1.         The workshop was the fourth in the series of such workshops aimed at building the national capacity of LDCs for the follow-up to, monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the Programme of Action of the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010.

 

2.         The workshop was organized in collaboration with the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Funding for the workshop has been provided by the Governments of Spain, Canada, Norway and Iceland.

 

3.         The main objectives of the workshop were as follows: 1) discussion of the follow-up to the midterm review and measures for further implementation of the Brussels Programme and 2) defining the role of agriculture in achieving the objectives of Programme and identifying priority actions in the agricultural sector in the face of climate change and in the context of sustainable development and 3) defining the role of technology in increasing agricultural productivity.

 

4.         As in the past, the workshop also provided an opportunity for the exchange of national experiences, lessons learned and best practices of the least developed countries in the implementation of the Programme of Action.

 

5.         Ms. Zamira Eshmambetova, Senior Programme Officer, UN-OHRLLS opened the workshop and briefed on the organisation of work of the workshop. She then gave the floor to H.E. Ambassador Jean-Marie Ehouzou, the Permanent Representative of Benin to the United Nations and Chair of the LDC Coordination Bureau.

 

6.         In his address, H.E. Mr. Ehouzou emphasised that the workshop took place after the midterm review of the implementation of Programme of Action. In this regard, he expressed expectations that it would focus on the effective follow-up to the review. He also referred to the LDC Ministerial Conference “Making Globalization Work for LDCs” held in Istanbul, Turkey just a few days prior to the workshop and its outcomes and, in this regard, reminded about the broader objectives of the Brussels Programme (ending marginalisation and integrating LDCs in the world economy) which are often ignored in the implementation of the Programme. Having highlighted some socio-economic achievements and drawing inspiration from the Istanbul Conference, he expressed hope that the LDCs would approach 2010 as emerging economies. He called upon the LDCs to renew and accelerate their efforts, in order to achieve the objectives of the Brussels Programme by the agreed time. He underscored the importance of the themes of the workshop pointing out that agriculture was the backbone of the economy of the LDCs and provided income to most of the poorest people who lived in rural areas. Thus, increasing its productivity is one of the highest priorities of the LDCs. This requires a greater role for science and technology in socio-economic development of the LDCs and adaptation of the agriculture to the climate change. In other words, LDCs need to change crops and livestock for climate resilient breeds and increase their productivity, to ensure food security and alleviate extreme poverty. Otherwise, they could be further marginalised in the global economy and would not be able to break out of a poverty trap.

 

7.         Ms. Zamira Eshmambetova, Senior Programme Officer, UN-OHRLLS, then briefed on the latest activities of the Office, in particular about the Leadership Programme and the Parliamentary Support Group Programme. Both were aimed at strengthening country ownership of LDCs and implemented in collaboration with UN agencies and international organizations in selected LDCs. The Leadership and Capacity Development Initiative would be implemented by the UN-OHRLLS, in collaboration with the British Council, UNDP, UNICEF and OXFAM initially in 9 LDCs: (1)Cambodia: Leadership Development Programme conducted with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport; (2) Djibouti: Leadership for Results: A multi sector response using gender and HIV as the entry point for social change;(3) Ethiopia: Building capacity of youth partnering with the InterAction Leadership Programme;(4) Senegal: Initiative for transformational development: “Sentu Elëuk, Teeru Ko” (Looking into the future and Preparing for it; (5)Somalia: Leadership and Capacity Building focusing in Crisis situations;(6)Sudan: Leadership Development for Strengthening Community Responses(7)Uganda: Building Capacity of high potential youth from Uganda on Leadership for Change; (8) Yemen: Leadership and Civil Society Capacity Development (9) Zambia: Leadership towards achieving the Brussels’ Programme of Action, including MDGs.

