RNE Resilience Workshop, 8 -10 Feb, 2015 Egypt

1. Nasredin Hag Elamin

2. Why the Initiative?
 Lack of progress on the MDG on hunger
◦ Increase in the proportion of undernourished between 1990-92 and
2012-2014
◦ Double burden of malnutrition
 Severe structural constraints to food security and nutrition:
limited and fragile natural resource base; high population
growth, growing urbanisation, low agricultural productivity
 High vulnerability to a broad set of hazards and risk drivers of
man made and natural disasters: drought, transboundary plant
& animal pests and diseases, conflicts and civil insecurity

3.  Overall Objective of the RI
◦ Addressing short and long-term vulnerabilities,
acute shocks and stresses with a focus on
improving FS and nutrition through building
resilient FSN institutions, communities and
households

4. FOCUS COUNTRIES
◦ Countries in protracted crises and LDCs (Palestine,
Sudan, Yemen, Mauritania)
◦ Syria-crisis affected countries (Syria, Lebanon,
Jordan, Iraq)
◦ Countries in transition (Egypt)
◦ Countries with high exposure to vulnerabilities of
external food supplies.
 7 countries have been selected in 2014:
Yemen, Sudan, WBG, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon
and Iraq

5. Main pillars/intervention areas
 Developing FSN policy & strategy frameworks (SO1,
SO5)
 Strengthening FSN information & knowledge exchange
systems (SO1, SO5)
 Promoting efficient and effective food value chains:
transboundary animal and plant pests and diseases,
food losses, food safety & quality (SO4, SO2)
 Access of households to safe, nutritious and diversified
food (SO1, SO4)
 Building the resilience of institutions, individuals,
households, communities and agro-eco systems to
anticipate, absorb and recover from the negative
impacts of the man-made and natural shocks (SO5)

6. Delivery approach
 The RI is led by SO5 and is fully aligned
with/reinforcing the SO5 country support
process
 While focused on SO5, it brings linkages and
synergies with other SOs
 RI Resilience teams are divided into:
◦ Core team (RNE, TCE)
◦ Country specific support teams (RNE, TCE, other FAO
units)

7. HIGHLIGHTS OF PROGRESS ACHIEVED IN 2014
1. Support to Country Planning and Programming
 Country action plans with a focus on resilience
have been developed for 8 countries (Lebanon,
Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, and
Syria);
 Sub-regional PoA anchored in resilience approach
combining emergency and development interventions
has been formulated for the Syria crisis-affected
countries

8. In 2014, countries were assisted in mobilising a total of USD 54
million in support of their resilience plans of action.
2. Policy development
- RCM: FAO continue to work with UN and other partners on regional
FS issues: e.g. side events during CFS with ESVWA and IFPRI
- Policy support to Sudan
- Support to some countries in their preparation for ICN2
3. Food security information (FSIS)
- A sub-regional project on FSIS is launched aiming at timely
gathering and analysis of food security and nutrition information
for the Syria crisis affected countries
- FSIS related projects in Sudan and Yemen and Iraq (Kurdistan
region of Iraq)
- Support in implementing the global strategy on statistics

9. 4. Food value chains
- Support to control of transboundary plant and animal pests and diseases: Avian flue
(Egypt), locust (the whole region); FMD (Algeria, Morocco; Rift valley fever (Mauritania,
Morocco, and Tunisia)
- Development of regional strategic framework for reducing food losses and waste in the
region
- Comprehensive assessment of food losses in the region;
- Supporting the establishment of a regional network on food losses and waste
5. Resilience of communities and households:
- Food security and livelihood assessment: Syria crisis-affected countries
- Assistance focusing on livelihoods support, restoring small-scale farmers was provided
to several countries.
- Examples
- More than 40,000 families in Syria; 28,000 small holders in Iraq (agric inputs, animal
feed, and vet services)
- 800,000 livestock heads vaccinated in Lebanon
- to Lebanon, Syria, Sudan and Iraq
- Sub-regional programme for FSIS: funding from USAID and FAO
- Two projects in Sudan and Yemen
- Kurdistan region of Iraq: FS monitoring system
- Support in implementing the global strategy on statistics

10. Challenges and areas for improvement
- Ensuring a coherent and coordinated
implementation of resilience plans at the
country, sub-regional and regional levels
- Promoting and strengthening the country
support process
- Identifying and scaling up of good resilience
practices

11. THANK YOU