The India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation (IBSA) Fund Board of Directors met today to discuss new project proposals targeting agricultural production, rural youth and women, access to water, and food security among others. These demand-driven South-South projects, leveraging the expertise of UN implementing entities on the ground, have the potential to alleviate poverty and hunger among thousands of people.
Proposals of projects to take place in The Gambia, Mozambique and Uganda were approved. Detailed project documents which were formulated by stakeholders for initiatives in the Republic of Congo and the Kingdom of Lesotho were also endorsed to begin implementation.
The project in The Gambia will support enhanced vegetable production and processing for the rural youth and women. Among the project’s key proposed interventions are: engagement of women and youth as project partners; assessment of their agricultural garden needs for enhanced productivity; drilling of boreholes and installation of water network systems; and capacity enhancements for packaging and marketing produce.
The project in Mozambique will support resilient multifunctional water supply systems for the Machubo Administrative Post in the Marracuene District. The Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources and the Government of Marracuene District will work with UNDP to build a resilient multifunctional solar water supply system with capacity to deliver water to approximately 5,000 people through a household distribution system and a community-irrigation scheme. It will also rehabilitate 4 schools’ toilets, including water supply and waste reuse structures, among others.
The project in Uganda will support the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries to increase food security in Karamoja – a locality stricken by malnutrition. It will also empower women through facilitating large scale commercial farming of staple cereals, oilseeds and legumes. Among the key proposed interventions are: organization and training of Karamojong women’s groups; facilitating the adoption of improved seed varieties and production technologies; and establishment of a functional value chain for cereals, oilseed and legumes.
In what concerns the fully formulated projects, the initiative in Republic of Congo will enhance family farmers’ access to local markets through South-South cooperation. The project will support the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and Literacy of the Republic of Congo, through a partnership with the World Food Programme, to improve food security and nutrition of school children and smallholder farmers, by strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries to support smallholders’ access to local markets, including through a home-grown school feeding programme.
Key proposed interventions, targeting 100 smallholder farmers and their households, include: strengthening local food value chains, strengthening the link between family farming and the school feeding programme through: technical assessments, capacity building exchanges, policy-formulation support and the production of practical operational manuals; and support to 10 family farmers’ associations/cooperatives in agricultural production, storage, and access to markets including school canteens.
The project in the Kingdom of Lesotho aims to alleviate poverty through expansion of deciduous fruit production. The project will support a partnership between the Ministry of Trade and Industry and UNDP to establish the Lesotho Horticultural Incubation and Training Centre which will offer support and incubation services to horticultural entrepreneurs. 240 horticultural farmers – including women, youth and the disabled – will also be trained on efficient and sustainable agricultural techniques.
The Board also discussed the IBSA Fund’s 2023 outreach strategy, and support to strengthen South-South cooperation mainstreaming across the portfolio.
Attending the meeting were the IBSA Fund Chair, H.E. Mr. Ravindra Raguttahalli, Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations; H.E. Mr. João Genésio de Almeida Filho, Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations; H.E. Mr. Xolisa Mfundiso Mabhongo, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of South Africa to the United Nations; and Ms. Xiaojun Grace Wang, Officer-in-charge, UNOSSC.
