Women in Agriculture and Food Security: Web viewHow can social protection contribute to food...

Proceedings 16.10.2013 – 13.11.2013

How can social protection contribute to food security and nutrition in West Africa

Collection of contributions

Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition in West Africawww.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa

http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa

2 How can social protection contribute to food security and nutrition in West Africa?

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction to the topic.................................................................................................................................................4

Contributions received....................................................................................................................................................6

1. Thierry Kesteloot, Oxfam, Belgium..............................................................................................................6

2. Soré Abdou, Association Relwendé pour le Développement, Burkina Faso.............................6

3. Ali Bossa, Directrice de l'Agence de Solidarité Nationale-Togo......................................................8

4. Dr. John Adu Kumi, Ghana.............................................................................................................................13

5. Renata Mirulla FAO, Italy..............................................................................................................................14

6. Al Hassan Cissé Oxfam, Senegal..................................................................................................................14

7. Anna Antwi GD Resource Center, Ghana................................................................................................15

8. Raymond Enoch, National Alliance Against Hunger Nigeria, Nigeria........................................16

9. Pamela Pozarny FAO, Italy............................................................................................................................16

10. Cheikhou Konate , Senegal.......................................................................................................................17

11. Mamadou Salla Afrique Solidarité A.I.S.E.D., Senegal...................................................................17

12. Annemarie van de Vijsel The Broker, Netherlands.......................................................................20

13. Stephen Adejoro Zartec limited, Nigeria...........................................................................................21

14. Douillet Mathilde Foundation for World Agriculture and Rural Life (FARM), France..21

15. Dr. John Adu Kumi Ghana.........................................................................................................................26

16. Subhash Mehta Devarao Shivaram Trust, India.............................................................................27

17. Subhash Mehta Devarao Shivaram Trust, India.............................................................................27

18. Georges BAZONGO Self Help Africa, Burkina Faso........................................................................27

19. Kingsley Ofei-Nkansah General Agricultural Workers Union, Ghana...................................28

20. Anna Antwi GD Resource Center, Ghana - Facilitator..................................................................29

21. Emilia Venetsanou freelancer, Italy.....................................................................................................30

22. Al Hassan Cissé Oxfam, Senegal – Facilitator...................................................................................31

23. Concern 3 University of Guyana, Guyana..........................................................................................33

24. Dr. John Adu Kumi Ghana.........................................................................................................................34

25. Group 4 University of Guyana, Guyana..............................................................................................34

26. Boubacar Maiga Centre Régional de Recherche Agronomique (CRRA/IER-Niono), Mali35

27. University of Guyana Agriculture Economics Research Group 1 University of Guyana, Guyana............................................................................................................................................................................. 36




28. Prof Ignatius Onimawo Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma , Nigeria.....................................37

29. Moussa Na Abou Mamouda ENDA TM, Senegal.............................................................................37

30. Andréa Houindote Ministere de la Santé, Point Focal Nutrition, Benin..............................38

31. Agriculture Economics Research Group 1 University of Guyana, Guyana..........................38

32. Concern 3 University of Guyana, Guyana..........................................................................................39

33. Peter Steele Independent Consultant Agricultural Engineer, Australia..............................40

34. Mme TCHOHLO Akossiwa ex-députée à l’Assemblée nationale, Togo.................................42

35. Ms. Edith HOUHA AICFM BENIN, Benin.............................................................................................43

36. University of Guyana Agriculture Economics Research Group 1 University of Guyana, Guyana............................................................................................................................................................................. 44

37. Tosin Apiriola Victoria Women and youth development initiative, Nigeria......................45

38. Mawuli Sablah Helen Keller International, Senegal......................................................................45

39. Al Hassan Cissé Oxfam, Senegal – Concluding remarks..............................................................47

40. Anna Antwi GD Resource Center, Ghana – Concluding remarks............................................50




Introduction to the topic

Welcome to the first Food Security and Nutrition Forum discussion dedicated to West Africa.

West Africa and more specifically the Sahel region, faces increasingly frequent food crisis which affect a growing number of areas and people. It is established fact that promoting broad-based economic growth is essential for development in general. However the benefits of such growth do not necessarily reach the poorest segment of society and therefore direct interventions are needed to target the socially and economically deprived groups. As highlighted by FAO’s State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012, social protection has a role to play in reducing hunger and increase economic growth. In this context, creating and strengthening social protection systems is considered as a way forward for governments and their partners in development to contribute to food security and nutrition.

Social protection has many definitions and may take many forms. A generally agreed definition for social protection is the support provided in the form of income or benefits to the poor, vulnerable and socially excluded in society with the aim of enhancing capacity to protect themselves against social and economic shocks and risks.

It is believed that when the right policies and targeting is done, social protection mechanisms, including safety nets, can protect the most disadvantaged and reduce social, economic and cultural inequalities which increase their resilience regarding food security and nutrition. However, in implementation of social protection for the under-privileged in society, West African governments face considerable demands that force them to focus on immediate solutions to poverty because of the large number of poor and vulnerable people in the various countries in the region.

Social protection has been given increased attention in Africa, with interventions taking many forms ranging from cash transfers, child allowances, food aid, subsidies to goods purchased (including agricultural inputs) to health and unemployment insurances.

Social protection may be seen as primarily a national issue but the (sub)-regional institutions have important roles to play in defining a direction and in monitoring progress towards agreed social protection targets. The (sub)-regional levels may also have the needed capacity to support with national policy-making processes and for harmonization. Regional initiatives such as the African Union’s Social Policy Framework (2008), recognizes a minimum social package, and the ECOWAS Hunger Free Initiative includes strategies to combine social protection and agriculture. With increase in population and drift in urbanization, coupled with high levels of poverty and faster economic growth in most African countries, demands for social protection are likely to rise.

Some countries in Africa, such as Malawi, Ethiopia, and South Africa demonstrated the positive impact of social protection schemes on food security and nutrition. In West Africa, there are pilot




initiatives in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Togo (among others). Lessons learnt on coverage, sustainability, institutionalization and impacts may be drawn from these initiatives.

We invite you to take part in this discussion and share your experience and knowledge on this topic. Below are some guiding questions. Feel free to answer one or more of these.

1. What is your understanding of social protection? How these programmes can address West African countries’ needs?

2. What social protection programmes or interventions are taking place in your country? What are the challenges – weaknesses and limitations of these interventions? How do you think they could be addressed? Please give concrete recommendations to address them. Any success story in addressing these challenges?

3. How social protection initiatives should be implemented so that they increase agricultural production and productivity, and improve food security and nutrition?

4. What are the roles for government, civil society organizations, private sector, academics and other development partners? Suggest ways to ensure better governance for fostering linkages between social protection, food security and nutrition and agriculture.

If you want to know more, please find a list of resources on the webpage.

The facilitators:

Anna Antwi Al Hassan Cissé




Contributions received

1. Thierry Kesteloot, Oxfam, Belgium

Please find enclosed a useful report of a seminar held at the ILO on social protection as a catalyst for food security and the right to adequate food

It wanted to contribute to the recommendation made by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) to further integrate food security and nutrition issues within the social protection floors.

It brought together participants from UN, member states, civil society organisations, researchers.

The report looks at the opportunities and constraints of SP, at social protection floors as a catalyst for food security and identifies recommendations for future work.

See the attachment: social protection as catalyst for food security and the right to adequate food

2. Soré Abdou, Association Relwendé pour le Développement, Burkina Faso

[Original contribution in French]

Dear colleagues,

Please find below my contribution:

Social protection is the fact to grant a support to the most vulnerable groups (women, children, people with disabilities) in order to support their emancipation.

The programmes can answer the needs of West African countries in terms of food security and nutrition but it requires first a consultation with beneficiaries. Development structures, most often, don’t consult grassroots populations to identify their priority needs. Population faces with a fait accompli, with funds for the implementation of such activity. It is then as a constraint that beneficiaries accept to work. As a consequence, when they turn their back, everything comes to an end.

So after this introductory phase, structures can help, especially women, because everything turns around them. We must provide them with subsidies for building infrastructure to meet and work (weaving, saponification, awareness about reproductive health, agricultural products, etc…).

Social protection programmes or interventions implemented in Burkina Faso aim to fight hunger and poverty. The major weaknesses relate to what is achieved not always meet the populations’ needs. Consequently, the constraints come from the weak on inexistent contribution of a population who has a low interest in these programmes that force development agents to strong negotiations, often involving local authorities. So, in the end, the targeted population works



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/fr/users/sor%C3%A9-abdou

http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/sites/west-africa/files/resources/social%20protection%20and%20food%20security%20seminar_summary_clean.docx


against their will. As a recommendation, it is needed that development structure, don’t impose activities to the beneficiaries but discuss with the targeted population to identify its priorities.

A noted success in the field is the elaboration of projects by women’s civil society organizations. These projects are submitted to donors and, once, the fundraising phase achieved, the activities implemented take into account women in general and children. They also set up a working capital to the limits of their resources; they allocate money in the form of micro-credits to others for individual income generating activities which is a pride for these women who find these funds too limited. Why not encourage this kind of initiative?

Social protection can increase agricultural production and productivity and improve food security and nutrition because the subsidies received can facilitate the culture of improved crops during wintering and off-season activities by increasing the quantity of water points. When these conditions are met, we move towards food security. Malnutrition can be avoided through the combination of agricultural production and the feeding with other natural products. This requires to train people or to deepen the knowledge of community health workers on nutritious foods.

The role of governments, civil society, private sector, universities and other development partners that can improve governance and strengthen ties between social protection, food security and nutrition and agriculture: It is the responsibility of governments through decentralized State bodies to consult others and to involve local partners in the agricultural development, and all other partners, including donors without those we can’t achieve our objective. Development stakeholders need to be united for social protection to become a reality.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

Chers collègues,

Ci-dessous ma contribution :

1. La protection sociale est le fait d’octroyer un appui aux couches vulnérables (femmes, enfants, personnes en situations de handicap) afin de leur permettre de s’émanciper.

Ces programmes peuvent répondre aux besoins des pays de d’Afrique de l’Ouest en termes de sécurité alimentaire et de nutrition, mais il va falloir d’abord par une concertation avec les bénéficiaires. Le plus souvent, les structures de développement ne consultent pas la population à la base pour obtenir les besoins prioritaires de cette couche. La population se retrouve face à un fait accompli, de présence de fonds pour la réalisation de telle activité. C’est donc sous contrainte que les bénéficiaires acceptent de travailler. La conséquence est que lorsque ceux-ci tournent le dos, tout revient au néant.

Après donc cette phase introductive, les structures peuvent aider surtout les femmes, car tout tourne autour d’elles. Il faut leur octroyer des subventions pour la construction des infrastructures de rencontre et de travail (tissage, saponification, sensibilisation sur la santé de la reproduction, transformation des produits agricoles etc.).

2. Les programmes ou interventions de protection sociale mis en œuvre au Burkina Faso sont pour la lutte contre la faim et la pauvreté. Cela dans le but d’extraire la couche vulnérable de la




situation de précarité. Les faiblesses résident au fait que ce qui est réalisé n’est pas nécessairement les besoins prioritaires des bénéficiaires. Les contraintes sont que comme souvent la population n’est pas assez intéresser par le programme, leur contribution vient lentement ou même pas, ce qui amène les agents de développement à de fortes négociations impliquant souvent les autorités de la localité. En fin de compte les bénéficiaires travaillent malgré eux. Comme recommandation, il va falloir que les structures de développement n’imposent pas des activités aux bénéficiaires mais plutôt discuter avec eux sur les priorités à mettre en œuvre.

Comme réussite constatée sur le terrain, des organisations de la société civile de femmes ont élaboré des projets qui sont soumis à des bailleurs et après acquisition des fonds, celles-ci mènent des activités qui prennent en compte les femmes de façon générale et les enfants. Elles ont aussi mis en place un fonds de roulement à la limite de leurs moyens, elles donnent de l’argent sous forme de microcrédits aux autres pour des activités génératrices de revenus cela de façon individuelle cela fait la fierté de ces femmes mais qui trouvent que les fonds sont trop limités. Pourquoi ne pas encourager ce genre d’initiative ?

3. La protection sociale peut accroître la production et la productivité agricoles et améliorer la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition en ce sens que les subventions perçues ont la possibilité de faciliter la culture des variétés améliorées pendant l’hivernage, et les activités de contre saison en augmentant les points d’eau. Lorsque ces conditions seront réunies, nous pouvons dire que nous tendons vers une sécurité alimentaire. Pour éviter la malnutrition il suffit de combiner des éléments de la production agricole ou de s’alimenter avec d’autres produits issus de la nature pour cela il sera donc impératif de former au sein des populations des personnes ou d’approfondir la connaissance des agents de santé communautaire sur les aliments nutritifs.

