Programme 2.1.4: Agricultural Support Systems

Code

Type

Title

A1

A2

A3

B1

B2

C1

C2

D1

D2

E1

E2

E3

214A1

TP

Enhancing Small Farmer Livelihoods

214A2

TP

Meeting Urban Food Needs

214A3

TP

Sustainable Commercial Provision of Input Supply, Mechanisation, Investment Support and Marketing Services

214A4

TP

Agribusiness Development Targeted to Small and Medium Post-production Enterprises

214A9

TP

Enhancing Food Quality and Safety by Strengthening Handling, Processing and Marketing in the Food Chain

214P2

CP

Agricultural Services - Data and Information Systems

214S1

TS

Field Programme Support and Advisory Services to Countries

Legend

Greater than zero, less than US$ 1.5 million

US$ 1.5 million to 3 million

US$ 3 million to 5 million

More than US$ 5 million

283. The programme focuses on commercialisation by small-scale farms, urban food security needs, provision of commercial services including post-harvest processing and marketing, and support to small- and medium-scale agribusinesses, in line with prevailing conditions of globalisation and economic reforms, where rapid changes affect the incentives and opportunities available to farmers, local entrepreneurs and other agricultural service providers. A new TP 214A9, Enhancing Food Quality and Safety by Strengthening Handling, Processing and Marketing in the Food Chain, is introduced, complementing 221P8 of the ESN⁸² Division, by developing practical, technically and economically feasible and environmentally sound measures for producers, handlers and processors. TP 214A1 has been reformulated, with a new major output on Guidelines and other materials targeted at risk ecosystems and was extended to 2009. Work on data and information systems, initially conceived as a TP (214A5), was converted to a continuing programme activity 214P2 to reflect the continuous nature of demand for information on agricultural services.

284. Additional resources proposed for 214A2 in the MTP 2002-07, but not allocated in the PWB 2002-03, resulted in reduced work with government and municipal authorities to identify changes needed in order to improve the efficiency of food supply and distribution operations to, and within urban areas. In addition, some outreach activities were affected. Proposed provisions for 2004-09 would remedy this.

Rationale

285. Development problem to be addressed: the commercialisation of small farm production is a critical rural development issue throughout the developing world and in transition economies. Small farmers face unprecedented opportunities and risks as a result of market liberalisation, privatisation of agricultural services, and globalisation of trade.

286. Proposed contribution to problem resolution: it is necessary to strengthen the capacity of public sector and civil society organizations to establish enabling conditions for small farmer development and enhance farmers' managerial and entrepreneurial skills. These will enable farmers to make sound decisions with respect to enterprise management and resource allocation. As a result, farmers will respond more rapidly and effectively to new market opportunities and minimise risks associated with commercialisation and globalisation.

287. Intended end beneficiaries and benefits: Enhanced livelihoods, in particular through higher incomes and competitiveness of small farmers, including vulnerable groups and farmers living in fragile "at risk" ecosystems.

Objective(s)

288. To improve the support provided by public sector and civil society organisations to small farmers, including adjustments in their livelihood strategies, improved farm business management and income generation in the context of agricultural commercialisation and globalisation.

Indicator(s)

1. Examples of improved support programmes and services to small farmers, e.g. more demand-oriented, focusing on critical resources and assets, etc.
2. Examples of successful small farmer enterprise diversification and development initiatives, as supported by this entity.
3. Cases of field agents and small farmers using improved farm management, marketing and financial tools for farm and enterprise decision making.

Major Output(s)

1. Formulation of supportive policies and programmes for small farmers.
2. Appraisal and promotion of opportunities for increasing farm income.
3. Field guides and training materials for improving management skills.
4. Guidance on appropriate tools, equipment and mechanisation policies.
5. Support to small farmer advisory and support services.
6. Guidelines and other materials targeted at risk ecosystems.

Rationale

289. Development problem to be addressed: current demographic trends indicate that 50% of the world's population will live in urban areas by 2007. Improved food supply and distribution systems are necessary to address increasing levels of urban food insecurity, while ensuring higher farmer incomes.

290. Proposed contribution to problem resolution: meeting the food needs of future urban dwellers requires strengthening of capacities of national and local government institutions to recognise and address problems of food insecurity arising from rapid urbanisation, define respective public and private sectors' roles and support peri-urban and urban agriculture.

291. Intended end beneficiaries and benefits: more efficient food supply and marketing would be of direct benefit to urban consumers, with improved access to affordable and safe food supplies, and to rural producers as well, through enhanced income earning opportunities.