 

8.         It would be later extended to the remaining 41 LDCs. The objective of the Programme was to develop leadership and enhance capacity for addressing country-specific development issues by building on the existing opportunities and discovering the unique strengths of individuals, communities and organisations as a means of achieving development change. Using cutting edge methodologies for leadership and capacity development, the initiative would specifically a)design and implement strategies, along with technologies for leadership development and systems transformation, involving youth and women, for achieving goals and objectives of the Brussels Programme; b) strengthen capacity for national implementation of the Programme with equal participation of youth, women and men; promote national ownership at all levels; c) bring relevant stakeholders together to form effective, results-oriented coalitions and partnerships among government, civil society and private sector, to address country specific issues related to youth and women.

 

9.         The parliamentary support groups’ project would be established by the UN-OHRLLS in collaboration with the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) initially in Cambodia, Benin, Niger, Senegal, Samoa, Timor Leste, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Madagascar, and Yemen and later extended to all LDCs. This project would a) help in generating greater awareness in each LDC parliament about the Brussels Programme and establish firm recognition of the Programme’s importance in addressing the special development needs of LDCs and achieving the internationally-agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); b) become a gateway for information from the United Nations and related agencies and programmes on development strategies and approaches for the LDCs; c) exercise oversight of government activities from the perspective of the Brussels Programme and related goals. These objectives were consistent with the outcome of the World Summit 2005 and the 108th IPU Congress in 2003.

 

10.       She also informed about the advocacy strategy on the implementation of the Brussels Programme elaborated by the OHRLLS upon the request of the General Assembly. She informed about the LDCs Scholarships on Human Rights and asked for assistance in wide dissemination of that information among representatives of civil societies, accedemia and youth.

 

11.       Ms. Abbie Kamara, National Focal Point of Sierra Leone, then made the presentation on the implementation of the Programme of Action in her country. She informed that the MDG Task Force was used as the national forum for the Brussels Programme. The objectives and goals of the Brussels Programme had been internalised in Vision 2025, PRSP and National Recovery Strategy of Sierra-Leone. Three major pillars of the PRSP (2005-2007) included a) good governance, peace and security, b) pro-poor growth and c) human development. Since 2001, Sierra Leone saw the improvement of a number of socio-economic indicators, including the annual GDP growth (5-6 per cent), health and school enrolment rates. In 2006, it met the HIPC completion point and became eligible for debt cancellation under the MDRI. It also enjoyed donors’ support. Priorities for 2007-2010 included further consolidation of peace through the implementation of the Peace Consolidation Strategy and achieving broad based and inclusive growth through generating jobs and employment, in particular for youth.

 

12.       In this regard, she informed the participants about the Youth Empowerment and Employment Project entitled “Youth Enterprise Development” and the latest initiatives of her government such as the Medium Term Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (2008-2012) to be implemented through three-year rolling cycles of PRSPs starting with the next PRSP II (2008-2010) and more closely linked to the MDGs. A national MDG-based assessment workshop was held in December 2006 to support the ten year planning framework of the government. The government had also been developing the Aid Policy with the view to promoting more effective resource mobilization and upholding to the principles of transparency and accountability in aid management. In July 2006, the government also signed an Improved Governance and Accountability Pact (IGAP) with the donors (EU, ADB, DFID and World Bank) supporting the budget. The Pact envisages undertaking in the following areas: anticorruption, public financial management reforms, civil service reform, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), decentralization, non-state actors, anti-money laundering and the Conduct of Free and Fair Elections in August 2007.

 

13.       Other government initiatives included: a 10-year Education Master Plan launched under the EFA Fast Track Initiative in July 2007 and the establishment of an Education Management Information System, adoption of the major health strategy aimed at improving maternal health, reducing mortality and morbidity rates, as well as immunization, family planning, obstetric care and training of traditional birth attendants (TBAs). The government also adopted a programme to improve access and affordability of drugs, in particular for children under five, child bearing age and destitute women. Most recently, it had finalised the National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan 2006-2010, to address this challenge in a robust way. The government had also started the decentralization process by devolving powers to Local Councils and establishing a National Human Rights Commission. The Peacebuiding Fund was used to provide capacity building to the Sierra-Leone Police Force and ensure public order ahead of the parliamentary elections on 11 August 2007. The Ministry of Trade and Investment was implementing a project for trade related capacity building: trade policy formulation, trade negotiations, etc.

