Project Title

Innovative Approaches in the Implementation of APEC Food Security Action lan Plan in Developing Economies 

Project Year

2011   

Project Number

ATC 5 

Project Session

Session 2   

Project Type

Standard 

Project Status

Completed Project   
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Project No.

ATC 05 2011A 

Project Title

Innovative Approaches in the Implementation of APEC Food Security Action Plan in Developing Economies 

Project Status

Completed Project 

Publication (if any)

 

Fund Account

APEC Support Fund 

Sub-fund

ASF: General Fund 

Project Year

2011 

Project Session

Session 2 

APEC Funding

98,902 

Co-funding Amount

7,500 

Total Project Value

106,402 

Sponsoring Forum

Agricultural Technical Cooperation Working Group (ATCWG) 

Topics

Agriculture 

Committee

SOM Steering Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (SCE) 

Other Fora Involved

Not Applicable / Other 

Other Non-APEC Stakeholders Involved

Not Applicable

Proposing Economy(ies)

Malaysia 

Co-Sponsoring Economies

Indonesia; Philippines; Viet Nam 

Expected Start Date

08/07/2011 

Expected Completion Date

31/12/2012 

Project Proponent Name 1

Mr. Yusof Othman 

Job Title 1

Not Applicable 

Organization 1

Dept. of Agriculture 

Postal Address 1

Wisma Tani, Jalan Sultan Salahuddin, 50632 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 

Telephone 1

+60320301401 

Fax 1

+603-26913530 

Email 1

yusofothman@doa.gov.my 

Project Proponent Name 2

Not Applicable 

Job Title 2

Not Applicable 

Organization 2

Not Applicable 

Postal Address 2

Not Applicable 

Telephone 2

Not Applicable 

Fax 2

Not Applicable 

Email 2

Not Applicable 

Declaration

Not Applicable 

Project Summary

This proposal will implement a project that directly builds on the Food Security Action Plan endorsed in Niigata, Japan and APEC Senior Officers Work Plan on Food Security. The project will address the issues related to sustainability and improved efficiency in the development of the current agricultural sector and safeguard agricultural trade in support of Food Security. This workshop provides an avenue for sharing experiences and implementing innovative approaches for Developing APEC Economies to formulate and implement an efficient APEC Food Security Action Plan. A pre-forum consultation activity will be conducted with three prospective participating APEC economies to gather relevant information and establish innovative approaches and Food Security Action Plan. A 4-day workshop will be conducted in Kuala Lumpur in April 2012 which will deliberate on the outputs of this activity, explore and propose appropriate actions, mechanisms and frameworks that can facilitate a shared approach to addressing the identified issues.

Relevance

The Niigata Declaration on APEC Food Security at the First APEC Ministerial Meeting on Food Security in Japan, Oct 2010 and APEC Senior Officials Work Plan on Food Security clearly addresses the growing challenges to tackle global food security. To meet such an important task and solve common concerns for food security issues, innovative approaches and solid action plans should be developed for the Asia Pacific Region especially for developing economies. This project directly supports these goals by developing efforts to implement and safeguard a more efficient food security action plan, particularly the first pillar of Food Security, viz. Food Availability (Food Production).

Addressing the issues of sustainability and improved efficiency in the development of the current agricultural sector and safeguarding agricultural trade to support food security objectives directly or indirectly falls within the following potential actions recommended for consideration:

i. Develop strategies in increasing productivity and efficiency of food production to
   address the issues of food availability and to increase rural income and
   accessibility to food,

ii. Develop and promote best practices for making agricultural production, food
    storage, transportation and distribution systems more efficient,

iii. Enhance capacity building and sharing of best practices to increase productivity
    and efficiency in agriculture

iv. Encourage participation of private sectors to enhance their involvement in food
    availability through investment in post harvest and transportation.

The issue of low crop yield is a major food security challenge at the farm level, impacting upon food production in rural farming communities. Globally, it has been estimated that the yields obtained are only about half the potential yield that can be achieved. The problem is particularly acute in many developing economies whereby smallholder farmers often do not know what is wrong with their crops, consequently either they are unable to mitigate the problem or control it with inappropriate actions. The solution lies with developing and applying innovative approaches that mitigate factors affecting yield – resulting in better and more sustainable plant production systems. Essentially, farming communities become empowered to lose less and feed more – acquiring improved livelihoods through higher income and enhancing the capacity to access for food.

Objectives

i. to review, identify and share experiences on best practices between developing member economies pertaining to gaps facing increase productivity and efficiency of food production for enhanced availability and capacity to access food by rural farmers,

ii. to enhance participation of private sectors investing in post harvest technologies and transportation to enhance the availability of food,

iii. to develop the rural community through sharing of innovative approaches and practices in increasing efficiency and productivity of crop production in ensuring food availability and fostering increase in the purchasing power of rural community.