4. Les rôles des gouvernements, des organisations de la société civile, du secteur privé, des universités et d'autres partenaires du développement susceptibles d'améliorer la gouvernance et renforcer les liens entre protection sociale, sécurité alimentaire et nutrition, et agriculture. Il appartient d’abord aux gouvernements à partir de ses structures déconcentrées de consulter les autres pour que chacun s’implique dans les activités du développement agricole. Aussi pour les autres partenaires de développement surtout les bailleurs de fonds sans leurs appui nous ne pouvons pas atteindre notre objectif. L’Afrique veut être autosuffisante mais sa capacité financière ne lui permet pas d’être autonome. Pour cela il faut que tous les acteurs au développement s’unissent pour que la protection sociale soit une réalité.

3. Ali Bossa, Directrice de l'Agence de Solidarité Nationale-Togo


1/ What is your understanding of social protection? How these programmes can address West African countries’ needs?

Social protection is a system that enables populations to face up to different social risks, to increase their productivity and income, to live in decent conditions and to reduce social




inequalities. Equally, this system makes possible to people improved access to basic social services, especially for the poorest segment of society. (SCAPE-Togo, 2012).

At the national level, social protection means a range of public and private measures put in place to protect the population from social vulnerabilities and risks in order to promote social cohesion and equality. It comprises a wide range of tools and has as general objectives the promotion of inclusion and access to basic social services (health, education, food and lodging, etc), to employment and to earnings; the mitigation of the impact of shocks to the well-being, and to ensure a minimum of resources for the poorest segment of society in order to avoid extreme poverty.

To meet the needs of West African countries in terms of food security and nutrition, it is important to promote inclusion as well as productivity by making sure that women and men enjoy the same working conditions.

2/What social protection programmes or interventions are taking place in your country?

Answer 1

It should be noted that Togo is on the right track in the implementation of the social protection systems with mechanisms of social safety nets, especially cash transfer systems to benefit poor households; labor-intensive public works; help for people with HIV/AIDS; subsidies for cases of caesarean sections; free schooling in primary State education; implementation of school canteens in the poorest regions; expanded vaccinations programs; food and non-food assistance for victims of catastrophes, disadvantaged households and centers of reception and caring for vulnerable children; provision of school materials to children from disadvantaged or vulnerable families.

Mandatory sickness insurance for employees in the public sector and their partners in development has been implemented with the idea of progressively expanding it to all sectors of the people of Togo, together with community health mutuals, retirement pensions, and work related accident compensation.

What are the challenges – weaknesses and limitations of these interventions?

Health insurance coverage of private, public and informal sectors;

Coordination of all social protection actions developed in several ministerial departments and other institutions;

Seeking consensus in relation to the question of social protection by the participation of all parties involved (social dialogue);

Financing social protection which must prioritize internal resources to guarantee the sustainability/durability of these programs or mechanisms for social protection;

How do you think they could be addressed?



10

How can social protection contribute to food security and nutrition in West Africa?

Good governance or increased clarity in managing any system or mechanism must be a permanent goal because it is a condition for the success of policies and programs for social protection. It is essential for the credibility and sustainability of social protection programs;

The role of social dialogue: the participation of social partners (workers, employers) and other involved parties (rural workers, informal economy, NGOs, associations) will guarantee the success of the social protection strategy implementation.

Please give concrete recommendations to address them.

Organizing, within a suitable timeframe, a meeting to rationalize training on social protection in the concerned sectors.

Any success story in addressing these challenges?

The training of stakeholders involved in the fight against poverty will encompass all aspects of social protection and its implementation. This will enable efficient endeavors for reducing the rate of poverty in the country.

3/ How social protection initiatives should be implemented so that they increase agricultural production and productivity, and improve food security and nutrition?

Through an inclusive social dialogue of all stakeholders involved in the theme of social protection.

4/ What are the roles for government, civil society organizations, private sector, academics and other development partners?

*Governments must put in place a framework for cooperation (social dialogue), must promote good governance, must contribute to financing social protection programs and projects and, must reinforce the capabilities of stakeholders involved.

*Civil Society Organizations must contribute to informing the population about social protection mechanisms, and ensure the promotion and extension of universal social protection.

*The Private Sector must contribute to financing social protection.

*Universities must contribute to training stakeholders, carry out research in the social protection domain and made the results available for policies on decision making.

*Other partners in development must sustain (financially and technically) the States in the implementation of policies for social protection.

Suggest ways to ensure better governance for fostering linkages between social protection, food security and nutrition and agriculture.

The facilitators:

*Transparency in the management of public markets;



11


*Share the knowledge of good governance and its significance in the formulation and distribution of social protection;

*Identify the guiding principles, the guidelines, the governance structures and the mechanisms which will help to generate and support good governance;

*Draw an action plan to promote and improve good governance and its institutions;

*Implement social dialogue.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

[Original text]

1. Qu’entendez-vous par protection sociale ? De quelle manière ces programmes peuvent-ils répondre aux besoins des pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest en termes de sécurité alimentaire et de nutrition ?

Réponse 1:

La protection sociale est un système qui permet aux populations de faire face aux différents risques sociaux, d’accroître leur productivité et leur revenu, de vivre dans des conditions décentes et de réduire les disparités sociales. Ce système permet également d’améliorer l’accès des populations, surtout les plus pauvres, aux services sociaux de base (SCAPE-Togo, 2012).

La protection sociale au plan national désigne l’ensemble des mesures publiques et privées mises en place pour protéger la population contre les vulnérabilités et les risques sociaux afin de promouvoir la cohésion sociale et l’égalité. Elle englobe un large éventail d'outils et a pour objectifs généraux de promouvoir l’inclusion et l’accès aux services sociaux de base (santé, éducation, alimentation, logement, etc.), à l’emploi et aux revenus, d’atténuer l’impact des chocs sur le bien-être, et d’assurer un minimum de ressources aux plus pauvres afin d'éviter l'indigence.

Pour répondre aux besoins des pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest en termes de sécurité alimentaire et de nutrition, il est important de promouvoir aussi bien l’inclusion que la productivité en veillant à ce que les femmes et les hommes bénéficient des mêmes conditions de travail.

2. Quels sont les programmes ou interventions de protection sociale mis en œuvre dans votre pays ?

Réponse 1: Il est à noter que le Togo est sur la bonne voie dans la mise en place de son système de protection sociale avec les mécanismes de filets sociaux de sécurité notamment le transfert monétaire au profit des ménages pauvres, des travaux à haute intensité de main d’œuvre, l’assistance aux personnes porteuses du VIH / sida, la subvention de la césarienne, la gratuité des frais scolaires dans les établissements primaires publics, la mise en place des cantines scolaires dans les régions les plus pauvres, les programmes élargis de vaccination, le transfert de vivres et non vivres aux sinistrés des catastrophes, aux ménages démunis et aux centres d’accueil et de



12


prise en charge des enfants vulnérables, le transfert de fournitures scolaires aux enfants issus de familles démunies ou vulnérables.

L’assurance maladie obligatoire au profit des agents publics et assimilés développée avec la vision de l’étendre de façon progressive à toutes les couches de la population Togolaise, les mutuelles de santé communautaire, les pensions de retraites, les indemnités d’accident de travail etc.

Quels sont les enjeux, faiblesses et contraintes de ces interventions ?

Réponse 2 :

La couverture du secteur privé, parapublic et de l’informel en assurance maladie;

La coordination de toutes les actions de protection sociale développées dans plusieurs départements ministériels et autres institutions ;

La recherche du consensus autour de la question de la protection sociale par l’implication de toutes les parties prenantes (dialogue social) ;

Le financement de la protection sociale qui doit privilégier les ressources internes pour garantir la pérennité/la durabilité de ces programmes ou mécanismes de protection sociale ;

Quelles seraient, à votre avis, les mesures à prendre pour relever ces défis ?

Réponse 3 :

La bonne gouvernance ou la grande clarté dans la gestion de tout système ou de mécanisme doit être une quête permanente, car elle est la condition de succès des politiques et programmes de protection sociale, elle est essentielle pour la crédibilité, la soutenabilité des programmes de protection sociale ;

Le rôle du dialogue social : l’implication des partenaires sociaux (travailleurs, employeurs) et autres parties prenantes (travailleurs ruraux, économie informelle, ONG, associations) garantit la réussite dans la mise en œuvre d’une stratégie de protection sociale.

Veuillez donner des recommandations concrètes à cet égard.

Réponse 4 :

Organiser dans un délai souhaitable une rencontre de démultiplication de la formation sur la protection sociale au niveau des secteurs concernés.

Avez-vous des exemples concrets de réussite de ce type de mesure ?

Réponses 2: La formation des acteurs intervenant dans la lutte contre la pauvreté permet de cerner tous les aspects de la protection sociale et sa mise en œuvre. Ceci permet d’œuvrer efficacement à la réduction du taux de pauvreté dans le pays.



13


3. Comment les mécanismes de protection sociale peuvent-ils être mis en œuvre de manière à accroître la production et la productivité agricoles et améliorer la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition?

Réponse 3 : A travers un dialogue social inclusif de tous les acteurs concernés par la thématique de protection sociale.

4. Quels sont les rôles des gouvernements, des organisations de la société civile, du secteur privé, des universités et d'autres partenaires du développement?

Réponses 4 :

*Les gouvernements doivent mettre en place un cadre de concertation (dialogue social), promouvoir la bonne gouvernance, contribuer aux financements des programmes et projets de protection sociale, renforcer les capacités des acteurs concernés.

*Les organisations de la société civile doivent contribuer à la sensibilisation des populations sur les mécanismes de protection sociale, veillez à la promotion et l’extension de la protection sociale universelle.

*Le secteur privé doit contribuer au financement de la protection sociale.

*Les universités doivent contribuer à la formation des acteurs, effectuer des recherches dans le domaine de la protection sociale et mettre les résultats à la disposition des politiques pour la prise de décision.

*Les autres partenaires de développement doivent soutenir (financièrement et techniquement) les Etats dans la mise en place des politiques de protection sociale.

Veuillez formuler des recommandations susceptibles d'améliorer la gouvernance et renforcer les liens entre protection sociale, sécurité alimentaire et nutrition, et agriculture.

Réponse 5:

*Transparence dans la gestion des marchés publics ;

*Partager le savoir sur la bonne gouvernance et son importance dans l'élaboration et la distribution de la protection sociale ;

*Identifier les principes directeurs, les lignes directrices, les structures de gouvernance et les mécanismes qui aideront à engendrer et à supporter la bonne gouvernance ;

*Tracer un plan d'action pour promouvoir et améliorer la bonne gouvernance et ses institutions ;

*Mettre en place le dialogue social.

4. Dr. John Adu Kumi, Ghana



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/dr-kumi

14


Issues on social protection lean on the identification of unique organized concerns of various groups in society that interrelate to make systems work effectively.

In this light, mutual relations will have to be promoted in villages and the categories/classes of humans documented for the purpose on designing interventions. Communities have to build confidence in interveners before realistic information about the target groups can be elicited. Ethical considerations need to be given to all approaches for offering support to the vulnerable and hard-to-reach poor in society. Let us identify the existing values, beliefs, cultures, principles underlying activities of the people and clearly obtain cognitive insight into their practices. This serves as the foundation to social protection.

In order to link this foundation with nutrition in West Africa, a collection of various diets within the different societies identified in West Africa would be helpful with a display of the nutritional values and quantities required to be consumed for sustenance. Extension education is required to educate the beneficiaries on the tenets of nutrition and food security and the contributions for achieving best results will emanate from the target groups themselves.

5. Renata Mirulla FAO, Italy

Dear colleagues in West Africa,I would like to share the interview with Lawrence Ofori-Addo from the Department of Social Welfare in Ghana government, coordinator of the LEAP cash transfer programme "Exploring links between Social Protection and Agriculture". Lawrence talks about challenges encountered and evidence collected so far on how cash transfers can promote agriculture productive activities.The interview was realized in the context of the From Protection to Production (PtoP) project.