 

14.       Notwithstanding these efforts, challenges remain. Access to electricity is limited. This affects education and health services, as well as production and trade. The road system is also in poor condition. Inadequate infrastructure inhibits economic growth, employment and, ultimately, poverty reduction. Nascent institutions are weak and there is a growing mismatch between people’s expectations and progress made by the government. Particularly vulnerable is youth which is often seen as a bomb ready to explode at any time under the pressure of unemployment and extreme poverty. If the goals and objectives are to be met in Sierra-Leone, there should be greater focus on human and institutional capacity, job creation and effective mobilization of domestic and external resources.

 

15.       Since the National Focal Point of Samoa was unable to participate, the country presentation was made, on her behalf, by H.E. Mr. Elisaia, the Permanent Representative to the UN. Under Commitment 1 of the Brussels Programme, the Ambassador reported about the long-term national development strategy which focused on accelerated and sustained growth, community participation and the protection of environment. The gradual sectoral development plan across 15 sectors of economy would be also adopted for the next medium term. The strategic development plan for 2008-2011 did not envisage a change in priorities such as housing, education, agriculture, community and private sector development. The Ambassador also informed about the annual growth rate of GDP by 4 per cent and the plans of the government to reduce extreme poverty to 2-3 per cent or altogether. Under Commitment 2, the Ambassador reported about the implementation of the strategy for good governance, review of the national legislation in light of international responsibilities, to ensure their compliance. Under Commitment 3, the Ambassador informed about the increase in public expenditures for social infrastructure development and a US$45 million programme over the next six years on agricultural development, teachers’ training, curriculum development and maternal health. Under Commitment 4, the Ambassador informed about the development of transport system, to promote regional integration and trade and development of competitive telecommunication services, critical for the promotion of tourism. Under Commitment 5, the Ambassador briefed on the participation of civil society and the private sector in national consultations on trade, investment and business environment policies. Under Commitment 6, the Ambassador informed about strategies on sustainable management of natural resources and donors’ support to the forestry policy framework. Under Commitment 7, he informed about the involvement of private sector in the national economy.

 

16.       During the question-and-answer session, the participants drew attention of the UN-OHRRLS to almost identical lists of the countries selected for the Leadership Programme and the Parliamentary Support Group Programme asked about the criteria for the selection of countries. They also asked the UN-OHRLLS to review these criteria and ensure a good mix of countries. They requested the UN system to take concrete measures to assist the LDCs in the implementation of the Brussels Programme and enable them to achieve the agreed goals and targets by 2010. Referring to country presentations, they asked about donors’ support to development efforts of the countries, in particular in building their productive capacities, to promote sustained and inclusive growth.

 

17.       Mrs Catherina Bathelo, Plant Production and Protection Division, Agricultural Department, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) made a presentation on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security. She began by saying that food security was based in four main pillars. The first pillar was food availability which included production, distribution and exchange of food and was extremely related with climate vulnerability and change. The second pillar was food supply stability which was affected by the seasonal variations in food supply, price fluctuations, political and economical factors. The third pillar was food accessibility, which depended on affordability, allocation and preference that enabled people to translate their hunger into demand. Noteworthy, poverty and vulnerability played a central role in food accessibility. The last pillar was food utilization. This included the quality of food intake or how the person could utilize food nutrients. In countries plagued by poor health, sanitation, inadequate safety standards and chronic illness it could compromise a person’s digestion and undermine the nutrient intake.

 

18.       She continued her presentation by focusing on food production and highlighting an uneven distribution of food. Some 854 million people were still undernourished in the developing world in which one person died from hunger every two seconds. The Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia were the most affected regions. It was projected that under nourishment will increase there by 2010. Those projections would probably be extended until 2030.

