Lancé par la FAO en novembre 1996 pour permettre aux pays les moins avancés de tirer parti de l'expérience et des connaissances des pays en développement plus avancés dans le cadre du Programme spécial pour la sécurité alimentaire (PSSA), le Projet de coopération Sud-Sud continue de prendre de l'ampleur. L'objectif du Projet est de redonner un nouvel élan à la coopération entre les pays en développement participant au PSSA. La FAO a lancé ce programme en 1994 pour améliorer rapidement la production agricole, la productivité et l'accès à la nourriture dans les pays à faible revenu et à déficit vivrier (PFRDV).
Sigue cobrando impulso el Plan de Cooperación Sur-Sur, lanzado por la FAO en noviembre de 1996 para que los países menos adelantados pudieran aprovechar de la experiencia y competencia de avanzada de los países en desarrollo más dentro del marco del Programa Especial para la Seguridad Alimentaria (PESA). Su objeto es imprimir un nuevo ímpetu a la cooperación entre los países en desarrollo que participan en el Programa Especial para la Seguridad Alimentaria. La FAO acometió este Programa en 1994 para mejorar la seguridad alimentaria nacional en los países de bajos ingresos con déficit de alimentos (PBIDA) con mejoras rápidas en la producción y productividad agrícola y en el acceso a los alimentos.
Launched by FAO in November 1996 to allow less-developed countries to benefit from the experience and expertise of more advanced developing countries in the framework of the Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS), the South-South Cooperation Scheme continues to gather momentum. The scheme is intended to provide a new impetus for cooperation between developing countries participating in the SPFS, which FAO launched in 1994 in order to improve national food security in low-income food-deficit countries (LIFDCs) through the rapid improvement of agricultural production and productivity and access to food.
By mobilizing FAO, bilateral and multilateral support, the South-South Cooperation Scheme overcomes the common obstacles to cooperation between developing countries due to a lack of foreign exchange. Under the scheme, advanced developing countries send experts and field technicians with considerable practical experience in agricultural and rural development to LIFDCs for two to three years, where they work directly with farmers and technical staff involved in the SPFS. The number of experts and field technicians required at any one time is determined on a case-by-case basis, but should be sufficient to ensure SPFS site coverage in all agro-ecological regions of the recipient country. The aim is to build up a critical mass; this has now been achieved in Senegal where the scheme first became operational in 1997 with 40 farming experts working directly in the field.
The aim is demonstrate tested technologiesy and approaches in a coherent and interactive manner. Under the South-South initiative, experts are now working in Senegal, the United Republic of Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Benin, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Niger, the Gambia and Mauritania. Experts are also expected to arrive shortly in a number of other countries including Mali, Djibouti, Mozambique, Bangladesh and Swaziland.
In Senegal, 100 Vietnamese farming experts are already providing hands-on technical advice to rural communities and farmers in the core areas of the SPFS mandate: water management, crop production, small animal production, artisanal fisheries and aquaculture. Food and fish processing, beekeeping and small-scale water control technologies are economically important areas where South-South cooperation has had a particular impact. Nuacman, a nutritious fish sauce used widely in Asia, is an example of a food processing innovation that has been successfully tested and whose use is spreading throughout the country. The introduction of a new beehive that produces more honey per hive has increased the profitability of beekeeping. The successful introduction of these and other new technologies in Senegal owes much to the professionalism, technical sophistication, energy, enthusiasm, hard work and versatility of the cooperating Vietnamese team.
To date, 25 advanced developing countries have expressed interest in participating in the South-South Cooperation Scheme by offering support to LIFDCs.