6. Al Hassan Cissé Oxfam, Senegal

Dear Colleagues, Thank you very much for taking part in this discussion. We have received interesting contributions and we encourage others to do the same. This would give us an even broader view regarding the discussed issues. Generally there is a good understanding of social protection which is considered by the first contributions as a set of measures (public and private) to tackle the vulnerability by enabling households to face shocks and increase their revenues. However, the justification of social protection in West African countries for improved food security and nutrition it is not clearly stated. In more clear terms we would like to ask to respond to the question: What is your comprehension of social protection for improved food security? If we consider that social protection covers a wide range of instruments such as



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/fr/users/al-hassan-ciss%C3%A9

http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/fr/users/renatamirulla-0

15


cash transfers, cash for work, school feeding, inputs subsidies…, can those instruments be used to develop a comprehensive programme, or not? From the first contributions, we realized also that social protection is generally integrated in the fight to poverty strategy and not well designed as a separated policy. Social protection programmes target poor people using different instruments. The question you could respond based on your experience and knowledge is: Are these programmes well integrated to tackle the challenges you have identified? What are the relevant instruments for increasing agricultural production and productivity, and improve food security and nutrition? We would also like you to elaborate more on the challenges. What they are and how to tackle them (question 2). For instance, during the seminar on "social protection as a catalyst for food security and the right to adequate food" as well others contributions particularly highlights the financing challenge. How do you think it could be tackled? What mechanism do you propose? What about the about the others challenges such as the targeting, the coherence with others programmes which are not discussed? Please more elaborate on the governance for fostering linkages between social protection, food security and nutrition; and agriculture by giving concrete propositions (questions 4). Many thanks in advance. We are looking forward to your comments and contributions. Al Hassan Cissé

7. Anna Antwi GD Resource Center, Ghana

Dear Colleagues,

It is really encouraging to read the diverse contributions from West Africa, and we do appreciate your inputs. Thank you to those who have sent their contributions for finding precious time to share and we are convinced that others are preparing to do the same.

The definitions and understanding of social protection provided by contributors are looking at the poor and most vulnerable people and those at risk to either get them out of poverty or to support their production. The purpose in some cases is also to reduce hunger. From the contributions, it seems there are various forms of social protection within the sub-regional countries, and there is the likelihood that more programmes and interventions will emerge to support eradication of hunger and poverty.

As countries develop, their capacity to develop and manage social protection interventions increases and their ability to fund their own programmes will also increase or improve. The lists of interventions are tall as Togo for example even covers caesarean sessions, and Burkina Faso also mentions gender issues. This shows the likelihood also of West African governments to increasing interventions and their coverage, with passing of time. Social protection can actually address food insecurity through gender-sensitive programmes.

West Africa as a whole is food insecure area due to a number of challenges and the sub-region has more Least Developed Countries as a result of peculiar vulnerabilities including threat of



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/fr/users/annantwi

16


climate variability, expansion of desertification, conflicts and civil unrests, high poverty levels, low adaptive capacity and lack of institutional support among other factors.

Social protection, like right to food is a human right, enshrined in numerous sources of international law, which many of our governments have signed on to. These laws together with Article 25 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) forms the right to standard of living adequate for health and well-being of one’s self and family, including food, clothing, housing, health care and other basic needs. The main livelihood options in the sub-region are agriculture and its related natural resource based activities. Human rights entail that people live a life of dignity. Social protection can play a vital role in increasing the ability of individuals to have access to food. Conventionally, social protection has mostly focused on short term protective interventions or mechanisms to protect people in extreme poor households from shocks, however, it has crucial role in increasing the ability of these households to have access to food and to increase production.

In subsequent contributions, we would like to have more concrete or explicit examples from your countries as to know how to link agricultural production with social protection to enhance food security and nutrition. Please refer to question 2 and kindly share success stories from your countries and social interventions in Africa you are familiar with. How do we ensure the political will of our governments to link agriculture specifically to social protection to boost food security and nutrition?

We are grateful for your contributions and we would like to hear more wonderful experiences from you.

The attachment from the contribution from Belgium provides a summary on social protection as catalyst for food security and the right to food, please read. Ghana contributor advocates for training/ extension services, Burkina Faso mentions link to productivity but the how is not explicit. Let us sustain the momentum to keep the discussion going. Have wonderful and fruitful discussions to contribute and eradicate poverty from West Africa.

Thank you and regards

Anna Antwi

8. Raymond Enoch, National Alliance Against Hunger Nigeria, Nigeria

Dear All,

The concept of Social Protection as it relates to Food Security and Nutrition, its approaches and contexts plays a significant role in agriculture and as they relate to each other. Concept of Social Protection must be a broadening field away from social assistance to embrace ways in which it can reduce shocks and stresses in both domestic and productive environments. Agricultural growth and its expansion will not alleviate all rural poverty alone. In the short run, it is likely that substantial numbers of the poor will benefit from the growth but only a little while if at all from such growth. Social protection will be needed to assist the very poor. But how can such social protection be offered in ways that are both efficient and effective, and that also complement growth?

That is the more reason why the discussion on "How can social protection contribute to food security and nutrition in West Africa?" is critical and must be addressed if we are to address hunger and malnutrition issues in West Africa. This is where West African Alliance Against



17


Hunger and Malnutrition (WAAAHM) and NAAHMs are critical to its advocacy and promotion of the concept, working with other stakeholders.

It is therefore in doing so that we would seek to prevent the onset of shocks or stresses, mitigate their impact through e.g. insurances of various kinds, enhance the resilience of households and individuals, through e.g. asset-building strategies, so that they are better able to cope with the impacts, and, for the longer term, work in trans-formative ways by addressing the vulnerabilities arising from social inequities and exclusion.

Raymond Enoch

Chair WAAAHM and NAAHM Nigeria

9. Pamela Pozarny FAO, Italy

Implementation considerations, including roles and linkages:

I agree with many of the comments of previous interventions and would like to further highlight a few points concerning implementation considerations particularly in the design of social protection programmes that seem relevant to West Africa. It seems a great deal of decentralization is well underway in a number of countries in West Africa, where varying degrees of genuine local empowerment, transfer of responsibility and decision-making have evolved. Therein, relevant operating structures are in place with people assuming their appropriate roles and mandates.

It seems important that the national overall social protection framework in these countries should build on, be designed with and work through these structures as much as possible, from targeting procedures, to implementation, grievances and monitoring etc. The benefits are many - not only do many of these local institutions represent local populations, they also work in these zones and are well informed of the socio-economic contexts, wealth categories, and causes of acute poverty and shocks, as well as measures to strengthen household resilience to shocks and risk. These structures also aim to ensure synergies and complementarities among programmes, which would include social protection programmes, and these with other development-oriented interventions.

This may sound simple and common knowledge, but implementation presents challenges. Prevailing gaps continue. Limited coordination at local levels among and within sectors actually pose considerable problems limiting outcomes - target groups may be poorly defined, programmes may not reach intended beneficiaries or may not be well tailored to real constraints or priorities, etc. Findings from impact evaluations of social protection programmes, such as the cash transfer have shown that impacts can be vast, assisting households in immediate and even longer-term resilience and growth, and also spill over into the local economy, boosting economic activity for the wider community.

It seems important therefore that social protection design takes into account existing local structures (inclusive of government, non-government, formal and informal institutions and services) to build linkages, ensure complementarities and achieve wide and sustainable impacts.

10. Cheikhou Konate , Senegal




http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/fsnmoderator

http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/fr/users/pamelapozarny

18


Cher tous,

La protection sociale consiste à protéger les couches les plus vulnérables. À avoir accès à une bonne alimentation, protéger les femmes, et les former pour qu'elles puissent se prendre en charge.

[Original text]

Dear all,

Social protection consists in protecting the most vulnerable parts of the society, to enable them to access to a good nutrition, to protect and train women so that they can support themselves.

11. Mamadou Salla Afrique Solidarité A.I.S.E.D., Senegal


Dear colleagues,

Please find below my contribution to this discussion.

Senegal and Right to Food Senegal such as other West African French speaking countries is at the heart of the debate. Several international treaties have been signed. It should be noted that in order to reduce malnutrition significantly nutrition plays a key role in policy making processes that are translated into efficient programmes to tackle existing challenges in households and communities. This requests a multi-sectorial effort where each sector takes actions to:

Insert nutrition in on-going programmes

Enhance its collaboration efforts with other sectors and institutions

Sectorial strategies contributing to nutrition are as follows:

1- AgricultureIncrease the nutritional value of food and support the access to this nutritious food to all. Support their production by smallholder farmers as a source of income.

2- Drinking water and sanitationBetter access is needed to reduce infections and diseases

3- Education and employmentMake sure children receive the food they need to learn and have a decent job when adults.




19


4- Health The access to health services should be granted to women and children

5- Support improved resilience Enable population to be in better health and to have a sustainable prosperity. This would support their resilience to emergency and conflict situations.

The specific objectives to reach these points are:

1. Structure a multi stakeholder and multi sectorial platform;

2. Enhance capacities of civil society stakeholders on advocacy, lobbying et accountability;

3. Enhance capacities of members, journalists, lawyers and parliamentarians on the Right to food and nutrition;

4. Participate in the budget preparation of food security related policies and programmes at national scale (agriculture, health, education, environment and social well-being);

5. Make a comprehensive review of the state of nutrition and right to food and nutrition;

6. Organize fundraising campaigns.

MAMADOU SALLA CONSULTANT PRESIDENT of NGOAFRIQUE SOLIDARITÉ A.I.S.E.D.BP 10728 VILLA 477 H.L.M2DAKAR SENEGAL(MEMBER OF A.N.C.F.M.S)

[Original text]

Chers collègues,

Je vous prie de trouver ci-dessous ma contribution à cette discussion.

Le Sénégal et le droit à l’alimentation.

Le Sénégal, à l’instar des autres pays de l’Afrique de l’Ouest francophones, est au centre des débats. Plusieurs traités internationaux ont été signés. Il faut noter que pour réduire la malnutrition de façon significative, la nutrition doit jouer un rôle majeur dans les processus d’élaboration de politiques qui doivent ensuite se traduire en politiques et programmes efficaces répondant aux défis qui s’imposent au niveau du foyer, de la communauté et du pays Cela requiert un effort multisectoriel où chaque secteur prend des mesures pour :

intégrer la nutrition au sein des programmes en cour;

améliorer les efforts de collaboration entre secteurs et institution.



20


Les stratégies sectorielles contribuant à la nutrition : 1- L’agriculture

Rendre des aliments nutritifs plus accessibles à tous et soutenir les petites exploitations familiales en tant que sources de revenus. 2- Eau potable et assainissement

Améliorer l’accès pour réduire les infections et les maladies. 3- Education et emploi

S’assurer que les enfants reçoivent la nourriture dont ils ont besoin pour apprendre et recevoir un emploi décent à l’âge adulte. 4- Soins de santé

Accès aux services permettant aux femmes et aux enfants d’être en bonne santé 5- Appui à la résilience

Permettre à la population d’être en meilleur santé plus forte et de connaitre une prospérité durable afin qu’elle soit apte à mieux supporter les situations d’urgence et de conflits. Pour arriver à ce niveau d’exécution il faudra compter avec les objectifs spécifiques suivants :

1. Structurer une plateforme multi-acteurs et multi-secteurs;

2. Renforcer les capacités des acteurs de la société civile en plaidoyer, lobbyings et reddition de compte;

3. Renforcer les capacités des membres, des journalistes, des juristes et des parlementaires sur le droit à l’alimentation et la nutrition;

4. Participer à l’élaboration de budgets des programmes et politiques des déterminants de la sécurité alimentaire au niveau national (agriculture, santé, éducation, environnement et bien être social);

5. Faire l’état des lieux sur la nutrition et le droit à l’alimentation;

6. Organiser des campagnes de mobilisation de fonds (fundraising).

MAMADOU SALLA

CONSULTANT PRÉSIDENT DE L O.N.G.AFRIQUE SOLIDARITÉ A.I.S.E.D.BP 10728 VILLA 477 H.L.M2DAKAR SÉNÉGAL(MEMBRE DE A.N.C.F.M.S)

12. Annemarie van de Vijsel The Broker, Netherlands




21


Dear colleagues,

The discussion on how social protection can contribute to food security and nutrition in West Africa that the FAO is currently hosting is very interesting and highly relevant. It combines two topics that The Broker, an independent online knowledge platform on global development, has also addressed recently.

Social protection

Last week The Broker published a dossier on social protection. Here, The Broker looks at the international discussion on how to secure decent protection for all human beings. Social protection is increasingly seen as an instrument to promote economic opportunities for the poor and support inclusive development. In its social protection dossier, The Broker examines what different actors mean by social protection and what policies are implemented on the ground. We discuss the wider political and economic consequences and the impact on the lives of the poor in the search for a more inclusive economy.

