a) Comments on project guidelines and proposals in the context of World Food Summit follow up.
Within the context of FAO-NGO collaborations, the consultant assisted the RRDO in strengthening existing FAO projects in terms of inclusion of peoples participation in community development, involvement of NGOs and farmers groups and decentralised planning. These are:
1. The Special Programme on Food Security (SPFS):
The Programme documents were studied to familiarise with the programme components and assess the scope of involvement of NGOs and civil society organisations. The SPFS guidelines were found to be comprehensive in covering aspects of water control and land development, plant production, animal breeding and aquaculture, and socio economic constraints analysis but does not specifically respond to people’s participation in community planning and the involvement of NGOs in these activities.
2. Regional and national projects:
Inputs from RAPS were provided in regional and national projects such as:
1. Regional Development Partnership Programme (RDPP) for Food security and Sustainable Development.
2. Environmentally Sustainable Food Security and Income Generation in Ayeyarwady delta(MYA/96/008)
3. FAO-NGO South Asia Programme
4. Participatory Watershed Management Training (PWMTA) Network.
b) Follow up to the Joint ANGOC-FAO/RAP Workshop on World Food Summit follow up.
Efforts have been made to strengthen linkages with ANGOC to follow up World Food Summit related activities. In addition, ANGOC has been invited to participate in the 23rd FAO Regional Conference in Myanmar in April 1998 to represent the NGO viewpoint.
The key recommendations of the the Joint ANGOC-FAO meeting held in August 1997 are a lead to undertake further joint activities with NGOs in the region. The report outlines the potential areas for future collaboration between FAO and NGOs as:
1. Need for regular joint forums and mechanisms for dialogue on:
a) policy formulation at grassroot level
b) FAO project missions2. Documentation, translation and dissemination of grassroot innovations in food security.
3. Involvement of NGOs in policy decision making.
4. Information Campaign to simplify and popularise the World Food Summit Plan of Action.
5. Promoting tripartite collaborations between FAO-GO and NGOs.
6. Operationalising the Household Food Security Indicators programme. This could be extrapolated to include household nutritional indicators, as well as nutrition focused community level planning.
7. Practical, do-able grassroot level collaboration.
8. Strengthening linkages between the FAOR in member countries and NGOs.
9. FAO officers on missions to member countries should interact with local NGOs.
10. Building linkages with Universities and research organisations.