Alignment

The project will help achieve APEC’s key priorities and forum’s work plan by:

i. Promoting and sharing experiences of best practices in crop productivity and efficiency to enhance domestic production levels of farmers in developing economies by adopting innovative technologies and approaches.

ii. Providing a platform for greater interaction and cooperation between public and private entities involved in the food sector to meet common objectives in supporting enhanced availability and capability to access food.

iii. Supporting the implementation of the Niigata APEC Action Plan on Food Security, the project provides opportunities for common actions to be taken to meet the issues of food availability and capacity to access food.

TILF/ASF Justification

The project will support the capacity building needs of participants of developing economies by creating awareness and understanding of:

i. innovative best practices in agriculture productivity and efficiency,

ii. standards and implementation of plant health to maintain high productivity,

iii. linkages of private and public sector cooperation in enhancing food availability
    and increase capacity of rural community to access food

iv. Strengthening and complementing existing national extension systems

The rapport developed between participants at the workshop provides the impetus for continued interaction and net-working in the implementation of food security action plan.

Beneficiaries and Outputs

11.1: Direct project beneficiaries: As crop yield is low compare to their potential production, the direct project beneficiaries will be all stakeholders along the production value chain from farmers to policy makers, senior executives, scientists, extension officers and General Managers of Companies in the private sector involved in the development and implementation of domestic strategies and policies on food security.

11.2: Intended benefits: This project will benefit farmers, government officials, environmentalists and the private sector dealing with food production and its security.

i. Farmers improve on their livelihoods (e.g. income) through proper crop production technologies which can enhance the income of rural farmers;

ii. Policy makers will benefit from informed decisions for accurate policy, planning and resource decisions.

iii. Senior executives and scientists can be assisted with the sharing of innovative technologies and approaches in crop productivity and efficiency. Private sector food handlers and producers can benefit through opportunities to invest in better post harvest facilities and crop production technologies, including acting as anchors to smallholders, thereby ensuring continued market access for their goods.

iv. Environmentalists and policy makers benefit from the reduced environmental impact due to reduced amount and intensity of inappropriate chemicals used.

Dissemination

The output from this workshop will be a report that summarizes the shared experiences of APEC member economies, and the deliberations of participating member economies with expert speakers and resource persons. A key component of this report will be the findings from the pre-forum visits to target economies, and recommendations for achieving better food security preparedness. The reports will be circulated among the workshop participants as well as presented at other relevant APEC fora. The report will be freely available online on the APEC website and communicated by electronic mail to a broader audience related to food security within the APEC economies.

The reports will target food security policy makers and the private sector who can consider, review and adopt the recommendations to improve food security planning within their own economies as appropriate.

Gender

12.1 It is to be noted that in many APEC economies, women form a very large proportion of the workforce, particularly in agriculture. Project outcomes will benefit the lives of rural women in many economies by reducing constraints to access to markets for their produce. The project will integrate the expertise and values of both men and women to achieve the desired outcomes. Involving the female gender in the project and we are aware of many in member economies, will raise their profile and provide opportunities to develop skills in planning, managing and implementing food security activities within their own economies.

12.2 Proactive steps to ensure gender equality will be taken throughout the implementation of this project. The project will be led by a woman, who will be the key resource in the planning and execution of the project. The project overseer will implement the project in a manner sensitive to gender considerations. Conscious and concerted efforts will be taken to ensure that APEC’s gender requirements as indicated in the APEC Guide for Gender Analysis will be met.

Work Plan

No.

Timeline

Events

1.

Feb – Mac 2011

Preparation and submission of concept note

2.

May 2011

Preparation of full project proposal for approval by APEC

3.

July 2011

Development of Terms of Reference for contractor and appointment

4.

Aug 2011

Joint consultation between project proponent and contractor to develop pre-forum consultation framework to provide guidance on fact finding visit including identification of appropriate economies with different levels of food security preparedness.

5.

Oct – Nov 2011

Pre-forum consultation visit to gather :

i. Background information on food security preparedness

ii. Strategies, policies and management of food security
    action plans

iii. Institutional arrangements and responsibilities

iv. Mechanism for broad stakeholder participation,
     especially involvement of the private sector

v. Identification of workshop resource persons

6.

Dec 2011

Joint consultation between project proponent and contractor to present and review the report of the pre-forum visit

7.

July—Dec 2011

Development of workshop program based on result of pre-forum consultation visit, preparation for the workshop brochure and publicity of project

8.

Jan 2012

Extend invitations to APEC economies for nomination of participants

Invitation of resource person and private sector

9.

April 2012

Targeted date for the 4-days workshop

10.