Please find the dossier here: http://www.thebrokeronline.eu/Dossiers/Social-protection

Food security

Earlier this year The Broker hosted an online debate on food security, one of the main themes we continuously work on. Here, The Broker explores comprehensive food security strategies that ensure a secure supply of affordable food using less land and water, produce less waste and emissions, and alleviate worldwide poverty. The online debate involved policy-makers, researchers and practitioners. Over 90 international experts helped determine key challenges and offered answers on how a knowledge-based policy can tackle global food issues.

You can find the food security theme page here: http://www.thebrokeronline.eu/Themes/Food-Security

We encourage very much the combination of these two topics and like to see the lively debate actually running on your website. We will use the results of this Forum into our work.

Please, if you have any questions or suggestions for us, contact us at [email protected].

13. Stephen Adejoro Zartec limited, Nigeria

Dear colleagues,

Social protection for food security is a social norm well recognised and practiced by the Yoruba people of the South West of Nigeria in the West Africa sub region.

The practice is aimed at protecting the negative impacts of agricultural production logistics on the poor, the weak and members of the communities who have limited hands that could be engaged in land preparation for food cultivation

Association of age grade are formed to assist members of the community in preparing their farm land, planting, harrowing and harvesting such that an individual could farm sizable land and nurture to harvesting thus helping a vulnerable member of the family to sustain the family food security and have products for sale or exchange to meet the social and food need of respective members

In Yoruba culture, we refer to these system of social protection as Aroje, (cooperative farm support) Isusu or cooperative banking to raise capital base for the members



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/soavet

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.thebrokeronline.eu/Themes/Food-Security

http://www.thebrokeronline.eu/Themes/Food-Security

http://www.thebrokeronline.eu/Dossiers/Social-protection

22


Livestock such as Hen, Goat and Sheep can be given out to the less privileged to raise such that the less privileged family can have access to more nutritive food like milk or egg but at the same time pay a regular of an offspring of the type of animal loaned to the principal annually.

Honestly this is my traditional understanding of social protection at the grass root level in my part of West Africa that had helped our fore fathers to sustain the needed food security

It is possible for society to repackage this traditional system and restructure it into agricultural input services that will support the resilience and the vulnerable farming members of the society in sustaining a healthy food security

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to make a simple contribution to this first edition of the Global Forum for food Security in West Africa and hope you will find my first letter to the coordinator on the inauguration of this forum a useful discussion for the region

Dr Adejoro

Independent livestock consultant and contract Head of Research for Zartech Limited in Nigeria

14. Douillet Mathilde Foundation for World Agriculture and Rural Life (FARM), France


Dear Colleagues,

Malawi, historically known for its poverty and its serious food crises, made itself known in 2008 by symbolically committing to provide several hundred tons of maize to the World Food Programme and to neighboring countries with food crises. Since then, the country is often mentioned in debates on food security in Africa, just as in the framing of this debate.

At FARM (Foundation for Agriculture and Rurality), I studied closely the agricultural policy of Malawi and in effect I think that the experience of this country could be useful to West African countries. My contribution to this discussion is therefore based on the lessons learned from the Malawian experience. In particular, my contribution is largely inspired by the analysis developed in the FARM note of February 2013, dedicated to the presentation of the assessment of the program of subsidies to Malawi's inputs and the comparison of this to the cash transfer program.

This note is available in English and French in the Foundation's website: http://www.fondation-farm.org/spip.php?article853

To answer the latest questions of Al Hassan Cissé, in the Malawian case, social protection for food security is supported by a number of measures, but two main components may be mentioned due to the size of their budgets:

On one hand, the Input Subsidy Program, the FISP (Fertiliser Input Subsidy Program) was launched in 2005, following the serious food crises of 2001 and 2004 which led to costly imports of foodstuffs. Thanks to the annual distribution, to 1.5 million families (about 50% of the population), of about 160,000 tons of fertilizers intended for maize production – the staple diet of the people, - the FISP enabled Malawi to come from the situation of a structural importer to that of an occasional exporter of this cereal. This change has been noticed by the international community, which often cites it as an example of the success of a voluntary agricultural policy. According to its supporters, this programme offers smart subsidies, because the beneficiaries receive coupons exchangeable in shops for inputs, which makes it possible, in theory, to involve



http://www.fondation-farm.org/spip.php?article853


http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/mathildedouillet

23


of the private sector and to target people according to their needs. However, today the programme is much criticized. It has not sufficiently pushed back rural poverty and was not able to prevent the outbreak of a new food crisis at the end of 2012. The most common criticisms are directed to the way in which it was implemented (see note for more details). But in reality, it must be recognized that the external macroeconomic context has been specially adverse to the country.

On the other hand, following the success of the Pilot Programme for social transfers of cash in the Mchinji province (2006-2009), the government has launched the extension phase of this Programme at national level for the period 2012-2015 with the objective of reaching the poorest 10%. It is important to notice at this present time that this social programme is still in the implementation phase. Therefore, so far it has not been possible to prove its effectiveness. In reality the cash transfers which have had a demonstrable effect on girls’ schooling, on poverty, on food security and on food diversification for targeted households are more modest projects, let us say pilot phases (as in the case of the Mchinji project), and thus involve a small number of beneficiaries in specific regions. For example, impact studies for the Mchinji pilot programme have shown that some beneficiaries invest in activities that create income, such as agriculture. However, this is a central region close to the capital where the markets operate much better than in other more remote areas of the country. Yet, as described in the note, the expected effects of the cash transfer programmes on agricultural productivity depend greatly on the beneficiaries' readiness to invest and on the workings of the markets. The expected impacts of the extension of this program on a national level are far from being clearly established.

To use these instruments to make a “comprehensive program” for “a social protection policy for food security” as such is complex and exposes itself to many challenges. To remain brief, I will only mention three:

- Political will

A determined political will was needed on the part of President Bingu Wa Mutharika for the program of subsidies for agricultural inputs to be launched on a grand scale and maintained for years (initially against the advice of the World Bank and of the International Monetary Fund). That was probably made easy by the choice of a path-finding instrument (the use of coupons to subsidize a technical package), already in use in the country for over ten years. However on the other hand, bearing in mind its considerable social implications, this program has become very politically sensitive, its costs tending to mount in pre-election years, due to political influence – the temptation to print a larger number of coupons. And despite the change of President, it is unlikely that the program will be substantially reformed before the presidential elections of 2014, despite the need to do so.

- The clarity of the objective: targets and termination of the program (“graduation”).

Beyond the political will to subsidize agricultural inputs to increase the production of maize, the exact objective of this program was not at first clear: was it to increase national agricultural production or increase agricultural production in the poorest households?While initially directed to poor households, defined by contrast with “large-scale agricultural exploitation”, the allocation of subsidized inputs was left to a great extent to the discretion of the local chiefs. This gave rise to significant misappropriations. When faced by criticisms, the government has progresively reformed the coupons allotment procedure to make it transparent and has set out the selection criteria in favor of the most vulnerable households. Yet, according to existing studies, the poorest households do not use the fertilizers (even those subsidized) in the best way, because the price of chemical fertilizers is not the only constraint on increasing their production. For this category of farmers, the limited use of fertilizers and low maize productivity is also explained by the lack of cash and the difficulties of getting credit,



24


insufficiency of jobs prospects and losses after harvest. Thus targeting them in this way has repercussions on the overall economic efficiency of inputs subsidies.

On paper, the allocation criteria between the two programs (agricultural and social) are different: the inputs subsidies are only directed to farmers, while the cash transfers program prioritizes people with limited capacity to work, for example young orphans or the aged poor. In reality in Malawi, the two programs are partly directed at the same vulnerable families, mainly rural and having farming activities. The targeting difference is still less marked in Malawi than in other countries, like Ghana, where there is great disparity in the profiles of rural poverty; or Tanzania, where the government has chosen to keep the fertilizer subsidies for those households that will use them more efficiently.Finally, no exit strategy has yet been defined for this programme.

- Coordination between stakeholders and consistency of different measures taken:

Intersectorial coordination is a real challenge because the agricultural component, essentially nutritional and the social component are implemented by different institutions, under the control of different ministries, even when sometimes they are funded by the same partners. For example, the FISP is handled by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Malawi, and the transfers programme is handled by the Ministry of Gender, Child Development and Community Development, with the support of UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) And yet, apart from the need to create inter-ministerial and inter-sectorial liaisons at all levels, to give them the means for functioning and to educate staff about the links between their different fields of traditional activities, collaboration is often difficult because there is competition between them for restricted budgets.

Ideally social support programs for the most vulnerable and production support for poor farmers are complementary, because they do not face the same constraints and provide different possibilities (as analyzed in detail in the note). It is this double approach that has been recommended by the High Level Panel of Experts for Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) in their 4th report of 2012. Yet, coordination among stakeholders and bringing consistency to the different measures seems to be one of the greatest challenges.

Mathilde Douillet

Project Manager "Agricultural markets and policies" at the Fondation pour l'agriculture et la ruralité dans le monde (FARM)

[Original text]

Chers collègues,

Historiquement connu pour sa pauvreté et ses graves crises alimentaires, le Malawi s’est fait remarquer en 2008 en s’engageant symboliquement à fournir plusieurs centaines de tonnes de maïs au Programme alimentaire mondial et aux pays voisins en crise alimentaire. Depuis le pays est souvent cité dans les débats sur la sécurité alimentaire en Afrique, comme dans le cadrage de ce débat.

A la Fondation FARM, j’ai étudié de près la politique agricole du Malawi et je pense effectivement que l’expérience de ce pays peut être utile pour les pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest. Ma contribution à



25


cette discussion est donc centrée sur les enseignements de l’expérience du Malawi. En particulier, elle s’inspire très largement des analyses développées dans la note de FARM de février 2013, consacrée à la présentation du bilan du programme de subvention aux intrants du Malawi et à sa comparaison avec le programme de transfert d’espèces. Cette note est disponible en anglais et en français sur le site de la fondation : http://www.fondation-farm.org/spip.php?article853

Pour répondre aux dernières questions de Al Hassan Cissé, dans le cas du Malawi la protection sociale pour la sécurité alimentaire s’appuie sur une multitude de mesures, mais deux volets principaux peuvent être cités en raison de leur ampleur budgétaire :

D’un côté, le programme de subvention des intrants, le FISP (Fertiliser Input Subsidy Program) a été lancé en 2005 suite aux graves crises alimentaires de 2001 et 2004 qui avaient entraîné de coûteuses importations de denrées. Grâce à la distribution annuelle, à 1,5 million de familles (soit environ 50% de la population), d'environ 160 000 tonnes d'engrais destinés à la production de maïs - aliment de base de la population -, le FISP aurait permis au Malawi de passer de la situation d'importateur structurel à celle d'exportateur occasionnel de cette céréale. Ce changement a été remarqué par la communauté internationale, qui le cite souvent comme exemple de succès d'une politique agricole volontariste. Ce programme offrirait, selon ses partisans, des «subventions intelligentes» (smart subsidies), car les bénéficiaires reçoivent des coupons échangeables en magasin contre des intrants, ce qui permet en théorie d'impliquer le secteur privé et de cibler les personnes selon leurs besoins. Pourtant aujourd’hui ce programme est très critiqué. Il n’a pas suffi à faire reculer la pauvreté rurale et n’a pu empêcher le déclenchement d’une nouvelle crise alimentaire, fin 2012. Les critiques les plus fréquentes visent la manière dont il est mise en œuvre (voir la note pour plus de détails). Mais en réalité, il faut reconnaître que le contexte macroéconomique externe a été particulièrement défavorable au pays.

De l’autre, suite au succès du Programme pilote de transferts sociaux en espèces dans la province de Mchinji (2006-2008), le gouvernement s'est lancé dans une phase d'extension à l’échelle nationale de ce dispositif sur la période 2012-2015 dans le but de toucher les 10 % les plus pauvres. Il est important de noter dès à présent, que ce programme social est encore en phase de déploiement. Il n’a donc pas encore pu faire la preuve de son efficacité. Les transferts monétaires qui ont eu des effets démontrés sur la scolarisation des filles, la pauvreté, la sécurité alimentaire et la diversification de l’alimentation des ménages ciblés sont en réalité des projets plus modestes, voire des phases pilotes (comme dans le cas du projet de Mchinji), et concernent donc un nombre réduit de bénéficiaires dans des régions précises. Par exemple, les études d’impact du programme pilote de Mchinji ont montré que certains bénéficiaires investissent dans des activités créatrices de revenus, dont l’agriculture. Cependant, c’est une région centrale proche de la capitale, où les marchés fonctionnent beaucoup mieux que dans d’autres zones plus reculées du pays. Or, comme décrit dans la note, les effets attendus des programmes de transferts monétaires sur la productivité agricole dépendent grandement de la propension à investir des bénéficiaires et du fonctionnement des marchés. Les impacts attendus de l’extension de ce programme à l’échelle nationale sont donc loin d’être clairement établis.