Objective(s)

292. Government and municipal authorities made aware of the need to improve food supply and distribution systems for urban food security and of possible solutions. Extension staff using techniques and options to promote value-added processing, to reduce post-harvest losses and to increase urban and peri-urban food production.

Indicator(s)

1. Examples of municipal, regional or national interventions and policy changes in favour of urban agriculture inspired by or using recommended FAO approaches.
2. Examples of improved municipal or national food supply and distribution systems designed or implemented in part due to this entity.

Major Output(s)

1. Policies, strategies and methods to strengthen rural and urban linkages and improve the efficiency and sustainability of food supply and distribution systems in rural, urban and peri-urban areas, responding to changing food requirements.
2. Policy, planning and investment support to city and local authorities and to civil society organizations aiming at enhanced efficiency and safety of food marketing systems in urban areas.
3. Assessment of profitability and sustainability of urban and peri-urban farming.

Rationale

293. Development problem to be addressed: profitable farming cannot develop without efficient input supply and marketing systems. Many governments have divested themselves of inputs supply and agricultural products marketing activities and are looking to the private sector to provide such services efficiently and on a competitive basis. However, the input supply and marketing sectors still require substantial improvements in a large number of countries, as they do not provide the services required for the development of an efficient agricultural system.

294. Proposed contribution to problem resolution: by improving the efficiency and competitiveness of the agricultural input supply sector, farmers will have access to the support services they need at a reasonable price. This will lead to increased food security and farm profitability.

295. Intended end beneficiaries and benefits: farmers and producers will gain from inputs and marketing services provided to them, with more choice and at competitive pricing. The ultimate benefit will be in terms of a more productive and efficient agriculture sector.

Objective(s)

296. Increased choice and supply of inputs for farmers; improved marketing services for farmers; increased competition among suppliers of inputs and services leading to more favourable pricing.

Indicator(s)

1. Examples of national input supply and marketing systems, successfully reformed in part due to this entity.
2. Improvements in prices and services offered to farmers resulting from supported market reforms.

Major Output(s)

1. Policy and strategy advice to foster the sustainable provision of commercial services - input supply, machinery, finance and marketing.
2. Guidelines, bulletins, training materials and software systems to support provision of commercial input supply services to farmers.
3. Similar range of activities linked to mechanisation products and services.
4. Advice and outreach materials to support the provision of viable financial services to farmers.
5. Advice and outreach materials to support provision of commercial marketing services to farmers.

Rationale

297. Development problem to be addressed: small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the agricultural sector generate a significant share of income and employment in low- and middle-income developing countries. However, knowledge and skills for enterprise management and for the selection and use of appropriate processing technologies are limited. As a result, their performance is often far from optimal.

298. Proposed contribution to problem resolution: governments and civil society organizations (trading boards, business associations, NGOs supporting small enterprises) can assist small and medium enterprises through enabling policies and institutional frameworks, information, training, and technical advice.

299. Intended end beneficiaries and benefits: the agricultural sector at large will benefit from the improved competitiveness and employment generation capacity of post-production enterprises, and from a better interface between producers and these enterprises.

Objective(s)

300. Small and medium scale enterprises and entrepreneurs in Member Countries have increased capacity and efficiency to offer consumers food and agricultural products through sustainable and profitable agribusiness ventures.

Indicator(s)

1. Number and proportion of SMEs that increased their volume of activity and/or generated additional employment and income with help from this entity.

Major Output(s)

1. Field guides and training materials on management and marketing practices for small and medium post-production enterprises.
2. Information materials and advice on environmentally sound processing, packaging, storage, transport and distribution technologies for small and medium enterprises.
3. Advisory and training materials and field guides for strengthening farm-agribusiness linkages.
4. Studies on the efficiency, profitability and competitiveness of small and medium enterprises, and guidance on policies, strategies and programmes for promotion and development of small and medium enterprises.

Rationale

301. Development problem to be addressed: incidences of rejection of food stuffs at national, regional and international levels due to low quality and/or contamination are on the increase, resulting in health hazards, physical and economic losses, reduced consumer confidence and lower trade competitiveness. The quality of food is governed by both pre- and post-production practices. Inadequate food handling, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, distribution and marketing may result in physical damage and/or chemical, environmental and biological contamination. In the long run, unsafe and low-quality foods may also hinder improvements in nutrition and health, poverty alleviation and social development.

302. Proposed contribution to problem resolution: by adopting practical and effective measures to control problems in food handling, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, distribution and marketing, the private sector in countries will increase its capacity to offer high-quality and safe food products to consumers.

