Working capital

The working capital component allows to advance funds when there is a donor’s commitment to fund a project and before funds are released. It reduces the reaction time to emergencies by enabling FAO to initiate activities and purchase the most critical assets before funding from resource partners is received. By enabling a rapid response, this component helps to mitigate the impact of threats and emergencies. 

Revolving fund

The revolving fund component supports the efforts of FAO’s emergency country teams to identify the most critical needs of affected populations, strengthen response capacity, and develop and coordinate technically sound response programmes. For example, it provides the possibility to deploy staff and organize needs assessments. Through the Level 3 emergency preparedness and response window, FAO can prepare for and respond to the extraordinary challenges facing the agriculture sector during a Level 3 emergency.

Programme

The programme component facilitates faster and more programmatic assistance that can be tailored to evolving needs on the ground. SFERA’s pooled funding approach provides the flexibility to adjust activities and support them according to the geographical and thematic areas of greatest need.

The programme component has three windows:

• Large-scale Programme window supports big emergency programmes (e.g., highly pathogenic avian influenza, El Niño, desert locust, COVID-19 pandemic, etc.). Funds from resource partners are flexibly allocated according to evolving needs and priorities on the ground;
• Agricultural Inputs Response Capacity window channels pooled funds from resource partners towards the immediate procurement and delivery of time-critical inputs;
• Anticipatory Action window enables FAO to act early once an impending threat has been identified, before disaster losses are sustained or livelihoods are compromized.

How to contribute?

• Provide unearmarked direct contributions to SFERA’s revolving fund.
• Authorize the transfer of interests or unspent balances from closed projects to SFERA’s revolving fund.
• Allocate a grant to a programme for more strategic assistance to a specific crisis.
• Provide funding to SFERA’s Agricultural Inputs Response Capacity and Anticipatory Action window for specific agricultural input assistance.
  

Through SFERA annual reports, resource partners receive yearly information on the activities and results achieved, as well as project highlights and stories below.

FAO seeks to further expand its partnership with resource partners through SFERA as an effective means to respond rapidly to shocks, maximize the impact on beneficiaries and increase the cost-effectiveness of preparedness, anticipatory action and emergency response, thereby reducing the need for costly external assistance in the longer term.

Related documents

Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities: Briefing note

Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) – Annual report 2022

Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) – Annual report 2021