What led to this positive development and what advantages has Multiple Accreditation had? 
Following the changes in Central and Eastern Europe and the breakup of the Soviet Union, FAO’s Europe and Central Asia Region was without country offices. Yet countries such as Georgia had a high level of rural poverty and an underdeveloped agriculture sector. To assist development while avoiding the constraints associated with opening fully-fledged representations in the Caucasus countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia), Multiple Accreditation offices were opened in all three. Armenia and Georgia were accredited with the Regional Office in Budapest, and Azerbaijan with the FAOR to Turkey and subsequently the Subregional Office in Ankara. 

A clear advantage is the close connection with the multidisciplinary team of experts in the Regional Office. This facilitates dialogue on challenges facing the country as well as new activities and requests to be taken on at short notice. Another important benefit is staff empowerment, particularly for the Assistant FAOR. Strengthening the Organization’s operational presence by decentralizing management functions and delegating authority to local staff has proved to be effective, and improved partnerships with Government. It has also enhanced FAO’s reputation among stakeholders, significantly boosting external resource mobilization for the CPF. 

Georgia has shown positive trends in terms of the value of FAO’s programme delivery. What are some of the key results achieved since 2012?
A basic principle of our work is close collaboration with stakeholders on the ground, particularly resource partners. Consequently, in addition to engaging our technical expertise, the Agriculture Ministry has chosen FAO to facilitate donor coordination and dialogue with resource partners. A key result to cite is the successful policy support and capacity development delivered to the Ministry, which has enabled the country’s agriculture strategy to be formulated. Further achievements are: strengthened capacities for ensuring Georgian agricultural products enter international markets; improved animal disease prevention and control; establishment of a national agency for agricultural cooperatives; a seed law and state-of-the-art certification scheme; and a pilot farm registry. And, to help conflict-affected populations, FAO has co-invested more than US$3 million (with EU support) in agricultural livelihoods for IDPs.

What is needed for Multiple Accreditation to be successful?
A key requirement is empowerment, allowing staff in the Representation to be fully responsible and accountable for the country programme and ensuring the office is fully recognized by local stakeholders. Adequate funding is needed to enhance the office’s technical capacity so it can respond to immediate ad hoc demands. At the same time short-term positions can be a useful staffing measure allowing cost-effective operation of the office. This implies flexibility, with cost sharing between scarce RP funds and extrabudgetary funds. 

In terms of programming, with the updating of the CPF for Georgia, an effort is being made to sharpen the programme’s focus and synergies, and to adopt the conceptual approach of the Regional Initiative for Empowering Smallholders and Family Farms. The real challenge will lie in linking the programme with support to the SDGs, ensuring attention to agriculture as well as the need to raise governance institutions’ awareness and strengthen linkages with other institutions.