303. Intended end beneficiaries and benefits: Consumers are clearly to benefit from high-quality and safe foods and a lower incidence of food-related illnesses. Producers, processors and traders should also benefit from increased consumer confidence and fair trade conditions.

Objective(s)

304. Concrete, economically-feasible and environmentally-sound measures taken at the technical level to enhance food quality and safety during handling, processing, packaging, storage, transportation and marketing

Indicator(s)

1. Number of enterprises that have successfully improved their operations and have been able to offer high-quality and safe food products.

Major Output(s)

1. Studies and technical support to evaluate problems and priorities for assuring food quality and safety along the handling, processing and marketing chain.
2. Technical support to national policies and strategies to maintain and reinforce food quality and safety in the handling, processing and marketing chain.
3. Technologies, methods and good practices for enhancing safety and quality of foods in the main components of the food chain, i.e. handling, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, distribution and marketing.

Rationale

305. Development problem to be addressed: policy makers, managers, and agricultural services providers in the public and private sector need information and statistical data about technologies and services available to the agriculture sector. These should enable them to frame appropriate policies and ensure efficient support services and enterprise development.

306. Proposed contribution to problem resolution: improved information management and access relating to agricultural services will improve decision making and the formulation of agricultural services policies and programmes.

307. Intended end beneficiaries and benefits: end beneficiaries are the farmers through improved technical information and policy environment and the general public through sustainable production and quality of agricultural products.

Objective(s)

308. Enhanced capacity in countries for data collection, information access, and decision making in agriculture.

Indicator(s)

1. Number of countries adopting standards and guidelines produced under the entity into their national legislation, and/or quoting FAO data on agricultural services in their policy documents.

Major Output(s)

1. Global information and data on farm power and mechanisation.
2. Post-harvest information systems and databases.
3. Information systems and databases for rural finance, agricultural marketing and farm economics.

309. This entity covers services in the broad range of sectors and subsectors included under Programme 2.1.4, including related inputs to emergency projects.

Programme 2.1.5: Agricultural Applications of Isotopes
and Biotechnology

Code

Type

Title

A1

A2

A3

B1

B2

C1

C2

D1

D2

E1

E2

E3

215A1

TP

Sustainable Intensification of Crop Production Systems through Technologies and Capacity-Building

215A2

TP

Sustainable Intensification of Livestock Production Systems through Technologies and Capacity-building

215P1

CP

Capacity Building and Risk Analysis Methodologies for Compliance with Food Safety Standards and Pesticide Control and Strengthened Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures through Irradiation of Food and Agricultural Commodities

Legend

Greater than zero, less than US$ 1.5 million

US$ 1.5 million to 3 million

US$ 3 million to 5 million

More than US$ 5 million

310. This programme, implemented jointly with the IAEA⁸³, benefits from revised collaborative arrangements agreed in late 2001, including for its technical cooperation component. It covers research, training and other services to foster applications of nuclear and related biotechnologies to intensify and diversify agricultural production systems and improve food quality and safety, while ensuring efficient and environmentally sound resource management. While the three component entities are retained, three priority areas receive additional resources, especially for capacity building: i.e.:

1. work on modern biotechnology under 215A1, mainly molecular methods for aiding selection, improvement and characterisation of PGRFA, including identification of GMOs ;
2. veterinary public health in 215A2 for responsible management of veterinary drugs and development and standardisation of diagnostic tests for zoonotic diseases;
3. support to PAAT⁸⁴ and PATTEC⁸⁵; and
4. food quality and safety, in particular through good agricultural practices under 215P1.

311. The programme maintains close collaboration with AGA⁸⁶, AGP⁸⁷ and ESN, including through pertinent PAIA's, especially on biotechnology, biosecurity and integrated production systems.

312. The lower level of resources in 2002-03, if compared to projections in the MTP 2002-07, resulted in reduced publication outputs under 215A1 and 215A2, in particular on understanding GMO technology for insect pest management and attendant risks, and guidelines on molecular marker methods for characterising plant genetic resources.

Rationale

313. Development problem to be addressed: efforts to achieve development goals through agriculture and international trade are being undermined by various forms of soil degradation, the use of crop germplasm that is poorly adapted to harsh environments and the physical damage or trade restrictions caused by insect pests. Identifying the causes, understanding the dynamics and finding solutions to these problems require access to appropriate diagnostic tools and plant production and protection technologies.

314. Proposed contribution to problem resolution: nuclear techniques and biotechnologies provide valuable tools for researching both constraints and opportunities for intensifying and diversifying cropping systems, and for promoting international trade.