 

19.       She stated that developing countries were growing much more rapidly than developed countries. The shift from grain to meat in their diets would require doubling the meat production between 2010 and 2050. Feeding the animals will create a big problem in water use in the next 20 and 30 years due to the increased water demand for irrigated systems. Trends in land degradation were not much better that the trends in water availability and consumption. About 70% of world dry areas had already been degraded. Desertification would affect over 500 million people in Africa. This number could increase significantly due to climate change and climate variability. The total forest area had decreased by 3 % in the last fifteen years, which meant the dramatic (0.2) percentage of a loss per year. In its turn, deforestation contributed to global carbon dioxide emissions.

 

20.       FAO promoted a number of activities related to climate change adaptation in the agricultural sector. In particular, it worked on improving cropping systems that were resilient to climate variability, towards a sustainable livestock production system, regulating and enhancing biodiversity using fewer amounts of chemicals and pesticides. FAO was spreading over 50 countries and a million farmers were adopting integrated plant and weed management (IPM). Examples included the farming system in Burkina Faso, where FAO had introduced ‘life fences’. These were trees with different functions: providing shade, protecting from wind, etc. FAO also worked hard towards international agreements to promote responsible water use in order to increase efficiency in agriculture.

 

21.       FAO worked towards understanding and documenting ecosystem services and current practices of communities for sustainable production. Agriculture had always been based on practical farming skills, observation, personal experience and intuition. Farmers’ knowledge was therefore essential for management of complex agro-ecosystems, breeding of locally adapted plants and livestock, pest control and soil fertility enhancement. Subsistence farmers were likely to adopt simple technologies like intercropping and sequential cropping systems, agro-forestry, and the use of “cover crops”, locally selected, adapted and produced crop generic resources. By contrast, market-oriented farmers used more sophisticate technologies, as they possessed more resources such as adapted varieties of horticultural crops, conservation agriculture, improved pastures and crop-livestock systems adapted to different ecosystems.

 

22.       Due to heavy reliance on natural resources and rainfed agriculture LDCs were highly vulnerable to climate change. Their framework for adaptation of agriculture to climate change should therefore include legal and institutional elements, policy and planning elements, cropping, livestock, forestry, fisheries and integrated farming system elements, ecosystem elements and links of climate adaptation processes and technologies such as carbon sequestration, substitution of fossil fuels and use of bio energy.

 

23.       Furthermore, adaptation to climate change should be complemented by mitigation strategies: reducing methane releases from livestock waste, sustainable agronomic practices, sustainable forest management and carbon sequestrating woodlots, sustainable bio fuel options which do not compromise environment or food security, management of cropping systems and associated food chains that reduce GHG emissions, reducing energy consumption per land unit, improving management and protection of grasslands and rangelands which have the greatest potential of carbon sequestration per year.

 

24.       FAO would assist its member’s countries in adapting agriculture to climate change by providing data and information, policy and technical advice on management tools, code of best practices and voluntary guidelines, efficient adaptation strategies, technology transfer and capacity building. It would maintain a strong focus on hunger, food security and poverty.

 

25.       In the discussion which followed Ms. Bathelo’ s presentation, the participants emphasized that the negative impacts of climate change could jeopardise achieving the objectives of the Brussels Programme and MDGs in LDCs. Though LDCs contributed the least to the global warming, they were most severely affected by its impacts and had limited adaptive capabilities. Especially vulnerable to climate change were countries in semi-arid areas in Africa (Benin) due to drought and desertification, low lying costal (Bangladesh, Tanzania) and small island countries (Cape Verde, Samoa) due to sea level rice, mountain countries (Nepal) due to the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas. Agriculture, the backbone of economy of LDCs which fed 70 per cent of their population was particularly vulnerable due to high dependence on weather, water and climate. Adapting to climate change required advanced technological solutions. Traditional knowledge was not always helpful and sometimes harmful (e.g. slash and burn cultivation in Lao PDR). Besides, people in rural areas were moving away from agriculture due to its high labour intensity and low return on investments. It had become cheaper to buy than produce food. Changing food habits was not a solution, sustainable development of agriculture required high yield seeds and cheap fertilisers, roads, water, machinery, knowledge and skills.