Nov 2012

Post workshop collaboration to produce food security action plan and related reports

Risks

6.1: Operational (administrative and financial)

i. There is minimal financial risk other than currency fluctuation. This will be managed by prudent planning and securing local funds to meet any anticipated shortfall

ii. Risk of getting poor response and active participation from economies will be mitigated by project funding for travel-eligible economies

6.2 Technical

Minimal technical risks are anticipated. The proposed contractor, CAB International, has the necessary technical expertise, experiences and linkages to implement the project to a wider APEC community. Greater buy-ins from economies is expected due to the current gaps in food production and lower capability in accessing food.

i. In the past few APEC projects implemented by Malaysia, CAB International has acted as the project consultant and project partner. Therefore, they have the necessary experience and capabilities to implement the project in accordance with APEC guidelines.

6.3: Timeliness

i. The success of the project depends largely on the pre-consultation visits, cooperation and feedback from the economies visited. This can be mitigated by careful planning, preparation and pre visit consultation with the economies concerned.

Monitoring and Evaluation

7.1: Monitoring: The project overseer will monitor the proposed work plan by regular consultation with the organizing committee and the appointed contractor. The project will adhere strictly to APEC project implementation procedures, including the timeline of actions.

7.2: Evaluation: Success of the project will be assessed based on stakeholder feedback and questionnaire survey conducted at the conclusion of the workshop. A measure of the up-take of the projects (recommendations, action plans etc) will be based on: (i) Successful inclusion of private and government sectors within national economy frameworks; (ii) establishment enhancing the existing food production strategies, post harvest facilities; (iii) effective networking among active participating economies. Follow-ups to these activities will be part of the deliberations of the regular forum meetings and also in regional and international meetings.

Linkages

This proposal builds on previous APEC–supported activities to build capacity in plant health, biosecurity planning and risk management to support safe and unimpeded agricultural trade while safeguarding biosecurity, proposed and organized by Malaysia and supported by other economies over the last few years. Particularly relevant are the following:

i. Building Biosecurity Planning and Surveillance Capacity for APEC Member
   Economies, August 15 ~ 20, 2005, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

ii. APEC Planning Workshop on Capacity Building in Surveillance and Diagnosis, 22
   -25 May,2006, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

iii. APEC Re-entry Workshop on Capacity Building in Surveillance and Diagnosis for
    Whiteflies and Mealy bugs in Developing APEC Economies for improved Market
    Access 16-26 April, 2007 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

iv. APEC Workshop on Understanding and Developing Risk Management Options for
    Market Access, October 13 ~ 17, 2008, Melaka, Malaysia

v. Enhancing Food Security through a Regional Approach and Wide Stakeholder
    Participation to Plant Biosecurity, 1~3 December 2010, Shah Alam, Malaysia

vi. AusAID-funded Sanitary and Phytosanitary Capacity Building Program
    (SPSCBP)- Phytosanitary Risk Management Workshop, 28-30 November 2010,
    Shah Alam Malaysia

vii. Standards and Trade Development Facility ( STDF ) Project: Beyond
     Compliance: Integrated systems approach for pest risk management in
     Southeast Asia (July 2012-June 2014)

viii. International Development Research Centre ( IDRC ) Funded Project on
      Knowledge Network & Systems of Innovation to Support Implementation of
      Sanitary and Phytosanitary ( SPS ) Standards in SE Asia (November 2006 to
      May 2008).

ix. IDRC Funded Project on Towards Improved Market Access for ASEAN
     Agricultural Commodities (October 2009 to October 2012)

------------------------------

These activities directly support APEC’s drive towards an APEC Food System and contribute to the Implementation of Niigata APEC Action Plan on Food Security. APEC is the forum where leaders. Ministers and working level government officials in the APEC region share knowledge and coordinate activities related to sustainable development of agricultural sector. As such, APEC is the most appropriate institution to fund this project because:

i) current funding builds on the previous initiatives to meet the broader goals of food
   security;

ii) it will make an important contribution to APEC’s trade and investment facilitation
    agenda; and

iii) APEC member economies can bring a uniquely broad range of experiences and
     perspectives on the proposed project’s subject matter.

Sustainability

The recommendation of the workshop and the information gathered from the pre workshop visit will be available for adoption by stakeholder and beneficiaries long after the project has been completed. The information generated will be retained by the host economy and remain available to other economies where it can serve as the basis for follow up development of implementation actions in food security preparedness. The host economy will take the initiative to work with participating economies to identify and develop follow-up activities to progress project output to ensure sustainability of the Niigata APEC Action Plan on Food Security.

-----------------------------

It is anticipated that a formal network will be established within the operational context of each participating economy to promote an effective dialogue and assist with the development of concrete policy options to operationalize the action plans.

