By Eric Patrick
On 9 June,
Ms Margarita Astralaga, Director of the Environment and Climate Division, delivered
a presentation on the Integrated Approach Pilot (IAP) to the Council members of
the Global Environment Facility (GEF). IFAD is the Lead Agency for the Food
Security IAP in Sub-Saharan Africa. The other two GEF IAPs on Green
Commodities Supply Chains and Sustainable Cities are led by the United Nations Development
Programme and World Bank respectively. The Food Security IAP comprises 12
country projects and one cross cutting knowledge/capacity building project for
a total value of $116m in GEF grants and $700m in co-financing, including IFAD
loans with which the grants are tightly blended.
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| ©IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon |
The
objective of this IAP is to demonstrate how food production by smallholders can
be enhanced while also improving the environmental health of soil, water and
agro-biodiversity; the basis of smallholders’ production system, their natural
capital and typically principal asset. The outcome of this 5 year program
will be the scaling up of these approaches both through the 12 country projects
and through influencing the policy discourse on agriculture and food security
in the region.
The
presentation by IFAD was well received by Council Members, including by
representatives of sub-regional constituencies of African countries, who also
expressed the desire of non IAP countries to benefit from this program in the
future; indicating a high level of support and demand for this approach. In response to Council's query on modalities to address challenges faced
by the IAP, Ms. Astralaga clarified that the coordination arrangements of the cross
cutting knowledge/capacity building project would instill collaborative efforts
with key actors engaged in food security issues to optimize the diverse
capabilities and opportunities available.
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| ©IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon |
The GEF is
a fund intended to assist Member States meet their obligations and commitments
under the Climate Change, Biodiversity and Desertification Conventions and
other Multilateral Environmental Agreements. This IAP is innovative because
it promotes integration among sectors on food security and directly links to
development objectives. IFAD has been a GEF Agency since 2004, with the
current GEF cycle worth $3.4b. The IAP modality will be evaluated in 2017 and
if found to be promising will become a prominent instrument in subsequent GEF
cycles.