 

26.       Mrs. Bathelo replied that adaptation needed to be complemented by mitigation. The two were inexplicably linked. Climate change would also have serous consequences on fisheries due the change of oceans’ temperature. Traditional knowledge did not necessarily mean old. It meant efficient knowledge, knowledge which was adapted to the particular ecosystem. In other words, traditional knowledge could be positive and negative. Slash and burn definitely belonged to the latter. Access of farmers to information was also crucial for their decision making and planning, marketing and trade, etc. FAO was providing information to governments but the latter should develop a good extension system to reach out for framers.

 

27.       Mrs. Elizabeth Borgatti, Division for Africa, Least Developed Countries and Special Programmes, UNCTAD, made a presentation on the role of science and technology in increasing agricultural productivity in LDCs. She began by explaining the importance of agriculture which accounted for 1/3 of GDP of LDCs. Agricultural land accounted for 40 per cent of land area of LDCs and 70 per cent of their population lived in rural areas and depended in their incomes and subsistence on agriculture. Agriculture played a critical role in poverty alleviation. According to some studies, a 1 % increase in crop yield could reduce the number of poor by over 6 million.

 

28.       Technological change and innovation was a source of economic growth and poverty alleviation. The spillover of technology occurs from north to south, south to south and from international researching fields. The spillover from developed countries used to be the most important source in the past but recently they had switched their priority to other areas. As a result, donors’ interest in developing agricultural capabilities in the LDCs had been falling and aid to agriculture amounted to a tiny 0.03% of their agricultural GDP of LDCs Another source of the spillovers came from the international research institutes, notably from the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGAR). The original mandate of the CGIAR was to increase food production in food deficit countries. However, the mission of the CGIAR had become later much wider and included food safety, environmental issues, etc. Both the spillovers from developed countries and international research institutes had become less relevant than in the past while the spillovers coming from other developing countries in the agricultural sector had been increasing. Countries like China, Brazil India, South Africa and Thailand accounted for over 50 % of the agricultural research of the developing world.

 

29.       She stated that the agricultural ratio for the other developing countries had an upward sloping trend; however for the LDC’s there had been a downward trend. This ratio, according to the World Bank should be 2% for all developing countries by 2015. According to the CGIAR, the ration should be equal to 1.5 %. She concluded by saying the international research centres should go back to their original mission to increase food productivity and agricultural research must become the donors’ priority in eradicating poverty in LDCs.

 

30.       In the discussion that followed, the participants emphasised the need for agricultural research findings to reach the farmers. Due to the lack of resources, the LDCs could not acquire the patents and access to the new agricultural technology. These countries also could not afford to spend 2% of the agricultural share of GDP for R&D. Some participants emphasised to need for the research on highly nutritious plants and products that were rich in protein. They asked UNCTAD to undertake more research in those areas. Ms. Borgatti replied that UNCTAD organised national workshops, with the view to disseminating the findings of its research. The PRSP and DTIS mechanisms had also proved to be effective for the dissemination of those findings. She concluded by saying that that LDCs could and should spend 2% of the agricultural share of GDP for R&D if they want to increase agricultural productivity.

 

31.       The workshop concluded with the announcement by the WMO representative about the workshop scheduled from 9 to 11 September 2007 in Entebbe, Uganda for the National Focal Points and Heads of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services of African LDCs. A similar workshop, in April 2008, was planned also for the Asian LDCs

 

32.       Mrs. Zamira Eshmambetova wrapped up the day by informing about the upcoming ECOSOC events and the annual review of the implementation of the Brussels Programme in the general segment. She invited everyone to take an active participation in all events and meetings.