FAO's EU Food Fund project has ended but its impact continues

Emergency assistance from the EU Food Fund has helped tens of millions of the world's most vulnerable people through the crisis.

Important facts

the high food price crisis, accompanied by the global economic recession, pushed millions of the world's poor even deeper into poverty in 2007-2008 and had an impact on global food security. The European Union quickly set up the EU Food Fund, allocating a historic 1 billion million euros to support those most in need. The EU provided funding through international organizations, non-governmental organizations and member State institutions, which then designed and launched targeted short-term projects to bridge the gap between national emergency needs and development goals. FAO has received 1/4 funding and targeted assistance through assessments to some 15 million people in Africa, Asia and Latin America. When the project cycle ended in early 2012, FAO was able to provide tangible evidence that investments in agriculture and nutrition had an immediate impact on pressing national problems, sometimes helping to improve the resilience of vulnerable populations. This finding has long-term implications for reducing poverty and improving global food security.

Bangladesh has experienced considerable economic development since the 1990 s, but when the high food price crisis occurred in 2007, more than 7.5 million Bangladeshis were pushed into poverty. This is a picture repeated in developing countries around the world, where the 2007-2008 spike in commodity prices led to a growing number of the world's most vulnerable people entering crisis situations.

The crisis has developed so rapidly and caused such widespread damage that no development organization can deal with it alone. The EU quickly intervened. It set up the EU Food Fund and allocated € 1 billion million to help countries address the urgent challenges posed by high food prices. The program ran for three years. When it ended in 2012, emergency assistance helped millions of the world's most vulnerable people through the crisis. At the same time, FAO has designed projects to provide training and materials needed to make it more resilient in the face of future crises.

Evaluation leads to improved selection of project objectives
FAO is the largest recipient of WFP funds, with € 0.238 billion ($0.32 billion) for 31 projects in 28 countries. Direct project beneficiaries include farmers, fishers and pastoralists 15 million Africa, Asia and Latin America. With the launch of the project, FAO, in coordination with its partners in the United Nations system, in particular its sister agencies, the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, undertook assessment missions to identify the specific needs and constraints of each country. Based on the feedback from the mission, FAO was able to define project objectives and provide support and training in areas such as improving agricultural production or water harvesting methods, introducing new crop varieties, creating private sector seed enterprises and establishing links between farmers and markets.

In addition to training, the project provides key inputs, such as seeds and fertilizers, agricultural machinery and irrigation equipment, as well as small and large ruminants, poultry and animal feed, and fishing equipment. For example, FAO projects have guided the immunization of more than 44.6 million livestock. Recognizing the importance of combining the provision of inputs with the provision of training on how to best use them, FAO has helped recipients to sustainably improve their own livelihoods, thereby bridging the gap between emergency assistance and medium-and long-term development.

In Bangladesh, in partnership with the government, FAO identified current and future needs and designed a project to support 80000 farming and fishing families in the south-west of the country. The region has been particularly hard hit because it is still recovering from flood damage caused by two successive typhoons-Typhoon Sidder in 2007 and Typhoon Ella in 2009. The project provides farmers with inputs and machinery, livestock and fodder, as well as materials for the construction of sheds. It also provides fishermen with fish species and equipment for aquaculture and open-water fisheries-all through the Farmer Field School established by FAO. Recognizing the success of the project in helping to improve production and help farmers build their future resilience, the Government is now discussing the continuation of the project and the expansion of the strategy.

Similarly, in the Philippines, FAO has established farmer field schools to promote small-scale irrigation systems. Meanwhile, the FAO Food Fund project in Zimbabwe has provided 26000 tons of maize and sorghum seeds, as well as suitable fertilizers, helping 176000 farmers significantly increase their production. In Niger, where the food crisis was further exacerbated by drought that destroyed harvests, efforts focused on reducing malnutrition in 72000 rural households, involving a population of about 500000, by increasing agricultural production.

FAO is not only able to get these projects up and running quickly and target their target recipients, but is also able to adapt to unexpected situations. Pakistan's original plan called for wheat and vegetable seeds and fertilizer support for 100000 farmers. But when Pakistan was hit by severe monsoon floods, FAO expanded the project to help people in the flooded areas while continuing to provide promised assistance to farmers.

http://www.fao.org/in-action/fao-eu-food-facility-projects-end-but-their-impact-continues/zh/

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