Evaluation Of Projects Related To The Voluntary Guidelines On The Responsible Governance Of Tenure Of Land Fisheries And Forests In The Context Of National Food Security Funded By Germany

FAO has been promoting the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT) in several countries and the Federal Republic of Germany had significantly contributed by financially supporting FAO’s activities. The programme contributed through multi-stakeholder platforms to an inclusive dialogue which led in most countries to the emergence of a common vision on land governance and positively influenced the land reform processes. It also triggered changes in mind-set which are needed for long-term improvements at country level. Results have shown that the VGGT, while being international principles of land policy, can be translated into concrete actions at the local level. The evaluation stressed the need for greater attention on developing activities to be carried out in local communities which result in defined, precise and achievable gains on governance of tenure and to continue working on women and youth land access issues.

This report is a synthesis of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Office of Evaluation (OED) on evaluations completed from 2019 to 2021 on FAO’s work in the Africa region. It documents FAO’s contribution to results, identifies gaps and emerging issues and lessons learned. The synthesis is organized around the themes of sustainable production and value chain development, food security and nutrition, climate change and natural resources, resilience to threats and crises, and gender equality and empowerment of women. The synthesis used the Programme Priority Areas of the Strategic Framework 2022–2031 to analyse FAO’s contribution to results, finding many positive examples in the Africa region. However, the sustainability of results is a challenge for the region, due to several factors, including capacity constraints of government partners and limitations of FAO project designs. Gaps and emerging issues include the need for guidance on ‘accelerators’ of results, addressing youth as a key priority and new approaches to partnerships with civil society and the private sector. Lessons learned include the importance of good project design, suitably capacitated decentralized offices, effective knowledge management and strategic and inclusive partnerships to achieve results.

Ethiopia is a low-income country and agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, accounting for for 34 percent of GDP and 70 percent of total employment share. Ethiopia remains one of the world’s poorest countries, despite the significant progress achieved in reducing poverty and hunger. The Government of Ethiopia through its Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II) has consistently prioritized the transformation of agriculture from low-input, subsistence-oriented production systems to a fast-growing, intensive and commercially oriented sector to support the country’s aspirations to become a middle-income country by 2025. FAO’s Country Programme Framework (2016-2020), was formulated based on the GTP II. Over the evaluation period (2014-2019), FAO exceeded the resource mobilization targets. Overall, FAO’s programme displays several imbalances and disconnects, specifically between development activities and emergency response. The evaluation calls for FAO to adopt a more cohesive programmatic approach and continue to consolidate its fragmented programme. In the context of the Government’s plans for agricultural transformation, the evaluation also recommends that FAO support an economically sound value chain and market-based approach to agricultural development, while upholding normative values of inclusiveness and ecological sustainability.

This publication is a product of the GEF-funded FAO project ‘Decision Support for Mainstreaming and Scaling Out Sustainable Land Management (DS-SLM)’ which has developed a decision support framework (DSF). The DSF integrates experience from work with land degradation (LD) and SLM into an overall strategy for mainstreaming and scaling out SLM at different spatial and temporal scales. This publication serves as a step-by-step guide for the application and implementation of the DSF during planning, design and implementation of SLM interventions. It includes elements – both in its modules and proposed tools and methods – which can support countries in pursuing land degradation neutrality (LDN).

Watershed management has gained momentum over the past decade as a holistic way of conserving water, land and biodiversity resources while sustaining livelihoods. Based on 12 projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America, this publication looks at both the strengths and weaknesses of the approach and highlights the need for stronger governance and long-term sustainability.

Advances in Responsible Land Administration challenges conventional forms of land administration by introducing alternative approaches and provides the basis for a new land administration theory. A compilation of observations about responsible land administration in East Africa, it focuses on a new empirical foundation rather than preexisting ideals. Presenting practical knowledge resulting from real cases, it incorporates empirical studies highlighting Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya. The book considers contemporary change forces that include responsible technological innovation, post-conflict contexts, rural poverty, rapid urbanization, food security, and citizen participation. It covers land information system design, innovative data capture tools and techniques, and algorithms and approaches to support land consolidation and pastoralist land administration. The book also evaluates the outcomes of approaches specifically geared toward workflow design, land use changes, land tenure perceptions, conflict reduction, and governance measures. Outlining key aspects of what fit for purpose land administration looks like, this book presents: A contemporary update for the land administration sector An overview of East African developments, a current focus region for innovative land administration design A collection of cutting-edge tools from practice and for practice—with enough support data and methodological underpinnings to be readily utilized for advocacy, design, and assessment Advances in Responsible Land Administration is an up-to-date discourse that promotes the theoretical notion of responsible land administration. The book highlights real cases, provides real data, and introduces novel alternatives to conventional methodologies in land administration. Using the information in this book, you can develop a coherent theoretical foundation for further research in this area.

The concept of food and nutrition security has evolved and risen to the top of the international policy agenda over the last decade. Yet it is a complex and multi-faceted issue, requiring a broad and inter-disciplinary perspective for full understanding. This Handbook represents the most comprehensive compilation of our current knowledge of food and nutrition security from a global perspective. It is organized to reflect the wide scope of the contents, its four sections corresponding to the accepted current definitional frameworks prevailing in the work of multilateral agencies and mainstream scholarship. The first section addresses the struggles and progression of ideas and debates about the subject in recent years. The other sections focus on three key themes: how food has been, is and should be made available, including by improvements in agricultural productivity; the ways in which politico-economic and social arenas have shaped access to food; and the effects of food and nutrition systems in addressing human health, known as food utilisation. Overall, the volume synthesizes a vast field of information drawn from agriculture, soil science, climatology, economics, sociology, human and physical geography, the nutrition and health sciences, environmental science and development studies.

Gender equality is one of the ten core principles of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security. This guide aims to assist in its implementation through the achievement of responsible gender-equitable governance of land tenure. The guide focuses on equity and on how land tenure can be governed in ways that address the different needs and priorities of women and men. Gender-equitable governance of land tenure ensures that women and men can participate equally in their relationships to land, through both formal institutions and informal arrangements for land administration and management. The guide provides advice on mechanisms, strategies and actions that can be adopted to improve gender equity in the processes, institutions and activities of land tenure governance.