Evaluating South-South and Triangular Cooperation

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, as outlined in the 2030 Agenda, requires innovative partnerships and creative approaches. With countries in the Global South having so much to offer through the sharing of their experiences, demand for South-South Cooperation and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) has never been greater.

But how does SSTC contribute to sustainable development?

By facilitating job creation, infrastructure development, and trade, the framework breaks the traditional dichotomy between donors and recipients, generates new tools and partnerships, and proves effective in addressing pressing challenges, including food insecurity, poverty and sustainable agriculture.

FAO has been driving cooperation among countries of the global South since 1979 and SSTC has been progressively integrated into FAO’s priority work, including the Strategic Framework.  It has implemented a portfolio of more than 140 projects covering around 110 countries with a budget of about USD 550 million.

In the celebration of the United Nations Day for SSTC on September 12 2024, let’s take a closer look at key findings from the Evaluation of FAO’s South-South and triangular cooperation that covered FAO’s work on SSTC since 2012.

Addressing National Plans and Development Outcomes

SSTC projects have been relevant to national plans and partners’ needs; they have mostly focused on supporting the achievement of development outcomes, whereas their use in humanitarian contexts has been less frequent.

Fostering collaboration

SSTC has contributed to enhanced institutional collaboration and policy dialogue across various technical areas. FAO’s ability to identify and promote a variety of “southern solutions” was recognized by government counterparts as an area of strength. Additionally, SSTC is becoming an increasingly important focus for the Rome-based agencies.

Meeting context-specific needs

Many SSTC interventions were designed to meet local needs, adapted to specific contexts, and leveraged lessons from previous projects. There were, however, few interventions whose design was not always appropriate for the local context. SSTC projects designed and implemented in synergy with other FAO or partners’ projects were more effective than stand-alone projects.

Advancing Climate, Gender, and Nutrition

Several interventions promoted cross-cutting themes including climate change, nutrition, and gender. However, SSTC strategic documents could benefit from better alignment with FAO’s corporate strategies.

Sustainability and Scale Up

Sustainability of SSTC projects has been variable, often depending on the level of ownership, local and FAO capacities, and available resources. Interventions focused on system solutions, such as school feeding schemes, showed greater potential for sustainability and scale up, compared to those focused on technology solutions.