WFP & FAO - Resilience project in North and South Ubangi, DRC

The objective of the project to increase productivity and as such build resilience of households to always have access to food is needed in Ubangi because the productivity is low due to the use of low-quality seeds as well as inappropriate sowing and land-use practices due to inadequate traditional agricultural practices. In addition, there is a lack of monitoring crops to prevent attacks by plant pests and diseases. It is the Embassys assessment that the results reported in the narrative report corresponds to the expectations of the project even if some delays have been experienced. With the objective of establishing profitable producers, WFP and FAO worked together to aggregate smallholder farmers into farmer organizations (FOs). This contributes to increasing agricultural productivity and facilitates aggregation of agricultural products and marketing. FAO is implementing the Farmer Field Schools (FFS) approach. In this approach farmers develop their own diagnosis of the challenges faced in their daily production activities and experiment to identify appropriate solutions in the local context. The farmers received technical support and advice on the date of sowing, density of sowing, environmental factors, crop maintenance, bio-pesticide use, and harvest use (seeds, consumption and sale). Access to quality seeds complements the technical support provided through the FFSs to improve productive capacities. 13,000 households benefiting from the project received a kit consisting of 40 kg of crop seeds, a file and a hoe. Observations made in the peanut farmer field school indicate that integrated production management provides a yield increase of 1.51 tonnes per hectare compared to traditional farmer practices, an increase of 74% and the FFS maize due to bio-pesticide treatments in the integrated production management leads to an increase in yield of 96%. (More detailed results can be seen in the narrative report) It is especially worth noting that WFP and FAO try to work within existing government structures. Project activities are carried out in close collaboration with the Provincial Inspectorate for Rural Development of North Ubangi and South Ubangi, who are responsible for monitoring and supervising the structuring process of farmer organisations in order to adhere to national structuring standards. The beneficiaries were coached by the facilitators to make full use of their produce. The full pods and ears were sorted to be used as seeds for the next years season. A second share was intended for household consumption. A third part was sold for additional household needs. This is an area of follow up for the Embassy who will look into if in fact the beneficiaries are saving 1/3 of their production to replant in the next season. This is key to sustainability after the phase out of the project and according to the narrative report received is seems that crops where either consumed or sold. For example: out of 8624.82 tonnes of maize harvested, 5720 tonnes consumed by households and 2904.82 tonnes sold. To enable the storage of seeds for next seasons sowing and in preparation for post harvesting before sales in the market, the project finalized the construction of 6 warehouse complexes enabling more storage and contributing to food safety through appropriate postharvest management. Implementation of additional construction activities has been delayed due to access issues, flooding which destroyed roads and bridges that made it impossible for trucks to pass. This was witnessed by an Embassy delegation who travelled to the area to visit the project. Floods are a regularly occurring incident in North and South Ubangi and requires flexibility in implementing projects. WFP and FAO joined efforts to promote social cohesion by designing and implementing activities that mitigate and transform the underlying factors of vulnerability and risk. In the territory of Mobayi-Mbongo, 4,387 community dialogues assemblies were organized and 15,400 people benefitted from various awareness-raising activities organized in both small groups (trainings) or in larger groups (radio broadcast, participatory theatre, cultural dance, film screenings, football matches, multiple games, etc.) targeting local authorities, community opinion leaders, refugees and the host population. Early Warning Committees were established to help local authorities to develop necessary skills to alert and protect communities of local incidents. Collection and information sharing on security incidents, conflicts and risks of community tensions were distributed in the form of alerts. The authority of the territory reported observing reduction in civil complaints as well as conflict among local chiefs. It has been evident that the project helped stabilize the area by preventing triggering factors that could otherwise lead to conflicts. An example provided by the partners is in the two sectors of Mobayi Mbongo territory, the number of conflicts related to the limits of cultivable land between members of a community and neighbouring communities had greatly reduced by the end of 2021. It is the Embassys opinion after a number of meetings with WFP and FAO as well as a field trip in mid-2022 that the combination of working on agriculture and resilience at the same time as addressing conflict related to access to land and utilisation of land is very effective. Linking dialogue between communities to something practical like seed distribution and training increases motivation to find solutions. The evolution of the resilience project has over time demonstrated that women play a key role in tasks such as warehouse management but they often lack the ability to do so due to low levels of literacy. The project has been adapted to accommodate these needs and in the current reporting period 594 women who completed the literacy program in 2020 and 1,198 women who participated in 2021 were brought together to manage Income Generating Activities with working capital provided by the project ($65-$80 per person). It is a priority in Swedish development aid to look at the environment across all contributions. The partnership with WFP in North and South Ubangi has a component directly linked to environmental protection activities such as reforestation and use of fuel-efficient stoves. An area that will be further development in the remain project period and followed up with other donors financing the project. (Norway has recently committed to continue financing the project with an environmental focus)

To address food and nutrition needs of vulnerable households. 1. To address food and nutrition needs of vulnerable households;  2. To increase smallholder farmers’ agricultural and financial capacities for sustainable production and market engagement in order to increase their incomes and build resilient livelihoods; 3. To reduce the disparities between women and men in the targeted territories and support social cohesion and peace;   The practical elements of the intervention are described below, these are an indication of how change will be achieved. These activities have been tested in multiple settings with proven good results. Help farmers and farmer cooperatives from host communities and refugees to raise their food production and therefore also increase their income, reduce debt burdens in times of crisis and ensure sustainable food and nutrition security. The combined strategic efforts to build resilience and generate incomes will contribute to increase social cohesion between refugees and host communities and will open doors for development and exit strategies for refugee’s assistance. Attention will be given to improve the adoption of innovative good practices such as the use of bio-fertilizers and improved seeds to improve productivity. These techniques will be promoted through a participatory learning by doing approach called “Farmer Field Schools”. These trainings will also promote the safe and correct use of organic and mineral fertilizers in terms of amounts, timing and methods appropriate to agronomic, environmental and human health requirements. Asset Creation will contribute to constructing feeder roads, storage infrastructure and reforestation. At the same time these activities will promote social and economic integration. Livelihood opportunities for women and youth will be increased. By focusing on a Food/cash-for-Assets approach, the project is fostering a shift from dependency on food aid to sustainable livelihoods. In addition, investment will be made in pre-and post-harvest technologies to improve food security by reducing food losses and thereby increasing the amount of food available for consumption by farmers and poor rural and urban consumers. The project will include a robust financial component. A community-based saving and loans initiative will be implemented with the aim of facilitating beneficiaries’ access to rural finance opportunities as a means of durable resilience. The basic principle of the VSLA in this project is that targeted farmer groups of the project form a Village Saving and Loan Association: a group of people who save together and take small loans from savings to invest in their livelihoods. A conditional cash transfer might be given to groups demonstrate their engagement, so they can profit from increased capital for credits and investments in their livelihoods. For women only groups, complementary interventions will be organized on income generating activities to diversify income sources. To mitigate the negative impact the collection of firewood is having on the environment the project will distribute improved cooking stoves. When cooking fuel is not readily available, it can have a considerable impact on the nutrition of vulnerable populations. On the other hand, the time women spend collecting fuelwood directly affects the time available for caring and feeding of children with possible negative impacts on nutrition. The collection of firewood is also directly linked to increased risk of gender-based and sexual violence as women have to walk long distances in insecure areas. The project will involve women in all aspects of the value chain with a strengthened role in decision making.