European-Union-Focused Food Production Assistance To Vulnerable Sectors (EU-FPAVAS)

EUROPEAN UNION-FOCUSED FOOD PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE TO VULNERABLE SECTORS (EU-FPAVAS)
DCI/FOOD/2009/164

Food Facility – Facility for Rapid Response to Soaring Food Prices in Developing Countries
(EuropeAid/128608/C/ACT/Multi)

Background

EU-FPAVAS is funded by the European Union under its Food Facility – Facility for Rapid Response to Soaring Food Prices in Developing Countries. SEARCA implements this project together with the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (CIRAD) and the six provincial governments of Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro, in association with the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). The EU-FPAVAS project has a duration of 22 months from January 2010 to October 2011.

In general, the project aims to enhance food security and reduce poverty of poor families particularly the vulnerable sectors in the target provinces to buffer the effects of volatile food prices and climate change. The specific objectives of the project are as follows:

• Increase rice production of small farmers;
• Enhance productivity of upland agriculture through crop diversification;
• Increase aquaculture yield in both coastal and inland waters;
• Identify and document indigenous practices used by farmers and fisher folk that help conserve resources;
• Understand and mitigate the risks and effects of climate change phenomena, and develop strategies and plan to help reduce its impacts especially on agricultural production.

Project Beneficiaries

The project will provide food production assistance to 32,759 total household beneficiaries; consisting of 21,194 direct (primary) household beneficiaries; and 11,565 indirect (secondary) household beneficiaries. The final beneficiaries of the project are distributed in the uplands with 9,683 Indigenous Peoples (IPs); in the lowland with 18,196 household rice farmers; and in the coastal areas and inland waters with 4,880 household fisher folks. Their respective people’s organization shall serve as focal organizations that will assist in coordination and project implementation at the ground level.

Key Project Components

The key project components follow a landscape approach to consider the food production assistance in the upland areas, in the lowland areas and in the coastal areas and inland waters for aquaculture development.
The project is also composed of capacity building and institutional strengthening of LGUs and sectoral organizations; and the social preparation of the direct beneficiaries prior to food production intervention assistance to ensure POs’ project and financial sustainability.  The project will, likewise, provide knowledge management which hopes to document indigenous farming practices in crop, livestock and aquaculture production.  The project will also conduct public awareness campaign in order to increase visibility of the project in the target provinces.  The project will also support the mainstreaming of climate change adaptation (CCA) in the local development plans of the target provinces.