Faire de ces instruments un « programme complet » d’une « politique de protection sociale pour la sécurité alimentaire » en tant que telle est complexe et se heurte à de nombreux défis. Pour rester brève, je n’en citerai que trois :

- La volonté politique

Il a fallu une forte volonté politique de la part du Président Bingu Wa Mutharika pour que le programme de subvention des intrants agricoles soit lancé à grande échelle et maintenu au cours des années (initialement contre l'avis de la Banque mondiale et du Fonds Monétaire





26


International). Cela a été probablement facilité par le choix d’un instrument phare (l’utilisation de coupons pour subventionner un paquet technique), déjà utilisé dans le pays depuis plus d’une dizaine d’années. Cependant en contrepartie, compte tenu de ses fortes implications sociales, ce programme est devenu très sensible politiquement, son coût tendant à augmenter en année pré-électorale, en raison de la mainmise des politiques – tentés d'imprimer un nombre croissant de coupons -. Et malgré le changement de Président, il est peu probable qu’il soit substantiellement réformé avant les élections présidentielles de 2014, malgré la nécessité de le faire.

- La clarté de l’objectif : ciblage et sortie du programme (« graduation »)

Au-delà de la volonté politique de subventionner les intrants agricoles pour augmenter la production de maïs, l’objectif précis de ce programme manquait initialement de clarté : était-il d’augmenter la production agricole nationale ou d’augmenter la production agricole des ménages les plus pauvres ?

S’adressant initialement aux « ménages pauvres » définis par opposition aux « grandes exploitations agricoles », l’attribution des intrants subventionnés était dans les faits laissée dans une grande mesure à la discrétion des chefs locaux. Cela a occasionné d’importants détournements. Face aux critiques, le gouvernement a progressivement réformé la procédure d’attribution des coupons pour la rendre plus transparente et a précisé les critères de ciblage en faveur des ménages les plus vulnérables. Or, d’après les études existantes, les ménages les plus pauvres utilisent les engrais (même subventionnés) de façon moins optimale, car le prix de l’engrais chimique n’est pas la seule contrainte à l’accroissement de leur production. Le recours limité aux engrais et la faible productivité du maïs, pour cette catégorie d’agriculteurs, s’expliquent aussi par le manque de liquidités et les difficultés d’accès au crédit, l’insuffisance des débouchés et les pertes post-récolte. Ainsi le choix de les cibler a des répercussions sur l’efficacité économique de la subvention aux intrants.

Sur le papier, les critères d’attribution entre les deux programmes (agricole et social) diffèrent : les subventions aux intrants ne s’adressent qu’aux agriculteurs, tandis que les transferts d’espèces ciblent en priorité les personnes dont les capacités de travail sont limitées, par exemple les jeunes orphelins ou les personnes pauvres âgées. Mais de fait, au Malawi, les deux programmes visent en partie les mêmes familles vulnérables, majoritairement rurales et ayant des activités agricoles. La différence en termes de ciblage est encore moins marquée au Malawi que dans d’autres pays, comme le Ghana, où il existe de grandes disparités dans les profils de pauvreté rurale, ou la Tanzanie, où le gouvernement a choisi de réserver les subventions aux engrais aux ménages susceptibles de les utiliser le plus efficacement.

Enfin, aucune stratégie de sortie de ce programme n’est encore à ce jour définie.

- La coordination entre les acteurs et la mise en cohérence des différentes mesures :

La coordination intersectorielle reste un véritable défi car les volets agricoles, éventuellement nutritionnels et sociaux sont mis en œuvre par des institutions distinctes, sous le pilotage de ministères différents, même si ils sont quelquefois financés par les mêmes bailleurs. Par exemple, le FISP est géré par le ministère de l'agriculture et de la sécurité alimentaire du Malawi, et le programme de transfert par le ministère du genre, des enfants et du développement communautaire, avec l’appui de l’UNICEF (Fonds des Nations unies pour l’enfance). Or au-delà de la nécessité de devoir créer des instances interministérielles et intersectorielles à tous les niveaux, de les doter de moyens pour fonctionner, et de former les acteurs aux liens entre leurs différents champs d’activité traditionnels, la collaboration est d’autant plus difficile qu’il existe souvent une compétition entre eux pour des budgets restreints.

Idéalement les programmes de soutiens sociaux pour les plus vulnérables et les soutiens productifs pour les agriculteurs pauvres sont complémentaires, car ils ne répondent pas aux



27


mêmes contraintes et donnent des possibilités différentes (comme cela est analysé en détail dans la note). C’est cette double approche qui a été recommandée par le Groupe d’experts de haut niveau sur la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition (HLPE) dans son rapport 4 de 2012. Or la coordination entre les acteurs et la mise en cohérence des différentes mesures semble être un des plus grand défis.

Mathilde Douillet

Chef de projet "politiques et marchés agricoles " à la Fondation pour l'agriculture et la ruralité dans le monde

15. Dr. John Adu Kumi Ghana

Dear colleagues from West Africa,

Looking at how participatory interventions are supposed to be in this era in the quest for social protection, I have been thinking critically about the link between Social protection, food security and nutrition. Models would have best presented my ideas but suffice it for me to share this in the light of experience with the vulnerable during dry spells of weather. Harvesting of water and storing against the dry periods is key to relieving the vulnerable of stress and protecting them socially. Agricultural production during the Dry Season for most parts of Ghana especially as my experience recounts, leaves much to be desired.

Rain-fed Agriculture is still a dominant feature in the area that I live within the eastern region of Ghana. Meanwhile the Volta Lake is close-by. Where have all the irrigation techniques and research findings on water management during drought periods gone? Lessons learnt in this area call for a body to re-visit research results and recommendations which target supporting the survival of the vulnerable in society. Dry periods here range between November and March of the following year. The vulnerable need not fold their arms and sing 'Nearer my God to Thee'. Let there be and intervention for effective harvesting and storage of water in rural communities. I am being empathetic for especially the aged and also for children in the realm of vulnerability.

An analysis of water-harvesting systems in such rural areas would be helpful in directing efforts to sustain Agriculture. There are experiences in the same area where cattle are found to have eaten clothes that have been washed and dried in the open. Water-harvesting therefore will improve drinking habits for animals during drought and lead to improvement in nutritional provisions for humans in getting beef for consumption.

Bush -fires consume grasses during such dry periods and animals thirst seriously. Feed preservation could be a possible intervention that will promote Agricultural links to social protection and nutrition. Let us consider these points as we go on discussing issues.

16. Subhash Mehta Devarao Shivaram Trust, India

I have read the contributions made till now and have a better understanding of social protection required by the rural poor in West Africa, especially smallholder producer communities,



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/naarapdst


28


being mostly illiterate are vulnerable and at high risk as they have little or no access to resources.

To get them out of hunger, malnutrition and poverty, they need to be given the required assistance and facilitated to set up their orgs/ company (PC), staffed by professionals [general practitioners (GPs) and MBAs in agriculture], to take over all responsibilities and manage risks - cash to cash cycle (www.navajyoti.org, a model PC), leaving members to on farm activities, focus on producing low cost nutritious food of the area, mostly for their own needs, value adding to increase shelf life of their produce, thus minimizing post-harvest losses and ensuring access to nutritious food and cash, round the year, surplus if any, PC to market in the vicinity and when prices peak.

17. Subhash Mehta Devarao Shivaram Trust, India

Students are now a part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in agriculture and rural development.

The Hindu report ("Farming is now part of CSR") will be of assistance for you to intervene and ensure that the Goa CSR model is replicated by all colleges, management institutions in Africa, assisted and facilitated by the Ministry of Education, governments, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Institutes of Agri Research, Universities and globally through World Bank, UN FAO and IFAD and the CGIAR.

You can also observe that the call given by us during GCARD-I consultation process, to focus on and create capacity in educating rural youth (general practitioners and MBAs in agriculture) for the management of integrated agriculture systems (read UNCTAD TER 13) in their area, documenting and widely replicating the models of successful farmers, achieved through Innovative Agriculture Research for Development (IAR4D), season after season, adapting to climate change, ensuring a positive 'cash to cash cycle', not leaving our future only to 'breeders''.

18. Georges BAZONGO Self Help Africa, Burkina Faso


Burkina Faso, a landlocked poor country in West Africa, adopted in 2012 a national policy for social protection which goals are to anticipate and support issues related to populations’ health, nutrition and food security.

The safety nets system is supported by the World Bank, NGOs and the UN system through WFP, UNICEF and WHO. Although social welfare is vital in a country like mine, it is also important to focus on the identification of beneficiaries in order to prevent support being diverted for other purposes including lucrative. The beneficiaries are also responsible and are often used by players who only want to make money on others’ poverty.

Overall, social protection can be an effective way of improving the nutrition of poor households, but the targeting of these must be better regulated and actual impacts should be well measured and assessed in terms of sustainability. In this sense, the Government should define the framework for the implementation of social protection policy, together with CSOs, including NGOs and organizations of beneficiaries, that should be involved in the targeting, implementation and evaluation mechanisms in order to draw all the lessons and experiences to improve future actions.



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/georgesbazongo

http://http/unctad.org/en/pages/PublicationWebflyer.aspx?publicationid=666)

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-educationplus/farming-is-now-part-of-csr/article5310190.ece#.UnctdA3XWvs.gmail

http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/naarapdst

http://www.navajyoti.org/

29


[Original text]

Le Burkina Faso, pays pauvre et enclavé d'Afrique de l'Ouest a adopté en 2012 une politique nationale de protection sociale dont les objectifs visent justement a anticiper et à prendre en charge entre autres les problèmes de santé, de nutrition et de sécurité alimentaire des populations. Le système de filets sociaux est accompagné par la Banque mondiale, des ONG et le système des Nations Unies à travers le PAM, l'Unicef et l'OMS. Bien que la protection sociale sociale soit capitale pour un pays comme le mien, il est aussi important de mettre l'accent sur l'identification des bénéficiaires réels pour éviter que les appuis soient détournés à d'autres fins notamment lucratifs. Il y va aussi de la responsabilité des bénéficiaires qui souvent sont utilisés par des acteurs qui ne cherchent qu'à faire de l'argent sur la pauvreté des autres.

Somme toute, la protection sociale peut être un moyen efficace d'amélioration de la nutrition des ménages pauvres mais l'identification de ces derniers doit être mieux encadrée et les impacts réels doivent être bien mesurés et appréciés en termes de durabilité. Dans ce sens, les Gouvernements doivent definir les cadres de mise en oeuvre de la politique de potection sociale, la société civile, dont les ONG et les Organisations de bénéficiaires, devront être impliqués dans les mécanismes d'identification de mise en oeuvre et d'évaluation des actions afin d'en tirer toutes les leçons et les expériences pour améliorer les actions futures.

19. Kingsley Ofei-Nkansah General Agricultural Workers Union, Ghana

Dear colleagues,

Social protection is a right acknowledged in the discussions thus underscoring various social protection instruments at the global, regional, sub-regional, national and sub-national levels. There is a need to clarify the West African context characterised by certain social and economic characteristics that implicate the design and implementation of social protection interventions. For example, the concern for social protection in West Africa is rightly concerned with the vulnerable in the community of rural workers largely self-employed. The growing phenomena of large scale farming which does not increase the proportion of workers in the formal economy, let alone create conditions for decent work, must receive more attention. As has been forcefully articulated by CSOs like Food Security Policy Advocacy Network (FoodSPAN), land grabbing for commercial agricultural production which displaces many small scale producers from productive resources ends up deepening vulnerabilities, inequalities and exclusion. The associated food and nutrition insecurity undermines the health profile of the women, men and children in various ways that implicate productivity or education.

It is important to appreciate the fact that a most critical challenge facing West African economies is the need to transform them. The transformation of the economies entail the economic transformation of agriculture and diversifying away from agriculture and other primary production; it entails developing industry, especially manufacturing in order to realise sustainable employment growth, that can ensure progressive realization of the Right to Food and other rights entailed in decent employment. The adoption of ILO Recommendation 202 on social protection floors in 2012 constitutes a global tripartite consensus recognising the need to progressively ensuring higher levels of protection while guaranteeing access to essential health and minimum income security.

