Posted 12 November 1998
At its last meeting in September the Thematic Group in Cambodia agreed to support the preparation of a Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Mapping System (FIVIMS) to assemble, analyze and disseminate information about people in Cambodia who are food insecure or at risk, who they are, where they are located and why they are food insecure or vulnerable. To initiate this activity a contract has been provided to the Ministry of Rural Development for the preparation of FIVIMS guidelines. The guidelines will set out simple and low cost approaches that build on existing country level data collection activities, as a basis for the preparation of a Cambodian mapping system. The Thematic Group on Rural Development and Food Security will continue to be the mechanism to promote collaboration among concerned UN organisations and non UN partners for the FIVIMS.
For more information, contact Mr. A. Spijkers, FAO Representative in Cambodia at: FAO-KHM@field.fao.org
The Thematic Group in Turkey is sponsoring the formulation of an "Integrated Rural Development Project" for the Eastern Anatolia, which is one of the two least developed regions in the country. The Programme Formulation Mission includes three international consultants (two agriculturists and one economist) accompanied by three national counterpart consultants. The mission will pay visits to Erzurum, and provinces in Eastern Anatolia based on a programme prepared by the Atatürk University in Erzurum, which is the executing agency of the preparatory assistance project . Since livestock production is the main occupation of the rural people living in the area, the main activity of the project is expected to be feed production and small and large ruminant feeding and management. Other potential activities include protected vegetable production, aquaculture, handicrafts and bee keeping. Family nutrition, child health and labour, birth control and social development of the local communities will also be considered. UNDP and the Government of Sweden are jointly financing the mission. Estimated total budget of the mission is $40.000 with UNDP covering the expenses of the three national consultants and Sweden three international consultants. The project will be co-financed by UNDP, Government of Turkey and interested donors.
The uniqueness of this integrated rural development project is that a concerted effort by the concerned UN Agencies will be followed with a programme approach. Rural development will be achieved not only through rural infrastructure and agricultural development, but dealing also with social activities, health and nutrition, tourism, industry, child and female labour and education. Development will be pursued together with the local communities in a participatory manner.
For more information, please contact the FAO Programme Officer in Turkey, Mr. Onul, Secretary of the Thematic Group at: FAO-Tur@field.fao.org
We are pleased to feature a profile submitted by The Global Forum for Sustainable Food and Nutritional Security, which is an active partner from civil society in the ACC Network on Rural Development and Food Security.
The Global Forum on Sustainable Food And Nutritional Security was created during a global meeting of 25 strongly representative regional and global networks and movements of the five continents, gathered in Brasilia from the 25 to 30 August 1997. This was in response to the need for a Southern-led movement that would strengthen global civil society participation in the following process:
Agora in Brazil was elected to host the Secretariat of the Forum until the WTO Conference on Agricultural Trade in 1999. Since its inception, the Forum has grown to a membership of almost 200 networks and organizations covering 80 countries and a mailing list of close to 4000.
Global civil society is not satisfied with the goals set by governments to reduce by half the number of hungry people in the world by 2015. More can be done and civil society can and must do something. Global Civil Society can do this by working together and combining mobilization, elaboration, lobbying, networking and communication. It relies on the participation of interested people and organisations worldwide.
The Forum has recently completed its first year of existence, a year in which it acquired almost 200 members. It is organised around 13 specific tasks, each with focal points, and also through regional focal points. It intends to stimulate the constitution of national coalitions/forum to inform and mobilise civil society on these issues. Slowly the language barrier is being broken as relevant texts, proposals and documents are translated, stimulating participation and informing about local and international actions. Civil Society needs to continue to strengthen and speed up efforts of coordination to increase its capacity to construct alternatives.
For more information contact: Global Forum on Sustainable Food and Nutritional Security, SGAN 905 Conj. "B" Parte "A", 70790-050 Brasília - DF, Brazil Tel: +556 1347 4914 Fax: +556 1347 9002/274 8822 E-mail: agora@tba.com.br
The Thematic Group in Zambia organized a National Food Needs Assessment undertaken by a number of Government institutions. Funds for the study were obtained from UNDP, UNICEF, FAO, WFP and USAID. The objectives of the study were to estimate the population affected by abnormal weather, identify the type of households requiring assistance, assess quality of infrastructure in the affected districts, determine the level of market access and determine the type of intervention required for various population groups.
The study noted that households eligible for food assistance are the food deficit and without secondary sources of incomes such as from fishing, petty trading, beer brewing, crafts making, etc. Wage employment is almost non existent in the areas studied. However, the most important livelihood for households is farming.
As a result of the study, many donors have appreciated the localized effects of drought and floods and the Government has launched an appeal for emergency assistance for victims in North Western, Central, Luapula, Western and Southern Provinces. For more information, please contact the FAO Representative, Mr. G. K. Mburathi in Zambia: FAO-Zambia@field.fao.org
Follow this link to find out about the progress, which has been made by the Network's Thematic Group in Lebanon. We are pleased to feature a profile submitted by the Group in Lebanon and information on its membership, mandates and planned activities are presented here. Thematic Groups in other countries are encouraged to contribute relevant information on their achievements and activities, which could be posted on-line in future updates of this Web site.
With the continuous support of the Rural Development Division and taking into consideration the comments of the Farm Management and Production Economics Service of FAO, the sub-group prepared the terms of reference for two national consultants: "Agronomist/Farming Systems" and "Participatory Rural Development" in order to conduct the PRA in "selected areas". The objective is to study the existing farming systems, propose most suitable improvements for increasing food security and diversifying income sources, assess socio-economic and institutional constraints facing the agricultural sector and opportunities, appraise existing mechanisms of development, identify improved farming systems and synthesize study findings into concrete activities for possible follow-up by the Sub-thematic Group for Rural Development and Food Security.
The "selected areas" will be identified in the light of the poverty mapping exercise approved by the Council of Ministers. The results of this exercise will be introduced to the public during the launching of the poverty alleviation programme on October 21, 1998. In the next meeting of the Thematic Group, these areas will be selected on the "agricultural poorest areas" basis. The identification of national consultants for these missions is underway and their mission will start soon.