315. Intended end beneficiaries and benefits: producers, through access to more cost-effective crop management practices and use of higher yielding crop germplasm; consumers through availability of higher quality and safer fruits and vegetables. Environmental benefits include reduced soil erosion and nutrient mining, increased carbon sequestration, more efficient use of water and external inputs and less contamination of water.

Objective(s)

316. Advanced technologies, products and practices for soil, water and nutrients analysis, crop germplasm improvement and risk assessment and management of major trade-related pests, used by National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) and plant protection authorities, and transferred to extension services, NGOs and concerned projects.

Indicator(s)

1. Examples of effective use of technologies and practices, & feedback from users.
2. Number and types of national staff trained thanks to this entity.

Major Output(s)

1. Improved soil, water and nutrient management practices and capacities for sustainable intensification of cropping systems and environmental protection.
2. Biotechnology and enhanced capacities for crop germplasm characterization, selection and improvement.
3. Improved procedures and capacities for risk assessment and management of major trade related insect pests of crops and biological control agents.

Rationale

317. Development problem to be addressed: as recalled under Programme 2.1.3 above, governments have to grapple with the risks accompanying this "livestock revolution", and in particular with the challenges of increasing productivity without degrading the feed and genetic resources upon which production depends, and of ensuring that diseases which impact on trade and human health are brought progressively under control or eradicated.

318. Proposed contribution to problem resolution: biotechnologies such as immunoassays and molecular markers, as well as the sterile insect technique (SIT), can assist with better characterising and managing feed and animal genetic resources and controlling or eradicating transboundary animal diseases.

319. Intended end beneficiaries and benefits: livestock producers and exporters through improved productivity and freedom from International Office of Epizootics (OIE) List A diseases; consumers through more widely available and safer products; the environment through improved lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduced soil erosion.

Objective(s)

320. Advanced technologies, products and practices for the integrated management of natural resources, constraint and risk assessment and management, diagnosis and control of transboundary insect pests developed, tested and used by NARS and transferred to livestock production and veterinary authorities, extension services, NGOs and interested projects.

Indicator(s)

1. Number of veterinary laboratories achieving accreditation for conduct of diagnostic tests for TADs.
2. Number of laboratories with enhanced capacities for sampling and testing for presence of veterinary drugs in meat and milk.
3. Examples of effective use at national level of the technologies and management options promoted by this entity.
4. Feedback from users on relevance and efficiency of tested / adopted technologies and management practices.

Major Output(s)

1. Biotechnology and strengthened capacities for characterizing farm animal genetic resources and improving natural resource management within production systems.
2. Biotechnology and enhanced capacities for assessing and managing the risks from transboundary animal diseases, diseases of veterinary public health importance and veterinary drugs through international standards to improve diagnosis, surveillance and control.
3. Area-wide policies and integration of the SIT into intervention campaigns against tsetse and screwworm flies.

Rationale

321. Development problem to be addressed: countries are increasingly giving priority to food control systems that are designed to ensure quality and safety throughout the food chain and to meet the standards enforced by the World Trade Organization (WTO) within the agreements on sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) and technical barriers to trade (TBT).

322. Proposed contribution to problem resolution: laboratories are an integral component of food control systems, providing policy makers at national, regional and international levels with the necessary data to support decision making. Nuclear and other methods are used to analyse food and environmental samples and commercial products, and irradiation is an effective pathogen and insect control method which does not affect product quality.

323. Intended end beneficiaries and benefits: consumers, through safer and better quality produce; producers and traders, through improved income-generating and trade potential.

Objective(s)

324. Greater ability of food control laboratories in developing countries to sample and analyse products for residues and contaminants covered by Codex standards; greater adherence to good agricultural and manufacturing practices.

Indicator(s)

1. Number of laboratories participating successfully in inter-laboratory method validation exercises and proficiency testing.
2. Number of countries using irradiation as a sanitary and phytosanitary treatment.
3. Number of countries integrating and using GAP for production of fruits and vegetables in their extension programmes.

Major Output(s)

1. Strengthened capacities and procedures for risk analysis related to food safety and pesticide management.
2. International standards on irradiation as a sanitary and phytosanitary treatment for food and agricultural commodities.

⁸² Food and Nutrition Division

⁸³ International Atomic Energy Agency

⁸⁴ Programme Against African Trypanosomiasis

⁸⁵ Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Eradication Campaign (IAEA/OAU)

⁸⁶ Animal Production and Health Division

⁸⁷ Plant Production and Protection Division