project GCP/INT/814/EC be changed from providing a better base on which the Global Information on early Warning System (GIEWS) can assess the food security situation to providing capacity-building support to the Food Security Information Systems already established in the project countries.

Description

The present project is one of the eight components of the “Programme 1999 to Support Food Security” that will benefit insecure populations in a large number of countries and regions in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The overall objective of the Programme is to provide technical assistance and advice to a number of food insecure areas, strengthening local institutions.

The development objective of the project is to strengthen the capacity of the national FSO/FSIS to collect, analyse and diffuse coherent information and analysis of the food security situation. This will provide a better base on which the governments in these five low-income food deficit countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the donors can develop appropriate strategies and actions to improve food security and nutrition and minimise the impact of emergencies in these countries.

In particular the immediate objectives are:

- to review the current survey methodologies to assess agricultural production and food security;

- to strengthen the capacity of the FSIS to carry out food security analysis;

- to improve the ability of the FSIS/FSO in the five countries to report on food security problems in a clear and timely manner;

- to develop a food security database for use in analysis.

Activities and main Results

The improvement of the capabilities of the staff of the national Food Security Information Systems in the five countries will be achieved by a series of group workshops to be attended by the key FSIS persons and followed up by in-country training sessions to deal with the different levels of expertise of FSIS and to ensure understanding and correct application of the training in the country specific situation. The project officer presented a paper outlining the aims of the former project and how they are now more focused on training. Project staff have studied the RESAL reports and reviewed the Food Security Information Bulletins produced to date to better determine the training needs and areas where the project could contribute. Project staff have started substantive work on defining the food security indicators to be used, the preparation of the training material and the format of the data base; maintained monitoring of the food supply situation within the project neighbouring countries, and prepared regular reports as necessary.

Administrative and Financial Matters

- Commission Reference: 093033

- Administrative Overhead: 13 per cent (development project).

- Year Instalment: 80 per cent of the total budget upon signing of the agreement; a second disbursement of balance of year 1 plus 80 per cent of year 2; a third payment of the balance of year 2 plus 20 per cent of year 3 will be made upon presentation of the respective report; a final disbursement of 20 per cent of year 3 will be made, upon acceptance of final report, at project closure.

- Amendment 1: the project (formerly GCPS/RER/012/EC) period is from 19 July 2000 to 31 December 2003

- EC Contact point: Mr. A. Hecker, Chief, F6

- FAO Contact point: Janos T. Lehel, Chief, TCAP.