Nutrition and food security are basic to sound health and minimum incomes are key to livelihoods. Question of sustainability of social protection in countries that are donor dependent



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/kingsleyon

30


and often on the brink of fiscal collapse has been something raised as a limiting factor. One response to this is to design and target social protection interventions in a manner that stimulates domestic production and build inter linkages between different economic activities, and between the economic and the social. For example, within a decentralised development framework, local economic development strategies could promote agricultural production schemes that take advantage of subsidised fertilisers, improved seeds, mechanisation services, etc. and provide the food resources for a school feeding programme thus removing the debilitating market access constraint. Again within the framework of a national or even sub-regional development strategy, social protection could be used to promote cotton production that feeds domestic textile industry specialising in producing materials for school uniforms which then go to feed a garment factory devoted to producing a free school uniform programme.

Social protection is an end in itself because it is a right but in conditions of widespread poverty, fiscal crises, depressed domestic production (agriculture and manufacturing), the ability to innovatively design and use social protection as a means for economic transformation is worth paying attention to. In the processes it certainly would be necessary to address the precariousness of labour in the burgeoning informal economy especially in rural areas as well as the growing informalisation of employment in the world of work.

Kingsley Ofei-NkansahGeneral SecretaryGeneral Agricultural Workers UnionGAWU of Ghana TUCAccra, Ghana

Kingsley Ofei-NkansahChairpersonFood Security Policy Advocacy NetworkFOODSPAN

20. Anna Antwi GD Resource Center, Ghana - Facilitator

Dear Colleagues,

We are getting interesting contributions, and we shall encourage all to continue with this exciting exchange before we finally draw curtains on this fascinating topic for West Africa in few days’ time.

This time the contributions range from right to adequate food, using local communities for support and also tackling social protection from multi-sectoral approaches to descriptions of social protection. In the descriptions, social protection is seen as promoting economic opportunities, supporting inclusive growth as well as contributing to necessary transformation by addressing social inequalities, exclusions and the associated vulnerabilities. Another remarkable feature is the decentralization process that transfers responsibility, and empower people through decision making processes at the sub-national levels. The interview posted by Lucie is also very informative. Experiences of people are also vast and rich. There are numerous challenges mentioned, however, one challenge that keeps re-surfacing is “targeting”.

In many African countries, pro-poor interventions such as cash transfer, input subsidy and other forms of support to the agricultural sector are to reduce poverty, shocks/ risks and food insecurity. Yet many of the social protection interventions and programmes are implemented by different government agencies with different targets in mind, even though majority of the support may end up in the rural areas with the focus on agricultural producers or farmers.

As we come to the close of this conversation, we may want to continue to address all the questions especially the key question: what are the effective ways of targeting the poor with



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/annantwi

31


social protection interventions so as to improve agricultural production to enhance food security and nutrition. You may share your experiences with common targeting mechanisms in your country.

Let us keep the spirit and momentum to the very end. Thank you

Regards,

Anna Antwi, Development Consultant.

21. Emilia Venetsanou freelancer, Italy

Dear colleagues,

Considering that the current debate relies on sound conceptual basis and substantive inputs have already been brought, this contribution will be limited to my personal ten-year experience in the 80’s – 90’s in Cape Verde, shortly referring on what Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen in “Hunger and Public Action”, 1991, considered as a success story.

Actually, Cape Verde, a member of CILSS, which before independence (1975) had several times experienced famine, around the 80’s, during a period of twenty-year drought, has been one of the most successful stories on public action largely ensuring food security through social protection, linking relief and development.

That occurred in a two-decade programme of “national reconstruction” based on Intensive Labour Public Works (ILPW) schemes (mostly “cash for work” with some cases of “food for work”, too) fed by international in-kind food aid converted by the Government in a National Development Fund. As a result, under national initiative and leadership, in-kind food aid has been transformed in an economic stimulus, injecting fresh money in the local market, opening jobs, promoting people’s professional and organisational skills, building up vital infrastructures like roads, reforestation and watershed management systems, among others. A “save & loan scheme”, built on intensive work of communities’ empowerment and participation and fed by people’s voluntary savings, thanks to their “cash for work” incomes, has been relevant for the phasing-out stage of the programme, during the public reforms related to the “structural adjustment” promoted by Word Bank and IMF, beginning 90’s. Then, people owned save & loan schemes provided the conditions for accessing to credit for setting-up small businesses and enhancing agriculture activities. This has been possible because “save & loan schemes” was not only about money. Such community-rooted schemes were depositories of vital assets as organizational capacity, including lists of beneficiaries targeting the most vulnerable, adequate mind-set, interlocution with other stakeholders and negotiation capacity, inter alia.

The Cape Verde experience shows the strong link between Social Protection and Development Policy. Social Transfers / Social Safety Nets (SSNs) can be productive, stimulate investment and be potentially transformative. SSNs can work for boosting community economy and break the vicious cycle of poverty-inequality-destitution. There are very positive experiences of SSNs implemented through Intensive Labour Public Works (ILPW) that promote people’s organisation skills, decision-making capacity, life skills acquisition and small businesses. Saving and loan schemes can be set-up thanks to ILPW wages. SSNs based on public works also contribute to community and country sustainable development when addressing infrastructures (rural roads, warehouses, soil and water conservation, etc). SSNs based on ILPW are mutually reinforcing with decentralisation efforts and ensure “injection” of funds to local economies and the closest to the most in need.

Social transfers’ appropriate schemes could enable poor and vulnerable people to access to agricultural development opportunities, but there is need of a strong political will at National and International level addressing the typical trade-offs between economic efficiency and social



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/emiliavenetsanou

32


equity. Unfortunately, in the Cape Verde case, in the beginning of the 90’s, the Bretton Woods (WB & IMF) imposed the primacy of economic efficiency against equity. Today, in Cape Verde, little has been left from that Social Protection machinery.

Eventually, this is about a learning process and all cases may present the two sides of the coin, the positive and the negative elements. We have to be honest and try to tell the whole story and learn from all its aspects.

22. Al Hassan Cissé Oxfam, Senegal – Facilitator


Dear Colleagues,

Thank you for your contributions. Thanks to them, there's "a better understanding of the social protection needs of the rural poor of West Africa" (Mr. Subhash Mehta Devarao Shivaram Trust, India). We can notice that although social protection has now a significant public dimension, traditional forms of social protection also exist. It is recognized that social protection is a right and can play an important role in agriculture because growth alone is not enough to reduce poverty and vulnerability. It is therefore necessary to link social protection to vulnerability which requires taking into account the West African context to implement social protection interventions.

As Mr Nkansah from Ghana says, it is necessary to design and target social protection interventions to stimulate domestic production with instruments such as subsidies for fertilizer, improved seeds, mechanization services, the provision of food to a school feeding program. Other instruments such as insurance and asset building can also play this role. However, they must meet the specific needs of the most vulnerable and be adapted in consequence. The storage of animal feed would be a possible intervention to promote the link between agriculture and social protection as well as water collection.

The last contributions highlighted the challenges faced:

1. In Burkina Faso the system of social safety nets is accompanied by the World Bank, NGOs and the UN system through the WFP, UNICEF and WHO. This demonstrates that in many countries those programmes are supported by donors, which raises the sustainability issue. Which financial mechanisms should be implemented to ensure sustainable funding?

2. The targeting of beneficiaries remains a major challenge. Malawi's experience is interesting as it shows the targeting problems as well as the choice of instruments. Not All instruments are suitable for all categories of people. As suggestion in a contribution, civil society, including NGOs and organizations of beneficiaries should be involved in targeting, implementing and assessing social protection mechanisms. Why is identification a challenge? Is it a methodological issue? Or a political one? In some cases, the targeting system doesn’t enable a social protection instrument to reach the poorest. Indeed, there is a targeting by category (for example the choice is made to target families with children under 5 years), the socio-economic targeting, based on vulnerability criteria requires household surveys on the field or a geographic targeting. Depending on the methodology chosen, the exclusion and inclusion rates are different. According to you what is the best targeting option for food security targeting?

3. Coordination between the various stakeholders, as is often the case, is a major challenge. Social protection projects are often carried out by different departments such as in Malawi but also in other countries. Coordination also includes the involvement of civil society and decentralized communities. What model of coordination could ensure consistency and establish



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/al-hassan-ciss%C3%A9

33


the link between social protection and agriculture?

Thank you.

Al Hassan Cissé

[Original text ]

Chers collègues,

Merci pour vos contributions, grâce à celles-ci, il y’a « une meilleure compréhension des besoins de protection sociale des ruraux pauvres d'Afrique de l'Ouest » (Mr. Subhash Mehta Devarao Shivaram Trust, India). L’on note que si la protection sociale a pris une dimension publique importante, il existe aussi une forme de protection sociale traditionnelle. Il est reconnu que la protection sociale est un droit et peut jouer un rôle fondamental dans l’agriculture vu que la croissance, à elle seule, ne peut pas réduire la pauvreté et la vulnérabilité. Il faut donc lier la protection sociale en Afrique de l’Ouest à la vulnérabilité, ce qui nécessite de contextualiser l’élaboration et la mise en œuvre des interventions de protection sociale

Comme le dit Mr Nkansah, du Ghana, il est nécessaire de concevoir et de cibler les interventions de protection sociale pour stimuler la production nationale avec des instruments tels que les subventions des engrais, des semences améliorées, des services de mécanisation, la fourniture d’aliments à un programme d'alimentation scolaire. D’autres instruments comme les assurances et la constitution d’actifs peuvent aussi jouer ce rôle. Mais ils doivent répondre aux besoins spécifiques des plus vulnérables et être adaptés. Le stockage d’aliments pour les animaux serait une intervention possible pour promouvoir le lien agriculture et protection sociale ou la collecte d’eau.

Les dernières contributions ont aussi mis l’accent sur les challenges:

1. L'identification des bénéficiaires réels reste un grand enjeu. L’expérience du Malawi est intéressante dans la mesure où elle montre les problèmes liés aux choix des bénéficiaires mais aussi des instruments. Tous les instruments ne sont pas adaptés à toutes les catégories de personnes. La société civile, dont les ONG et les Organisations de bénéficiaires, devront être impliqués dans les mécanismes d'identification de mise en œuvre et d'évaluation des actions comme proposé dans les contributions. Mais pourquoi l’identification est un problème ? Est-ce un problème de méthodologie ? Ou de politique ? Dans certains cas, les types de ciblage utilisés ne permettent pas d’atteindre les plus pauvres. En effet, il y’a un ciblage catégoriel (selon les catégories. Par exemple on choisira de cibler les familles ayant des enfants de moins de 5 ans), le ciblage socio-économique basé seulement sur des critères de vulnérabilité et qui nécessite des enquêtes de ménage ou un ciblage géographique. Selon les méthodologies utilisées, les taux d’exclusion et d’inclusion sont différents. Quelles selon vous le ciblage le plus approprié pour la protection sociale pour sécurité alimentaire ?

2. Au Burkina Faso le système de filets sociaux est accompagné par la Banque mondiale, des ONG et le système des Nations Unies à travers le PAM, l'Unicef et l'OMS. Ce qui montre comme dans beaucoup de pays que les programmes sont appuyés par les bailleurs, ce qui pose un problème de durabilité. Mais quels mécanismes financiers faut-il mettre en place pour assurer un financement durable ?



34


3. La coordination entre les différents acteurs comme c’est souvent le cas est un problème majeur. Les projets de protection sociale sont souvent exécutés par différents ministères comme au Malawi mais aussi d’autres pays. La coordination intègre aussi l’implication des organisations de la société civile et des collectivités décentralisées. Quel est le modèle de coordination permettant d’assurer la cohérence et d’établir le lien entre la protection sociale et l’agriculture qu’il faut mettre en place ?

Merci par avance,

Al Hassan Cissé

23. Concern 3 University of Guyana, Guyana

Concern embodies the sentiments of an assembly of students of the University of Guyana committed to sharing ideas on their understanding of social protection and how these programmes can address the needs of West African countries.

