WFP/FAO Resilience of farmers in Grand Kasai
Contribution ID : SE-0-SE-6-15450This website displays open data about Swedish aid, which shows when, to whom and for what purpose Swedish aid is paid out, as well as what results it has produced. This page contains information about one of the contributions financed with Swedish aid.
The intervention presented is aimed at supporting WFP and FAO and their joint programme Strengthening the resilience and sustainable livelihood systems of smallholder farmers in Kasai and Kasai Central provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The overall goal of the project is to enable smallholder farmers in Kasai and Kasai Central to develop res...
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The intervention presented is aimed at supporting WFP and FAO and their joint programme Strengthening the resilience and sustainable livelihood systems of smallholder farmers in Kasai and Kasai Central provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The overall goal of the project is to enable smallholder farmers in Kasai and Kasai Central to develop resilient livelihoods through agricultural production. The joint FAO-WFP project will allocate the funding towards the achievement of the following results: 1) The project beneficiaries are grouped into community-based organizations which are legally established and equipped to provide services to their members. 2) Smallholder farmers have strengthened their capacities for sustainable and nutrition sensitive agricultural production (in quantity and quality) and food processing. 3) Strengthened livelihoods of vulnerable communities and households, particularly female headed households, through increased access to credit, improved market access and income diversification. 4) Beneficiary communities are mobilized to take action for conflict mitigation and the promotion of social cohesion, gender equality, peace and reconciliation.
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Result
This was the first full year that the project was implemented. The Embassy visited Kananga for the launch early in the year and could already then see evidence of the project during a visit to a multiplication field. This was a field that was using fortified seeds to create stronger seedlings that would be used in the project by the farmer schools. During the visit the Embassy was also able to see a registration site where beneficiaries were registered in SCOPE, WFPs beneficiary database. This database records all assistance provided to individuals, and it is as such possible to see how WFP beneficiaries move from humanitarian aid and food/cash assistance to being an active part of a resilience programme. It is too soon to see this analysis and draw conclusions around it as this stage, but it is an area that will be looked into as part of the Embassys triple nexus priority. A total of 355 FOs were identified, and 214 were selected to benefit from this projects support. Together, these 214 FOs represent 9,117 households, over 60% of which are headed by women. The selection was done based on which is a series of assessments that were done to understand the context of food and nutritional insecurity, along with the needs and priorities of communities. During a second visit to the province the Embassy was able to visit one of the communities to see first hand how the first season of planting was advancing and was able to talk to the partners and to the women in the field to understand what is going well and what the constraints are. It was during this visit evident that the land in Kasai Central is not very fertile, getting big health crops is difficult. When asked how WFP/FAO address this they explained that the aim of the project is to create resilient communities that are able to live off of the land that they have. So the project is implemented on land that the communities already own and they are taught techniques to manage the infertility using local products. The Women could all explain these aspects. One of the risks identified during the appraisal of this project was the risk of inadequate ownership and the inability to sustain results. The example above of dealing with the fertility of the land is an example of how the project aims to sustain activities over time. Similarly in interviews with the president of one of the farmers associations the Embassy was able to observe the strong ownership felt by the female president. The embassy was also able to visit a literacy class. During the visit the women demonstrated the level of reading, writing and math skills that they had acquired. This is part of the goal to increase gender equality which would promote active participation of women in decision-making bodies at the community level and strengthen their capacity to manage their income-generating activities to be economically sustainable. In this way women are empowered and enabled to take leading positions in within the farmers associations and in many cases they are seen as presidents or vice presidents. The governor confirmed that resilience activities that build agricultural capacity and assist the communities in being able to farm their own land, access market and use their income to invest in their families health care and education. He spoke openly about the fact that humanitarian cash had remined the key intervention for too long after the conflict that ended in 2018. Such cash works well in the midst of a crisis but later skews the markets and creates an unsustainable situation for families where prices increase and they at the same have no means of income. He was very pleased with the very initial results that the project showed. The project has a low expenditure rate which is explained by the fact that this is the first year of implementation and many months were used to do assessments that where the basis of the beneficiary selection process and the design of the support to each farmers association. Implementation of activities is now expected to rapidly increase.
The main objective of the proposed intervention is to create development opportunities for the population of the Kasai and Kasai Central, by supporting the strengthening and expansion of the agriculture value chain. The programme intends to intervene at community level to enhance resilience especially in rural areas. Investing in human capital and in rural assets, is part of the intervention, as well as supporting the creation of income generation opportunities, and enhancing capacity of local communities to bear shocks and to manage dialogue within a context of consolidation of peace. The specific project objectives include: 1. Food security and nutrition are improved while community resilience is strengthened. 2. The agricultural production of smallholder farmers and their financial capacities are strengthened, and markets revitalized, in order to support resilient livelihoods and increase income. 3. Community organizations are reinforced through activities that contribute to social cohesion, gender equality, peace and reconciliation.
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