Guidelines for projects to be funded by TeleFood Special Fund (TSF)

A. GENERAL GUIDELINES Conference Resolution 3/97 endorsed the establishment, under Financial Regulation 6.7, of a TeleFood Special Fund (TSF). The purpose of the TSF is to finance concrete grassrootslevel projects to assist poor families in developing countries and countries in transition. Its aim is to improve their means of production, thus enabling them to produce more food and to generate cash income, thereby allowing them better access to food. These projects may be implemented on a free-standing basis or in conjunction with other existing activities, in particular those under the Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS). There is a yearly ceiling, presently fixed at US$30 000, for the financing of TSF projects in each country applying to the fund. The TSF can finance projects in each of the three categories mentioned in Section B. Funds exceeding US$30 000 collected locally during the annual TeleFood campaign could be used to finance local TeleFood projects if so requested by the local authorities. In that case, the country would benefit from an allocation of US$15 000 from the central TSF in addition to the amount collected locally. The budget of a single TSF project should in no case exceed US$10 000 and financial assistance extended to the project should not exceed 12 months. An exception to the rule can be allowed only if the type of activities and local conditions described in the project proposal so justify. Each project should provide direct assistance to the farmers, fishermen, herders or rural poor of a particular village or community, in the launching of self-contained food production and income-generating activities. While TSF projects should be self-contained, they should, whenever feasible, be linked to ongoing development projects funded by FAO's Regular Programme (SPFS or Technical Cooperation Programme [TCP]) or by other sources (Unilateral Trust Funds [TF], Government Cooperative Programme [GCP], United Nations Development Programme [UNDP], other United Nations bilateral assistance projects, Non-governmental Organizations [NGOs], etc.). As TSF projects are essentially pilot projects, the inputs provided by them should be distributed free of charge. Consequently, the constitution of a revolving fund is not necessary at this stage. However, to be eligible to receive TSF assistance, the beneficiaries should organize themselves into a group and agree to contribute a small amount of money to a community fund on a regular basis (e.g., monthly), in addition to their own labour and inputs. After the first year of the project, and based on the sales of products derived from the project, the community must decide on the share of net revenue (after the deduction of costs and amortization) to be allocated, respectively, to the community fund for saving and investment, and to the members for increasing their income. All these allocations should be mentioned in the final report in order to enable evaluation of the project's impact. The community fund should be used initially to purchase additional inputs or build small

infrastructures required by the project and, in a second stage, to expand the project to undertake additional productive activities within the community. The sustainability of activities launched under TeleFood projects will guide future TSF allocations. TSF money should be used exclusively for the provision of inputs, supplies, material or small equipment, including their transport up to the beneficiaries. Under no circumstances should TSF funds be used to cover mission costs of supervisors, seminars or other training activities, or for the production of booklets and manuals. Close technical supervision is not required for TSF projects. These projects should not aim to introduce new complex technologies that are unfamiliar to the community (e.g., fish culture in rice fields, where there is no tradition for such activity). All activities should be sustainable and environment friendly. B. TYPES OF PROJECTS AND INPUTS WHICH COULD BE COVERED BY THE TSF

B.1 Category I: Crop production I.a Cereals I.b Roots and tubers I.c Vegetables I.d Fruits I.e Others: agroforestry, apiculture, small-scale irrigation, agricultural support, etc. 9. For all five sub-categories, the standard inputs should be of the same nature:

Seed or planting material of high-yielding varieties in the quantities required for one or maximum two agricultural campaigns. Seed and planting material protected from pests and diseases and their quality certified by the national certifying body. Fertilizers required for one or maximum two campaigns. Hand tools. Other more heavy equipment, such as animal draught equipment, pumps, threshers, harvesters, etc., should be provided by other sources of funds as mentioned in Section A.5. Material and supplies for the construction, through community labour, of simple facilities for storage or post-harvest operations (such as drying). Limited quantities of pesticides with the necessary material for safe storage and use and instructions for application can be provided under exceptional circumstances. Wherever possible, integrated pest management methods should be used.

B.2 Category II: Small animal production II.a Poultry (chicken, geese, ducks, guinea fowl, etc.) II.b Small ruminants II.c Pigs II.d Others

10. For all four sub-categories, the standard inputs should be of the same nature:

Start-up stock (one-day chicks, sheep, piglets, etc.). Animal health supplies: vaccines, drugs, with instructions for use. Feed resources in quantities sufficient to cover the first rearing period and/or material required for the treatment/preparation of locally available feed resources. Hand tools, material and supplies for the construction, through community labour, of simple appropriate shelters for the animals.

B.3 Category III: Fish production III.a Small-scale fish culture 11. Standard TSF inputs should consist essentially of:

Fry for water stocking. Fishing gear, if required. Products for fish feeding and/or organic fertilizer in the quantities required until the end of the first production period and/or material required for the treatment/ preparation of locally available feed resources. Hand tools, material and supplies for the construction of simple post-harvest processing facilities: salting, drying or smoking.