In West African countries households and individuals usually have to deal with the instability of the global economy, conflict, disease, unpredictable weather and climate change. This may result in harvest shocks, death or unemployment of the breadwinner for the family, accidents leading to disability and illnesses which requires a lot of finance. Hence, shocks have an unfavorable impact on many households and may push them further into poverty and prevent others from escaping. (Oduro, 2010)

Therefore the implementation of social protection programmes are necessary to provide assistance to those vulnerable individuals such as children, women, elderly, disabled, displaced, unemployed, and the sick. The existence of ‘safety nets’ such as the provision of emergency assistance after a drought or flood can prevent households from falling into poverty traps. These programmes provide households with the desired push needed to recover quickly from unfavorable events. “Social protection programmes can take many forms such as transfers of cash through welfare payments, child allowances, or pensions; in-kind transfers such as food aid or school feeding programs; subsidies to goods purchased by the poor; or unemployment insurance and public works or workfare schemes.”

Social protection provides a level of security which gives small entrepreneurs the motivation needed to make investments, which can foster economic growth in West African countries. The provision of additional resources enables individuals and households to enhance their diet and improve their nutrition level. This results in productivity gain from improved physical capacity and reduced child and infant mortality levels. Promoting equity and reducing inequality is one of the key functions of social protection programmes. This facilitates the redistribution of wealth between different population categories. (Hoddinott, J. 2008)

In summary the proper implementation of social protection programmes in West African countries, will provide assistance to poor individuals, households and communities which will enhance their present and future well-being and give them to capacity to manage risks better.

References: Badiane, O., S. Odjo, and J. Ulimwengu. 2011. Emerging Policies and Partnerships under

CAADP: Implication for Long-Term Growth, Food Security, and Poverty Reduction. Discussion Paper 1145. Washington, DC: IFPRI.

Devereux, S., and P. White. 2010. “Social Protection in Africa: Evidence, Politics and Rights.” Poverty & Public Policy 2 (3).



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/morcad406

35


Hoddinott, J. 2008. Social Safety Nets and Productivity Enhancing Investments in Agriculture. IFPRI Discussion Paper. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Instit ute, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1661284.

Oduro, A. D. (2010). Formal and Informal Social Protection in sub‐Saharan Africa.

24. Dr. John Adu Kumi Ghana

Dear Family to this forum,

The extension of time has taken my mind to the direction of wanting to draw some correlations between Social Protection and Food Security and Nutrition separately. With time, such a research will be worth doing. I perceive a cyclical framework for which accessing the appropriate nutritious meals through support for the vulnerable and socially excluded makes life worth living.

The vulnerable and those in abject poverty may not be in such conditions because of their own doing. Majority of them in West Africa are victims of circumstances, but even the insane are born into families that rejoice at the birth of the babies. When support fails, they are neglected and rejected. People in society who may not be their relatives provide support to such people by feeding and clothing them to preserve decency in society. The Supporters can be located to be supported in a way from some funds somewhere, be provided with guidance and access to nutritious foods for such people.

With the dynamics of life, people do not even have time to eat desserts, some of which help digest properly, the foods we eat. The nutrition embedded in the foods we eat are therefore locked up and most of the nutrients go to waste. Extension education has to basically be revived and repackaged to reach these categories of target beneficiaries in Society. This is a way through which social protection in terms of educational support can reach the people for them to know where to access the right foods in the right quantities at the right times for right eating to obtain the right nutrition.

The case of promoting hermetic storage of some foods is another decent way of providing support for storage of nutritious foods. Some cash transfers can be modified to get households the bags for storage and then the food aids follow, for which storage is assured to be sound. Then when the targeted families feed, proper nutrition will be realized and our vision crystalized to prove that social protection indeed contributes to food security and nutrition.

Thanks

25. Group 4 University of Guyana, Guyana

Social protection as it relates to the forum is given as, “ social protection is the support provided in the form of income or benefits to the poor, vulnerable and socially excluded in society with the aim of enhancing capacity to protect themselves against social and economic shocks and risks".The institutions that are mainly responsible for social protection and food security in these states are basically the governments of the respective states. They can enhance the current state of these countries through policies such as tax relief on investments specifically, agricultural investments. That is, they can grant some degree of tax reduction to investors who are willing to invest in the agricultural sector which is one of the main sectors in these countries since, they are currently experiencing food crises which is a major problem. Investment in this sector will eventually boost these economies since it helps solve the malnutrition issues in these countries. In addition, this will create jobs however, we must realise that we cannot see improvement



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/joshuaalexandersingh


http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1661284.%C2%A0%C2%A0

36


instantly after these economies start to develop; the government can gradually raise taxes of these foreign companies after progress have been made thus, having a win-win situation in that the food production takes place, unemployment rate is reduced and tax revenues increase gradually.

Evenly, government has the role to improve the standard of living and state of the economy since the civil society have a major role to play to ensure their own food security and nutrition. These organisations can be NGO’s and others who act as a benevolence of the society as a whole and not of their own personal interest where they can collude with private institutions to ensure food security is achieved which will be beneficial for these economies as a whole. These NGO’s can issue small scale loans to foster agriculture production locally at a low interest rate so as to raise finance for self-maintenance since they are not normally profit motivated. By offering low interest rate on loans for agricultural production, those investors who would like to invest but lack the capital to start up, will now get the opportunity to do their own farming and develop small businesses. As well as, those who are involved in the agricultural sector already can now get a chance to expand thus, assuring that agricultural production takes place and food security can now be secured to some extent.

Also, there can be a government-private collusion in the best interest of the society in that the government and private organisations can collude to ensure better deliverance of education which will be useful for both organisations since better education leads to a more productive society; given that, after studying individuals skills will be used in both public and private sectors, that is they can collude and invest in providing materials and better teaching facilities in both agricultural and other sectors of the economy.

26. Boubacar Maiga Centre Régional de Recherche Agronomique (CRRA/IER-Niono), Mali


Dear Colleagues,

Thank you for this nice initiative.

In agricultural production, the social protection contribution to food security and nutrition can go through various forms of support. They can be oriented on creation and rehabilitation of infrastructure such as participatory and equitable facilities access to water and its management for some production systems; the use of improved and certified seed, quality inputs, a gradual adoption of agroforestry, the integration of sustainable breeding, participatory construction of rural roads, construction of warehouses facilities for storage and conservation, technical and management trainings in these areas including marketing. Overall, rural poor (including vulnerable women and youth) must have access to sustainable income and the access to food.

The nutritional status of targeted populations can be improved by the provision of local nutritional inputs and promoting nutrition education. Priority will be given to pregnant and lactating women and children affected by chronic malnutrition.

Financial tools could increase households asset and community ones (economy, convertible property, etc.), insurance covering costs and risks of disasters, existence of community savings plans and credit instruments, and / or access to microfinance services, community access to affordable insurance, community disaster fund, access to cash transfer systems.

MAIGA Boubacar




37


Agroeconomist, Researcher

Expert in natural resources sustainable management IER/CRRA-Niono

[Original text]

Chers collègues,

Je vous remercie pour cette belle initiative.

Dans la production agricole, cette contribution de la protection sociale à la sécurité alimentaire et à la nutrition peut passer par des appuis multiformes orientés vers la réalisation et la réhabilitation des infrastructures telles que des aménagements participatifs et équitables, l’accès à l’eau et sa maîtrise pour certains systèmes de production, l'utilisation de semences améliorées et certifiées, des intrants de qualité, une adoption progressive de l'agroforesterie, une intégration de l’élevage sur une base de durabilité, des travaux participatifs de pistes rurales, la construction de magasins de stockage et de conservation, des formations techniques et de gestion dans ces domaines y compris la commercialisation. Globalement, Les revenus, la disponibilité et l’accès alimentaires des populations rurales pauvres (femmes et jeunes vulnérables notamment) doivent être assurés.

L’état nutritionnel des populations ciblées peut être amélioré par la mise à disposition d'intrants nutritionnels locaux et la promotion de l'éducation nutritionnelle. La priorité sera accordée aux femmes enceintes et allaitantes et des enfants affectés par la malnutrition chronique.

Comme outils financiers, prévoir un renforcement de la base d’actifs des foyers et de la collectivité (économie, propriété convertible, etc), les coûts et risques des catastrophes, l’existence de plans d’épargne et de crédit communautaire, de groupe et/ou accès à des services de micro finance, un accès communautaire à une assurance abordable, un fonds communautaire pour les catastrophes, un accès aux transferts et versements d’argent.

MAIGA Boubacar

Agro-économiste, Chercheur

Spécialiste Gestion Durable des Ressources Naturelles IER/CRRA-Niono

27. University of Guyana Agriculture Economics Research Group 1 University of Guyana, Guyana

Dear colleagues,

World Bank estimates of the composition of the world’s population shows that more than half of the population is living in cities. These trends are even stronger in African countries. With persons flocking to cities, the risk of urban poverty is clearly possible. The vicious cycle of poverty continues and residents suffer for generations

Urban poverty is characterized by the lack of social protection among other things. If social protection is facilitated trough the availability of social networks that can assure the availability of quality produce to urban dwellers at less than exploitative prices so that the urban poverty can be guarded against.

On the other side of the coin, assured markets for rural farmers are created through these social networks and to protect these farmers, a balance must be made so that the prices received by these farmers are not too low so as to force them lower into the trap of rural poverty.



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/keliciadaniels

38


28. Prof Ignatius Onimawo Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma , Nigeria

Dear colleagues,

The issue of social protection and its relationship to nutrition security has been sufficiently discussed by many Forum members. What is of paramount importance is the provision social safety nets. This can come in various forms depending on the nature and causes of the nutrition insecurity. During the flooding disaster that occurred in several communities in Nigeria last year, it became apparent that many developing countries including Nigeria do not have in place social safety nets even in disaster situations. The use of food aids can temporary save lives but a more sustainable way could bet devised such as assistance in land allocation for female households, provisions of farming inputs such as seedlings, fertilizers and extension of cash credits. A step taken recently by the government of Nigeria was to extend free education and free school meals to over several Almajiri children whose parents could not provide for their upkeep. Over 80 of such schools were built and equipped and the almajiri children were made to attend such school. This can be extended to other children from the poorest communities. This will go a long way to safe guard the future of these children.

Prof Ignatius OnimawoAmbrose Alli University, Ekpoma

29. Moussa Na Abou Mamouda ENDA TM, Senegal

Dear FSN members,

I'm doing a research on "climate change and food security in the Sahel" with case studies in Niger and Senegal.

One of our research question is "what is the cause of food insecurity in Maradi (southern Niger)?" So far, the answer is that the causes of food insecurity are complex to investigate but we principally came up with 3 major causes and these include: Climate variability/changes, Poverty and bad Governance. All these factors are acting together to govern food insecurity in Maradi and in Niger in general. However, it's important to note that climate variability/changes and poverty have always been part of puzzle and farmers in the Sahel have developed quite resilient socio economic mechanisms to cope and even to adapt (Climate change adaptation and food insecurity in Maradi District – Niger).

The third factor (which is bad Governance) has been an exacerbating factor that endermined community social capital and led to many food crisis in Niger. Out of the 08 food crisis that have occurred in Niger from 1966 to 2005, bad governance and other likeminded political factors have been key triggering factors. Some examples included locust attacks in the 1966-1967, 1973-1974, 1984-1985, 1993-1994, 1996-1997, 2004-2005 food crisis (these can be prevented/avoided if governments have put the required means), military coup (1996-1997), depreciation of the CFA franc (1993-1994), closure of Niger-Nigeria border (food crisis of 1984-1985), etc.

In short, bad governance and other political factors have greatly contributed in weakening community social protection networks and broken their resilience to food shortages. It is therefore crucial to explore how good governance could contribute in setting up better social protection for food security and nutrition in Niger and in West Africa in general.



http://bit.ly/1amJIWT

http://bit.ly/1amJIWT

http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/mamoudam


39


30. Andréa Houindote Ministere de la Santé, Point Focal Nutrition, Benin


Dear Colleagues,

Thank you for sharing information.

Personally, I think that social protection can play an important role in food security and nutrition. In some countries such as Benin, social protection supports health actors in the field of active research, home visits, social survey among the poor, cooking demonstration. I think we may assign these roles to social protection and raise awareness on the importance of agriculture in the production of food, its consumption and not selling, the distribution of food to vulnerable groups, pooling, and also the distribution of land to women who don't have it and work only for their husbands. The discussion continues on this subject.

[Original text]

Cher collègues,

Merci pour le partage de l'information.

Pour ma part je pense que la protection sociale pourrait jouer un rôle important dans la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition. Dans certains pays comme le Bénin la protection sociale appuie les acteurs de santé dans le domaine de la recherche active, de visite à domicile, de l'enquête sociale chez les indigents, de la démonstration culinaire. Je pense qu'on peut confier ces mêmes rôles à la protection sociale en complétant la sensibilisation de l'agriculture sur l'importance de la production des aliments variés, la consommation de ces aliments produits et non la vente, la distribution des aliments aux groupes à risques, la mutualisation et aussi la distribution des terres aux femmes n'ayant pas accès et ne travaillent que pour leur époux. La réflexion se poursuit sur le sujet.

