FAO-Col-Rural development and resilience 2020-2024

The project achieved significant results in all the expected indicators. 31 peasant associations were strengthened, impacting 3,560 people (60% of victims of conflict): 4 such associations in Bolivar, 9 in Cordoba, 8 in Nariño and 10 in Putumayo. At the impact level, the organizations' income increased by 110%. This change occurred by comparing the baseline (consolidated sales of the first year (2020-2021) with the income for sales for the third year, (2022-2023). For the first output, the communities increased the production on average by 174.2% in respect of the following products: eggplant, fish, sugar cane, lemon, milk, coffee, chicken, corn, eggs, palm hearts, onions, tomatoes, beans. The average productivity has risen by 137.59%. (Detailed information per product and per department can be seen on page 39 of the final report). The commercial activities have been very relevant during the activity period: 19 commercial plans were developed, 32 commercial committees that promoted the sales and visibility of their products were created within the associations, allowing the establishment of 46 commercial agreements and the development of 103 technical, commercial, and peasant market tours, generating a commercialization of products with a value of 6,340,000,000 million COP$ (approximately $1.5MUSD). The Project invested $1.9 million USD for the whole activity period in more than 50 public goods and/or adaptation processes to boost the quality and the productive activities, as well as certifications and trademarks to improve prices for their products. These investments had both a community and productive impact and promoted the territorial transformation and the integration of communities. Some of these investments were seen in the Transformation Center for the Consolidation of Meliculture in Bolívar, the Parque Transformation Center of Cacao in Putumayo, The Rural Women's House in Nariño, and the Milking Parlors in Córdoba. The investments have also helped: to facilitate meeting spaces within the associations; to promote animal welfare by incorporating comfortable and low-risk spaces; to add value of agricultural products through collection, transformation, classification and packaging of products; to reduce energy and fertilizer consumption using optimized processes; to provide training for participants in good practices, compliance with rules and requirements for commercialization of products. As regards the quality of associations, all the organizations showed significant improvements in the Rural Entrepreneurship Scheme (MER is the acronym in Spanish). The MER includes 10 variables of: associativity; administration; finance; accounting; environment; productivity; commerce; technology and information tools; participation and relationships; leadership. The associations received, at the baseline, scores ranging from 4% to 66%. At the end of the project, the associations received scores ranging from 44% to 87%. Regarding the second Output, FAO has implemented an agroecosystem approach that implies a common planning system for the territory with simultaneous production and conservation efforts. This common planning system aims to move from an individual to a territorial vision where the activities of one farm affect the others and therefore a joint methodology of sustainable production networks is developed in all the regions. 100% of the 1,176 family units have incorporated measures for the conservation of ecosystem services through 235 networks of sustainable production. In addition, the following environmental recovery strategies were implemented: 1. For recovery purposes: agroforestry systems with 27 community tree nurseries and 58,400 seedings of plant material per year, including 50 timber and fruit species of trees for reforestation processes in degraded areas; planting of 55, 455 trees with flowers for honey production; productive living fences (117.9 established kilometers); 256.75hectares of silvopastoral systems; edible forests such as sustainable mixed orchards (4 established hectares); 23 signed conservation agreements; 2. For water management: protection and enrichment of remaining natural vegetation; ecological restoration of wetlands; water governance agreements; Rainwater Harvesting Systems that in Carmen de Bolivar resulted in recovery, extension and protection of 4 community wells. 3. For soil management: agroecology; community forest restoration (132 hectares of protected zones); living barriers for erosion control (31 established hectares); 4. For connectivity: conservation mini-corridors and ecological roads; 5. For aesthetic purposes: 139 farms with agro-floral arrangements and landscaping. 6. Solid waste management agreements. All these strategies have been accompanied by 21 groups for monitoring of agroclimatic risks and 27 environmental committees, as well as the signing of 23 conservation pacts in coordination with local authorities and foundations such as Fundacion Impulso Verde, Fondo Patrimonio Natural, among others. 2,331 people from the four Departments participated in environmental raising awareness strategies. In coordination with them integral climatic, environmental, political, social and productive risks were analyzed. A strategy to incorporate risk management and resilience in all the income generating activities was developed Participants received training in agroclimatic risk management and received tools to measure climate such as thermohydrometers and rain gauges. The women´s economic empowerment and participation, as well as new masculinities are important elements of all outputs. 