Project Overseers

The project will be overseen by Ms Wan Normah Wan Ismail who is the Director of Crop Protection and Plant Quarantine Division, Department of Agriculture Malaysia. She has overseen the planning and execution of four successful APEC funded projects from 2005 till 2010.

Cost Efficiency

The contractor elected to assist in the delivery of the project is an international not-for-profit organization located in the implementing economy. Their familiarity with and experience in implementing APEC projects ensures efficiency and cost effectiveness in the execution of this project.

The host economy provides both human resource and complimentary usage of local facilities, thereby minimizing the hosting cost of the workshop such as transportation, staff cost, communication etc.

Hosting the event in a central APEC location enhances attendance of more participants from local and other economies in the region, effectively maximising the value for money spent on the project.

Drawdown Timetable

Not Applicable

Direct Labour

One short-term clerical staff needed, and his/her duties is to coordinate monitoring meetings, compile minutes, progress reports and completion report of the project, assist in coordinating the implementation of the workshop, etc. The contracted person will have a minimum Diploma qualification in any field with some experience in event organization.

Total working 240 hours (8hrs x 30days)

Waivers

Waivers are sought for the following:

a) From tendering requirements

The proposed contractor for the project is CAB International, our preferred collaborator who has the following strength:

i. Considerable regional working experience with agriculture-related capacity building in developing economies in the ASEAN region.

ii. CABI, as a global not-for-profit intergovernmental organization, offers expertise lodged in its many centres worldwide and is currently the lead organization for the PlantWise initiative globally.

iii. The CABI Southeast & East Asia Regional Centre (CABI-SEA), with its specific responsibilities for the region, has also worked in close technical and strategic partnership with the project proponent in seven previous APEC funded projects.

iv. CABI SEA has worked with DAFF Australia in the implementation of regional training workshops under the AusAID-funded Sanitary and Phytosanitary Capacity Building Program ( SPSCBP ), and has provided technical support in the delivery of several regional training workshops under the ASEAN Australia Development Cooperation Program ( AADCP) , Australia Centre for International Agriculture Research ( ACIAR ), Crawford Fund and STDF Programmes.

b) Government officials to receive travel funding (per diem and airfare)

As the project main beneficiaries are government officials, it is important to secure their participation in the workshop especially for developing APEC economies. Assuring their participation will support the regional objectives of the project.

c) Active non-government participants from travel-eligible economies to receive per diem.

Stakeholders from the private sectors are important in the planned workshop deliberations targeted at fostering public private sector integration as spelt out in the Niigata Food Security Action Plan. We would like to request for funding support for deserving private sector representatives from the various APEC economies. To ensure active participation from these representatives we propose that the organizing committee be given the responsibility to select appropriate representatives from the private sector of APEC economies.

d) Reimburse CABI-SEA for advance paid to travel eligible economies active participants (per diem and airfare) to attend the workshop in Kuala Lumpur

To overcome the procedural difficulties faced by some active participants from travel-eligible economies in making travel arrangement, CABI-SEA proposes to advance travel cost and per diem to assist needy participants, with the provision that the APEC secretariat reimburses these expenditure upon submission of supporting documents by CABI-SEA.

Are there any supporting document attached?

No 
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Version HistoryVersion History

Project No.

Project Title

Project Status

Publication (if any)

Fund Account

Sub-fund

Project Year

Project Session

APEC Funding

Co-funding Amount

Total Project Value

Sponsoring Forum

Topics

Committee

Other Fora Involved

Other Non-APEC Stakeholders Involved

Proposing Economy(ies)

Co-Sponsoring Economies

Expected Start Date

Expected Completion Date

Project Proponent Name 1

Job Title 1

Organization 1

Postal Address 1

Telephone 1

Fax 1

Email 1

Project Proponent Name 2

Job Title 2

Organization 2

Postal Address 2

Telephone 2

Fax 2

Email 2

Declaration

Project Summary

Relevance

Objectives

Alignment

TILF/ASF Justification

Beneficiaries and Outputs

Dissemination

Gender

Work Plan

Risks

Monitoring and Evaluation

Linkages

Sustainability

Project Overseers

Cost Efficiency

Drawdown Timetable

Direct Labour

Waivers

Are there any supporting document attached?

hdFldAdmin

Project Number

Previous Fora

Secretariat Comments

Reprogramming Notes

Consolidated QAF

Endorsement By Fora

PD Sign Off

Batch

Forum Priority

Committee Ranking Category

Committee Priority

PDM Priority

Priority Within Funding Category

Monitoring Report Received

Completion Report Received

PMU Field 1

PMU Field 2

PMU Field 3

On Behalf Of

Proposal Status

Originating Sub-Forum

Approval Status
Attachments
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