The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will be extending a total of $22.6 million in grant assistance to the Philippines in the next six years, according to its Country Programming Framework (CPF) for 2018 to 2024.
The new six-year plan aims to help the Philippines achieve greater food security, improve nutrition, and further develop the country’s agricultural sector.
The FAO also aims to help the country strengthen the resilience of Filipino communities against the threats of climate change and human-induced disasters.
“The FAO and our partners acknowledge that there is much more to be done to ensure that every Filipino will have access to safe, affordable and nutritious food and is resilient against threats of climate change and human-induced disasters,” Kundhavi Kadiresan, FAO assistant director general and regional representative for Asia and the Pacific, said in a recent news statement.
Based on the CPF, the FAO said about $6.4 million of the amount is already available, while the other $16.2 million will be raised by the FAO through its development partners and other sources.
Of the $16.2 million, around $13.2 million will be obtained from its development partners and the remaining $3 million will be sourced from FAO’s Technical Cooperation Program.
The FAO said it will also obtain funding and technical cooperation from the Global Environment Facility, Green Climate Fund and the Unilateral Trust Fund to source for a bigger share of funds for future initiatives.
“This estimate does not include resource requirement for the provision of emergency relief interventions. During the last six years, an average of $1.7 million was mobilized annually for emergency relief,” the CPF stated.
The CPF has three outcomes: improved nutrition for all; expand economic opportunities in agriculture, fishery and forestry (AFF) and ensured ecological integrity, clean and healthy environment; and reduced vulnerabilities among individuals and families and just and lasting peace.
The total amount resources needed to meet the first outcome is $2.76 million; the second outcome, $6.52 million; and the third outcome, $13.3 million.
Under the first outcome, the FAO aims to help the Philippines meet its Philippine Development Plan (PDP) targets to decrease stunting among children under 5 years old to 21.4 percent by 2022 and decrease prevalence of wasting among children under 5 years old to less than 5 percent by the end of 2022.
The outcome also aims to meet the proportion of households meeting the 100-percent recommended energy intake to 37.1 percent by the end of 2022. The proportion of subsistence poor individuals will fall from 8.1 percent to 5 percent.
For the second outcome, the FAO aims to help the Philippines attain its PDP targets of increasing the gross value added of AFF to 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent by end of 2022, and increase the growth of labor productivity of farmers and fisher folk by 5 percent to 6 percent by end of 2022.
The second outcome will also help the FAO increase forest cover by the end of 2022, or above 6.8 million hectares and decrease degradation of hot spots to about 2 million hectares by the end of 2022.
With regard to the third outcome, the FAO will help the country provide relief assistance to families affected by natural and human-induced calamities; communities in conflict-affected and conflict-vulnerable areas protected and developed; and increase the adaptive capacities and resilience of ecosystems.
“[The framework] does not merely indicate cooperation but also our renewed commitment and partnership for development. The FAO’s development experience and expertise, which match our needs and priorities, make them a strong and dependable partner in development,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said.
“Hence, this framework is focused on areas where the FAO can make transformative contributions. These areas include human capital development, specifically the outcome on improved nutrition for all; economic opportunities in agriculture, fisheries and forestry; ecological integrity; reducing vulnerability of individuals and families; and just and lasting peace,” he added.
The CPF is aligned with the priorities of the PDP 2017 to 2022, the United Nations—PFSD, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as other national policies, strategies, and plans related to agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector.
While reports indicate that there is enough food to feed the entire country, many Filipinos, especially children below the age of 5, continue to suffer from malnutrition due to inadequate intake of food and nutrients. The FAO will contribute to improving nutrition by strengthening capacities at the national and local levels on mobilizing resources, incorporating nutrition-sensitive food systems in development plans, and establishing or enhancing information systems related to food security and nutrition, such as the Early Warning System-Food and Nutrition Security and the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
The growth of the Philippines’s agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors continue to be hampered by declining productivity and non-competitiveness, due to the limited implementation of technology, degradation of natural resources and high vulnerability to climate change. The FAO will continue to help promote the sustainable management and competitive utilization of environment and natural resources through inclusive value chains.