Solution Exchange Forum on Agriculture, Food Security & Capacity Development

Because of the great strides that have been made in agricultural production technology over the last half century, it is possible to produce enough food to feed a growing world population of over 7 billion today. Paradoxically, the total number of undernourished people in the world has not diminished but instead has increased to nearly 1 billion. While new challenges such as climate change, rising food prices and price volatility, and the global financial and economic crises have been playing an important role in hampering progress in tackling food security in more recent years, it is widely accepted that the chronic underinvestment in small-holder agriculture, food security and rural development over the last several decades is one of the primary reasons behind this lack of progress in reducing levels of undernourishment.

The nearly half billion small-scale producers, the majority of whom are women, and the millions of waged agricultural workers are particularly vulnerable to the natural and man-made shocks that are affecting food systems around the world with increasing frequency. While the world has the know-how to produce all the food that is needed for a growing population, progress will depend on the ability to significantly and sustainably increase investment in small-holder agriculture and programmes that provide opportunities for the large numbers of poor farmers in developing countries who have been by-passed by the economic and technological progress that has taken place elsewhere.

The Solution Exchange Forum on Agriculture, Food Security and Capacity Development will review and discuss successful capacity development initiatives. The first segment of the Forum will cover the three dimensions of capacity development – human resource capacity, organizational capacity and the enabling environment – and include case studies relating to land tenure, gender, information and communication technology, agricultural extension, microfinance and conservation agriculture. During the second segment of the Forum, discussion will focus on the experiences of China as a provider and Nigeria as a recipient of South-South cooperation support, highlighting modalities of cooperation, major achievements and challenges, and future directions.

The Solution Exchange Forum on Agriculture, Food Security and Capacity Development is organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Time	REGISTRATION AT THE FAO Main Floor
Ms. Xiangjun Yao Director, Office of Knowledge, Research and Extension (OEK), FAO 09.00-09.10	Introduction of Presenters Moderator  Ms. Xiangjun Yao Director, Office of Knowledge, Research and Extension (OEK), FAO Ms Xiangjun Yao is the Director of the Office of Knowledge Exchange, Research and Extension since June 2011. She started her career as Director, Institute of Energy and Environmental Protection at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Engineering, where she worked from 1998 to 2004. From June to September 2004, she served as Deputy Director-General of the Center of International Cooperation Service, Ministry of Agriculture, China. From then until her appointment to FAO, Ms Yao was the Deputy Director-General, Department of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Agriculture, China. She was also a Guest Professor at the University of International Business and Economics, China, as well as a Council Member of the China Energy Research Society and Evaluation Expert for Engineering Construction Projects authorized by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture.
Mr. Abdul Kobakiwal Chief of the Integrated Food Security Support Service, Technical Cooperation Department, FAO 09.10-09.20	Introductory remarks by Mr. Abdul Kobakiwal,  Chief of the Integrated Food Security Support Service, Technical Cooperation Department, FAO Mr Kobakiwal joined FAO in 1987 as Country Project Officer for Asia and the Pacific, responsible for the overall operations of the FAO operated regional projects in the region. In 1992, he became Chief, Programme Monitoring and Analysis Unit, in charge of the monitoring, analysis and follow-up of FAO’s Field Programme activities. Three years later, Mr Kobakiwal took on the assignment as Chief of the Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) Management and Coordination Service in the Operations Division of the Technical Cooperation Department. In 2009, the service was transferred to the Policy and Programme Development Support Division and enhanced to Integrated Food Security Support Service (TCSF). Mr Kobakiwal’s responsibilities covered the formulation and implementation of the SPFS, and today the National and Regional Programmes for Food Security (NPFS/RPFS), as well as the management and coordination of the South-South Cooperation initiative within the SPFS, NPFS and RPFS, since 1996. Prior to 1987, work experience with other international organizations included: Project Analyst with the World Bank managed IDBA, Engineer/Economist with USAID and National Officer with UNDP. His last governmental job before starting the international career was Director-General, International Cooperation and UN Affairs in the Ministry of Planning, Afghanistan.