1,356 women and 1,082 men have participated in 448 activities such as discussions and workshops about the gender gaps, new masculinities, conflict resolution, teamwork, leadership, adaptability, information and communications technologies, among others. Now 11 of the 35 productive units are headed by women. The project has also implemented a strategy to promote new masculinities and show how men can play important roles in the care economy/care/domestic activities such as cooking, cleaning, looking after children, etc., which were activities that used to be exclusively done by women in some regions. Men assumed dynamics of self-care, family care, domestic work and strengthened emotional relationships. In addition, the Project implemented affirmative action to reduce gender gaps. Preferential interest rates for loans directed to women. Coordination of schedules and distribution of household tasks, reflecting on new masculinities and family co-responsibility, with agreements free of imposition of time and space with women. Mini chefs Strategy: this initiative included children, men and women in workshops to learn about the preparation of new healthy recipes, discussion of co-responsibility in domestic activities, food and nutritional education. Regarding the participation of young people, 14 COMPA groups were created with the participation of 156 young people from the 4 Departments (63% women) who developed communications strategies and the implementation of technological innovations in each department. For example, in Nariño, it was the young people who enabled the community washing machines to work through APPs. As part of the third output, FAO has introduced technological solutions that reduced the time needed for care activities by an average of 8 hours per week. 564 women participated in these technological initiatives: For instance, a community wash center was developed in Nariño, where women and men from different ages actively participated in dividing the responsibilities of washing clothes. This reduced by 9.8 hours per week the time that women previously spent on washing clothes. Another example is the eco-efficient stoves that were introduced in the communities of Roma and Paraiso in Carmen de Bolivar to reduce cooking time and reduce the use of wood. Mechanisms for the supply, purification and treatment of water, such as water purifying filters, were introduced in Putumayo reducing by 5 hours per day the time used to collect water. As regards financial inclusion, FAO has introduced the concept of mutual contingency funds, revolving funds and agricultural warehouses, based on periodic savings by associates/members. This strategy combines financial education, savings, risk management and entrepreneurship abilities. The basis for this is the trust and teamwork created through peasant farmer associations that could result in common savings and community loans. For the reporting period, 15 mutual contingency funds have been created with $40,320 USD in savings to be used in cases of emergency, 35 rotary funds with $420,320 USD disbursed in community loans and 18 agricultural warehouses with $60,120 USD in sales for agricultural goods, and two investment funds that mobilized $6,500USD of their own funds. 1,517 participants (including 678 women) form part of many of the financial solutions supported by the project. As regards the fourth output, FAO continued implementing the strategy of Local Networks for Productive Integration (RLIP is its Spanish acronym). Four territorial agreements were signed in each Department in 2021 and were monitored during the whole activity period to verify compliance withagreements. 10 networks were consolidated to implement these agreements with the following institutions: at the national level, the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the Unit for Land Restitution, SENA; local authorities, Chambers of Commerce, Agricultural and Business Associations, civil society organizations, public and private banks, among others. These agreements included action plans in all the regions to find synergies between all actors. As a result, 3,040.779,533COP$ (Approximately $760,195USD) have been leveraged by the project in terms of technical assistance, infrastructure, logistics, materials and document management procedures. In addition to the 17 municipalities covered, there are two special cases, that were part of the collective reparation of victims process, that were included in this project. First, the Community Council of the Yurumangui river in Buenaventura-Valle del Cauca and second, the Community Council of Afro Colombians from La Tola-Nariño. In the first community, FAO has implemented a community forest restoration initiative to reduce deforestation in the region as well as to improve the food systems and nutritional education. The planned activities ended in December 2021. In the second community, with the aim of providing access to clean water, FAO provided support with materials and with an architectural design for repairing 6 water towers and building 3 new towers. As a result, 715 families from 8 Afro Colombian communities now have access to 180,000 liters of clean water, as well as knowledge about how to maintain the towers and how to make proper use of potable water. This has reduced the prevalence of gastrointestinal diseases in the vulnerable population, especially amongst the children. The Embassy has monitored the good results in all the expected areas. Through a proper monitoring process including regular meetings, field trips (see travel reports under UM2019/38240/BOGO/36-40-45-47-67-89-98) and reporting, we saw progress in all the indicators. We saw a real territorial transformation thanks to the holistic approach implemented. As will be highlighted in the lessons below, this holistic approach, that simultaneously includes different variables of productivity, the environmental protection and resilience, the social and gender issues, the links with the markets, the social cohesion and formalization of associations, has contributed to more sustainable processes.

The contribution’s objective is formulated as an impact, an outcome and four outputs. The impact is formulated as follows: Contribute to overcoming women’s, men’s, girls’ and boys’ multidimensional poverty in the prioritized areas, which have been affected by the armed conflict. The outcome is formulated as follows: The policy for victims’ integral reparations in targeted municipalities has been strengthened through a resilient, sustainable and innovative model of economic reactivation, scalable to other areas of the country; The four outputs are the following. 1. Prioritised communities in areas affected by armed conflict have optimised their productive, social and commercial activities based on resilient and risk-conscious means of subsistence. 2.Communities and institutions in the prioritised areas have implemented practices for better, environmentally sustainable ecosystem services related to their productive, economic and social surroundings. 3.Prioritised communities in conflict-affected territories have incorporated technological and financial innovation systems to optimise their productive processes. 4. Institutional and community networks are constituted as platforms for impacts, management and coordination on integral reparations to victims in the prioritised territories.