12. Fish culture should be promoted in existing ponds, water reservoirs or, eventually, irrigated rice fields. The projects should be granted only to beneficiaries who are familiar with the techniques. III.b Improvement of artisanal fisheries 13. Standard TSF inputs should include:

Fishing gear (the provision of boats should not be envisaged at this stage). Hand tools, material and supplies for fish conservation (with ice, if locally available), and for the construction of simple post-harvest processing facilities as for fish culture.

C. TELEFOOD PROJECT PROCEDURES C.1 Submission of a proposal 14.The project request can originate from a number of sources (local NGOs, villagers associations, governments, etc.). Project documents should include a brief description of the objectives, the proposed food production/income-generating activities, the work plan, the number of participants, a detailed list of inputs with cost estimates and the reporting arrangements. The template (see Annex 1) should be used as a model, taking the local conditions into account. 15. The FAO Representative/UNDP Resident Representative (FAOR/UNDP RR) with the assistance of national SPFS staff, if available, or other FAO field staff, and in full collaboration with the national government counterpart, will finalize the project document and ensure that it corresponds to the above mentioned criteria and fits into the national

government policy. A national civil servant, preferably a technician from the Ministry of Agriculture, or another official from the government or a Non-governmental Organization, should be designated to be responsible for the entire cycle of each project. He/she will ensure the follow-up of the project and submit the interim and final reports to the FAO Representative/UNDP Resident Representative. C.2 Review and approval 16. When an agreement is reached on the detailed inputs, plan of operation and community fund, the FAOR/UNDP RR will send the project document(s) to the Director of the Field Operations Division (TCO) for review by the divisions concerned and subsequent submission to the Programme and Project Review Committee for endorsement. The review process analyses the potential impact of the project on increased food production and availability of food; the viability of the project and the experience of local groups that will carry it out; the role of women/youth as participants and beneficiaries of the project; the sustainability of the project, etc. C.3 Project implementation C.3.1 Financial issues 17. Funds raised locally will be deposited into an FAO-TeleFood bank account opened by AFF in the countries at the request of the TeleFood Coordination Unit or the FAO Representative. These funds will be transferred each month to a designated FAO bank account, usually the FAO Imprest Account, and reported to FAO Headquarters as requested by AFF. 18. Once a project is approved, TCO will request AFF to open a new baby project account. Each baby project account refers to one specific project. The FAOR/UNDP RR will be the budget holder for the baby project and will be responsible for the procurement of inputs and their transport up to the beneficiaries. He/she will prepare final financial statements for the TSF contribution, including all supporting documentation. 19. Expenditures will be recorded through the Field Accounts System (FAS), or reported to FAO Headquarters through the Inter-office Voucher (IOV) system against that baby project account. AFF will be responsible for submitting quarterly financial reports showing expenditures against funds allocated at project/country level and the expenditures against the TeleFood account in any given year. 20. The projects will be audited every six months and reports will be sent to AFF with a copy to TCO, according to the practice followed by the local audit firms selected by FAO for its field operations. The TeleFood Special Fund will be subject to audit from Headquarters on the basis of records held at Headquarters and in the field. C.3.2 Reporting 21. The FAOR/UNDP RR and the designated national officer will supervise project operations, if necessary with the assistance of FAO field staff or national SPFS staff. The FAOR/UNDP RR in the country will submit to TCO an interim report prepared by the designated national officer/NGO/beneficiary group, three months after the starting date of

the project. This report will describe the status of the preparatory work related to the organization of the beneficiaries, the receipt of funds from Headquarters, procurement, delivery of inputs and progress to date. 22. At the end of twelfth month of projects activities, the FAOR/UNDP RR in the country will submit a final report prepared by the designated national officer/NGO/beneficiary group. This report will provide all relevant information on the socio-economic impact of the project and the perception of the project results by the target beneficiaries, with a view to expand project activities in a second phase with the community development fund. The final report should also provide a detailed breakdown of the expenditures incurred under the project budget. The final report will be submitted to TCO and AFF by the FAOR/UNDP RR. TCO will request comments from the technical divisions concerned and use the document for the global evaluation of the annual campaign. C.4 Projects ex-post review 23. Six months after financial closure TCO will, by means of a questionnaire, carry out a special review to verify the sustainability of each completed project (activities expanded, community fund functional, group cohesiveness improved, etc.). C.5 Closure procedure 24. The limitation on the duration of projects (see Section A.4 above) should be respected not only in terms of project design, but also in terms of financial control. Upon receipt of the final report, TCO will request AFF to:

register the final situation of the project budget (any balance should be transferred to the central TSF fund); and financially close the project 3 months after the planned project completion date, as mentioned in the approved project document. All approved micro-projects under the annual TeleFood campaign should be financially closed on the date indicated in the letter sent by the ADG, TC Department at the beginning of each year to all FAORs requesting them to submit proposals. After that date, it will no longer be possible to post expenditures against the project budget.

25. This closure of the account will be applied irrespective of whether a final report (see paragraph above) has been submitted or not, but the obligation to submit a final report remains.