Mr. Niño Raymond B. Alvina, Project Management Specialist of LAMP2, Department of Finance, Bureau of local Government Finance and Mr. Henry Pacis, LAMP2 Deputy Executive Director, Departments of Environment and Natural Resources of the Government of the Philippines 09.20-09.35	“The development of improved land tenure regulation and land rights in the Philippines” The Philippines Land Administration and Management Programme (LAMP) is financed by the Government of the Philippines, the World Bank and AusAID in cooperation with FAO’s land tenure team through TCI and the CP programme. The LAMP programme is being executed in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Finance of the Government of the Philippines. It is a long term national programme designed to increase land tenure security and improve land administration services through institutional and legal reform, an accelerated land titling program, and a fair and uniform property valuation system – to ensure secure and improved access to land, essential for the investment necessary to ensure sustainable future food security, and equitable local government finance in an era of decentralization; all within the context of the recently approved Philippines Land Sector Development Framework. LAMP II, the current project in progress, is a US$40mn investment on the part of the Government of the Philippines. Two presenters, one from each Department, would be required to report to GSSD on milestones, progress, achievements and prospects in the key components of the programme. The programme is closely related to FAO’s normative programme relating to tenure, and is particularly relevant to the Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure currently being negotiated under CFS. Mr. Niño Raymond B. Alvina, Project Management Specialist of LAMP2, Department of Finance, Bureau of local Government Finance He heads the technical staff of the LAMP2 Property Valuation Staff, and is involved in the overall project management and operations of valuation and taxation activities for the last five years, including policy development, advocacy and implementation, and capacity building. He is a graduate of the National College of Public Administration and Governance of the University of the Philippines, and had worked in development projects, with interest on local government finance. and Mr. Henry Pacis, LAMP2 Deputy Executive Director, Departments of Environment and Natural Resources of the Government of the Philippines He has been part of the implementation of the land administration and management (LAM) reform program for the last 10 years and in developing innovations on land information management in technical and policy levels, introducing and managing changes in various government operations, and in instituting LAM partnerships between national and local governments. He is a land surveyor/geodetic engineer since 1989, a graduate of the FEATI University, and studied LAM practices in Australia, Thailand, and Laos, as part of developing the reform strategies for the Philippines.
Ms. Andrea Lorena Butto Zarzar Director Directorate of Policies for Rural Women and Quilombolas, Ministry of Agrarian Development 09.35-09.50	Addressing gender in the Family Farming programme in Brazil
Sriganesh Lokanathan   Senior Research Manager LIRNEasia from Sri Lanka   09.50-10.05	“Mobile telephony for rural development in Sri Lanka and India” Mobile phones are a vehicle for rural development as network coverage expands into remote rural areas and mobile ownership is widespread even amongst the poorest of households. Use of mobile phones is increasing producers’ access to input suppliers, transport agents, market traders and even retailers. Agricultural market efficiencies are increasing and critical information can be obtained in a timely fashion to support decisions, resulting in improved household revenues. However the effectiveness of mobile phones and the resultant livelihood benefits are limited by the skewed incentive structures of most agricultural value chains in the South. Some key experiences from Sri Lanka and India on the impacts and limitations of mobile phones in agricultural livelihoods, will be highlighted to show the potential South-South learnings Sriganesh Lokanathan Senior Research Manager LIRNEasia from Sri Lanka His areas of expertise include telecommunications, ICT policy and regulation and the use of ICTs to improve rural livelihoods. He currently handles LIRNEasia’s work on benchmarking mobile roaming and international tariffs as well on regulatory/ policy issues related to international connectivity. He has been involved in the drafting of Bangladesh’s new International Long Distance Telecommunication Service (ILDTS) policy as well as understanding the telecommunications regulatory environment in Afghanistan. He was one of the initiators of LIRNEasia’s supply-side indicators research. At LIRNEasia, he also manages the research on the nexus of ICTs and agricultural markets in emerging Asia with a focus on Sri Lanka, where he runs a not-for-profit called Govi Gnana Seva (Farmer Knowledge Service) which collects and disseminates wholesale agricultural market prices in Sri Lanka. He is actively involved in issues related to the use of ICTs for enhancing rural livelihoods in emerging Asia.
Mr. Ndambi Ndoki Cyprien   Farmer Field School master trainer from Congo (DRC) 10.05-10.20	“Role of Farmer Field Schools in Angola as an effective participatory extension methodology support of smallholder agricultural development” The Farmer Field School (FFS) is a platform for groups of small farmers to improve their understanding and knowledge of agro-ecosystems to take better informed decisions on farm management. A FFS group meets regularly over a cropping season, to test and compare integrated methods of field management that are new to the farming community with existing practices. The group is assisted by a trained facilitator, who is either from the government, NGO or the community. The FFS helps not only to improve technical skills but also works on strengthen the group, and encourages groups to take the lead in follow-up activities after the FFS season finishes. The first FFSs were developed in the context of Integrated Pest Management programme in 1987 in Indonesia. Since then the FFS approach spread rapidly in Asia and in the mid-90 also in Africa and South America. At the same time the FFS approach started to cover more disciplinary areas, becoming a multi purpose “participatory” extension tool and as such, it became an important extension tool in many projects and programmes including the Special Programme of Food Security. In this process SSC has played an important role. Many “Southern” FFS experts have been involved in introducing the FFS approach in other “Southern” countries like in Angola, where FFS were introduced in 2007, under the FAO Special Programme for Food Security. Experiences from Angola, including south-south cooperation will be shared. Mr. Ndambi Ndoki Cyprien Farmer Field School master trainer from Congo (DRC) Mr. Cyprien is a specialist in participatory and sustainable agriculture development with a solid experience in participatory development. After his agronomic studies at the Institut Supérieur de Bengamisa and training in crop and development animation, he worked for more than 15 years in the agricultural research, mainly in the cropping practices development and transfer of technology field after which he became responsible for training and extension at the NGO “CADIM” for 5 years. He worked as consultant for some national and international NGOs for training activities, evaluations, participatory or sustainable development. A the moment he has been working for more than 8 years as consultant and trainer expert, of which 5 years in Angola. Currently he is working as an international consultant for the Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) in Angola where he is responsible for coordination on the field.
Ms. Kambou Félicité Director of Coopérative de Prestation des Services Agricoles (COOPSA) 10.20-10.35	“How the warehouse receipt system is providing small-holders with improved access to micro-credit in Burkina Faso” Small-scale producers are faced with several constraints. One of them includes access to credit. Given the levels of existing interest rates in many developing countries, lenders are often unable to cover high transaction costs and associated default risks of lending to poor, dispersed clients in rural areas, where agricultural production is predominantly rain fed and where infrastructure is weak. The warehouse “receipt” system or “inventory credit” system is designed to tackle this constraint, by providing rural producers with a means to access rural credit. The borrower enforces its loan contract by using its agricultural production stocks as secure collateral. The success of this arrangement lies in the linkages between producers’ grass root groups and microfinance institutions. The group provides storage facilities for small-scale producers’ agricultural products. These stocks, much like a savings account, are used by producers as a collateral guarantee to obtain credit from the microfinance institution. The management of loans by a rural microfinance institution limits transaction costs. The arrangements have had a positive effect on farmers’ incomes. They allow farmers to obtain cash so that they do not need to sell their grain immediately, but can wait for market prices to increase. The producer cooperative facilitates this operation by providing secure storage. Farmers can start new income-generating activities, yielding extra profit from the credit obtained. On average, 18 percent of stocks are used for food during the lean period and 53 percent are sold. These mechanisms therefore also improve food availability for farmers and reduce distress sales. Ms. Kambou Félicité Director of Coopérative de Prestation des Services Agricoles (COOPSA) Before Ms. Kambou started working for COOPSA in 2009 she has been working in for different NGOs and projects as a local facilitator and grass-root worker since 1992.
Mr. Brian Sims former Director of the Overseas Division of Silsoe Research Institute 10.35-10.50	“How agricultural production systems can be made more sustainable through the introduction of “conservation agriculture technologies” Conservation Agriculture is increasingly recognized as the foundation for a sustainable intensification of agriculture, particularly in Africa. However, the speed of adoption is still slow, for a number of reasons. One of them is the lack of affordable and accessible equipment, such as no-tillage direct seeding equipment for manual, animal traction or single axle tractor use. While the introduction of CA in any country can start with imported equipment, the upscaling of the concept requires supply of affordable equipment with easy access for farmers, which is best done by local manufacturers. In an FAO supported CA project equipment manufacturers from several African Countries have exchanged experiences and learned from Brazilian manufacturers of CA equipment and started producing no-till seeders in their home countries. The background and process of this south-south capacity building activity will be presented. Mr. Brian Sims former Director of the Overseas Division of Silsoe Research Institute As the former leader of the International Development Group at Silsoe Research Institute1 (SRI) in the UK for many years, Mr. Sims advised on the identification, formulation, appraisal, management and evaluation of agricultural development programmes for the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and other governments and NGOs. He was invited by Stanford University as a visiting researcher in 1985 and in 2002 he was the recipient of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Kishida Award. Since leaving SRI in 2003, Mr. Sims has continued to work, principally for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in development and emergency programmes mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.
10.50-11.15	Plenary Discussion
Mr. Bukar Tijani, Honorable Minister of State of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nigeria 11.15-11.30	“How South-South Cooperation has been an important vehicle for capacity development in the context of Nigeria’s National Programme for Food Security” The experiences of Nigeria as a recipient of SSC support, highlighting modalities of cooperation, major achievements and challenges will be presented
Mr. Qu Sixi,  Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation, MOA of China 11.30-11.45	“The Chinese South-South Cooperation programme with FAO, supporting several countries” The experiences of China as a provider of SSC support, highlighting modalities of cooperation, major achievements and challenges and future directions will be presented Mr. Qu Sixi, Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation, MOA of China Mr. Ou Sixi has been working since 1984 for the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture in China, with the exception of five years during which he worked with the WFP and FAO in China. The department of International Cooperation in the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for the SSC programme with FAO.
11.45-11.55	Plenary Discussion
11.55-12.00	Closing Remarks