31. Agriculture Economics Research Group 1 University of Guyana, Guyana

Dear all,

To target issues like food security in the growing urban areas where populations have grown exponentially, this phenomenon is present all around the world and is especially evident in West African countries. The impact that the role women play, the availability of basic healthcare facilities and the shifting of agricultural production to urban areas are absolutely integral to ensuring food security and nutrition for the always growing population.

Traditionally, the roles of women as primary caregiver to children and home maker are changed in the urban setting where the woman is working in this is especial greater in the single parent setting. If the roles women play in these urban settings are revised so that they along with working, they can use their influence on their families and their diet so that more nutrition rich food will be consumed.

If basic health care facilities are not present, a healthy and well-nourished population is impossible to attain. Lacking basic healthcare like vaccination, even the best foods cannot compensate for the ill effects that come with various life threatening diseases like polio.





40


Food security concerns can be addressed on an individual family basis by utilizing the limited space available to urban dwellers. Urban agriculture, although it may be possible for each family to cultivate on a surplus basis, small kitchen gardens or potted vegetable plants can afford the poor urban dwellers available food that requires minimal effort in cultivation.

32. Concern 3 University of Guyana, Guyana

Dear colleagues in West Africa,

"Concern" is commited to sharing ideas on their understanding of the challenges, weaknesses and limitations of social protection programmes in West Africa and to provide recommendations to address them.

Today it is widely recognized that there is serious lack of financial protection in many homes. There is wide empirical evidence that reducing the risk from shocks, by relaxing short term credit and resource constraints, is crucial for increasing productivity and investments which in turn should stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty. Although they differ in their generosity across countries, in most cases they provide a minimum of compensation in the event of illness, unemployment or retirement. In Africa, the implementation of these kinds of safety nets has just started. Moreover they often only cover a small share of the total population in need. BARRETT, C. (2006)The implementation of social security is particularly difficult in Africa, because most of the countries in that region face serious budget constraints, making it almost impossible to finance often rather expensive insurances systems. In addition, the implementation and management of social security systems requires quite complex institutions which, again, are not available in most of these countries. Many low and middle income countries have secure to introduce many social protection programs but however it was only able to cover a small portion of the population, usually they only cover employees in the public and private formal sector. So unless a significant formalization of the entire labour force occurs, the large majority of the poor usually associated with the non-salaried and informal sector will remain excluded from social protection programs in the future.

It is also argued that the receipt of public funds discourages work effort because beneficiaries choose to engage in more leisure instead. Additionally, in cases where strict means testing a targeting method based on income is used, individuals may worry that if they work too much, they will lose access to their benefits. In addition to the effect on labor incentives, public safety net programs may change incentives of private individuals to assist family and friends; social safety nets might crowd out informal safety nets such as private transfers. ARDINGTON, C. C., A. & HOSEGOOD (2007)The safety nets also focus on their affordability in highly resource constrained environments. Such concerns are often couched in terms of trade-offs between different forms of poor expenditures. However, this concern exaggerates the costs of many well targeted programs. Frequently social protection programs are less than 1 percent of gross national product (GNP), an amount that can often be financed by reallocating from unproductive expenditures that offer little tangible benefit for the poor.

Therefore it is important to explore how these problems can be tackled and to think about alternatives which could be used in the meantime. One measure that can be implementing is providing financial aid through partnership between bilateral or multilateral donor and an international NGO, which together provide the driving force in terms of project initiation and design, funding, technical assistance, monitoring, and evaluation. BARRIENTOS, A., HOLMES, R. & SCOTT, J.2008



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/morcad406

41


Another initiative is to use an integrated, in order to exploit the opportunities for cash transfers and social welfare services. This can be used to ensure that cash transfers reach the poorest and most vulnerable persons, enhance protection outcomes and avoid negative impacts. An integrated approach means developing comprehensive national social protection strategies, rather than piece-meal approaches, preventing the ‘crowding out’ of social welfare services and applying an integrated approach, especially in ministries that have responsibility for a range of benefit programs and services

REFERENCES:

BARRETT, C. Food Aid's Intended and Unintended Consequences. Background Paper for FAO State of Food and Agriculture 2006.

ARDINGTON, C. C., A. & HOSEGOOD. "Labor supply responses to large social transfers: longitudinal evidence from South Africa." NBER Working Paper (2007)

BARRIENTOS, A., HOLMES, R. & SCOTT, J. Social Assistance in Developing Countries Database. Version 4.0. Brooks World Poverty Institute. (2008)

33. Peter Steele Independent Consultant Agricultural Engineer, Australia

Welcome to the first Food Security and Nutrition Forum discussion dedicated to West Africa.

Welcome indeed. Who can resist participating in this the first of the FSN debates on regional Africa? Here’s my contribution – looking at regional leadership. Focus on the regional leaderPre-ambleIt's difficult to cover the many real and implicit issues of food security, nutrition and more that impact upon West Africa in a few words - no matter that many try to do so. It is, of course, better to try than to give up on a topic that impacts on the region that represents the intellectual heartland of Africa. By way of an introduction to my contribution consider: the continent has long been recognized for its potential as the global bread basket of the 21 century - 20% of world's land surface but little more than 10% of the people - all that space, soils, water and bio-resources and the international predators already circulating in a food insecure world keen to become part of the action. There will be 10 billion people to be fed worldwide within the next 40 years - around three billion more than today; and if the custodians of the African continent - those with access to the resources, funds, technologies and, crucially, the vision - don't move into gear others will do it for them. You can't focus upon West Africa without taking into account the most dynamic of the regional economies - that of Nigeria. If this country can come to terms with social protection of vulnerable people in the context of food and nutrition security, then so can just about everywhere else. This remains, however, an extra-ordinary challenge wherever you are within national society - family, community and government - from local through state to federal. The filter-down effect of public investments is inexplicable slow, and you may need the patience of Job to await your turn in the queue. Role of the private sector


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2742429/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2742429/

http://www.google.it/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdyson.cornell.edu%2Ffaculty_sites%2Fcbb2%2FPapers%2FMixedEffectsv2Mar2006.pdf&ei=comEUvSLJIGXtAb64oHgBQ&usg=AFQjCNHgfc816Fyr4LvTE85D_NzCVIC14w&sig2=VIk9WhMRuLTokFWThNiPqw&bvm=bv.56343320,d.Yms



http://www.chronicpoverty.org/uploads/publication_files/Social_Assistance_Database_Version4_August2008.pdf






42


Private sector investments, by contrast, can impact almost immediately as markets take effect. Again, however, it is the growing middle classes that stand the better chance of taking advantages of these investments - investments that typically begin with the ideas and resources of these same sectors of the community. It is the same middle classes - middle income groups if you like - who are driving change. Since 2008, government has made considerable effort to shift from the mis-management, corruption, political instability and more typical of the 50-year period post-independence and, crucially and in-parallel, diversify the economy away from over-dependence on domestic oil industries. Market-orientated reforms are underway, subsidies are being reduced and investment is being directed into agriculture, manufacturing, services and other non-oil sectors. The country has enjoyed a buoyant GDP during the past five years given growth across the economy and rising earnings from oil. Oil and gas, however, continue to account for 95% of foreign exchange and 80% of budgetary resources. Financial management of this kind is irresponsible in the short-term and untenable in the longer-term. The politico-socio-economic challenges facing the country are daunting – demographically skewed, rampant population growth, fragile north-south ethno-economic divide, minority wealth expansion at the expense of stagnant majority poverty, complex national federal/state management structures that largely isolate the man-in-the-street from government and, from a viewpoint that embraces the socio-economic security of rural communities, an agricultural sector that has lacked significant investment for >40 years. Nigeria succeedingNigeria enjoys a reputation as the largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa and Nigerians like to consider themselves some of the best ‘operators’ in the marketplace – quick to enjoy a challenge, financially adept, dominating trading markets throughout the West African hinterlands and coastal countries and soccer across the continent. Organise the country and shift oil revenues into agro-industrial investment and the country has the potential to develop an economy that could elevate it to BRICS status. Catalysing agro-and agro-industrial production nationwide is possible - government and its advisors have both the mandate and a responsibility to explore the opportunities available. (As exemplified by Nigerian Vision 20:20202 and the Agricultural Transformation Agenda - investments, agro-industries, value chains, private sector and more.) Developments of this kind will be private sector-led. It would be unfortunate to consider Nigeria as ‘just another impoverished West African state’. Encourage Nigeria back on to the road that will enable to reach its agricultural potential, and every other country in the region will benefit. And then the country and its neighbours will have sufficient resources to re-invest in public institutions, agendas, policies and more that will enable safety nets to be developed that will help vulnerable people to help themselves to shift out-of-poverty. Peter SteeleMelbourne13 November 2013

34. Mme TCHOHLO Akossiwa ex-députée à l’Assemblée nationale, Togo




43



Dear ladies and gentlemen of the FSN Forum,

Congratulations for all you do.I would like to make a brief comment on the subject of the discussion "How can social protection contribute to food security and nutrition in West Africa?".

African countries are countries with strong social case. Populations are predominantly rural, they have little or no access to means of production, and resources are unevenly distributed between regions and between women and men of a country. So for me, social protection means ensuring decent work and means of production (financial, land) to all citizens which enable them to ensure the food security, in terms of quantity, quality and at any time. Arrangements need to be made at the legislative and regulatory level, and everything should be put into practice. This would contribute to solve the problem of nutrition in West Africa. Thank you and goodbye

[Original Text]

Bonjour Mesdames et Messieurs du Forum,

Félicitations pour tout ce que vous faites.Je voudrais faire un petit commentaire sur le sujet de la discussion “Comment la protection sociale peut-elle contribuer à la sécurité alimentaire et à la nutrition en Afrique occidentale ?”

Les pays africains sont des pays à forts cas sociaux. Les populations sont en majorité rurales ; elles ont peu ou pas d’accès aux moyens de productions ; les ressources sont inégalement réparties entre les régions et entre les filles et fils d’un pays. Donc pour moi, faire la protection sociale revient à garantir l’emploi décent, les moyens de production (financier, terre) à tout citoyen afin de lui permettre de s’assurer la nourriture en quantité, en qualité et au moment opportun. Que des dispositions soient prises au niveau législatif, règlementaire, et que tout soit mis en pratique. Cela contribuerait beaucoup à résoudre le problème de nutrition en Afrique de l’Ouest. Merci et à bientôt

Mme TCHOHLO Akossiwaex-députée à l’Assemblée nationaledu Togo.

35. Ms. Edith HOUHA AICFM BENIN, Benin




http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/users/hninon15

44


Dear Colleagues,

Thank you for all that you do to reduce global hunger.

Social protection could be quickly defined as the public measures implemented to ensure rural people to access to public services that contribute to get out of insecurity and poverty. In the area of food security and nutrition, social protection is expressed by (i) all programs implemented for a qualitative agricultural production sufficient for all; (ii) and by the various facilities provided by public services (easy access to inputs, social security, agricultural insurance, and guaranteed access to credit ...) that facilitate the production and supports the access to food to all.

In Benin, as in other West African countries, the governments supported by Financial and Technical Partners have developed several programmes for food and nutrition security in the rural areas.

Consumer products are most concerned with them. In Benin, it includes maize, rice, beans (cowpea), tomato etc. ... These programmes are mostly implemented to be run on a short period (2-5 years). After that, the sustainability of the actions carried out is no longer assured. In any case, it is cycle of projects that never ends. Once a project is over, another one starts and so on.

The major finding is that the producers that are 'beneficiaries' of these projects are unable to continue in the same direction, as they had not been prepared for a sudden and precipitous autonomy.

It would be wise for governments and Financial and Technical Partners take that into account this when designing the project. They should foresee:

- The sustainability through a package including health and safety, social security and food and nutrition security;

- Protect the purchasing power of households by creating local safety nets and guarantee schemes for access to bank loans with acceptable rates;

- Involve farmers' organizations in the definition of agricultural insurance products and provide them with a grant for promoting and encouraging their support for this scheme.

These few elements could certainly give a boost to social protection systems and could significantly influence food security.

Edith Houha ( MFDA / BENIN )

[Original Text]

Chers collègues,

Je vous remercie pour tout ce que vous faites pour la réduction de la faim dans le monde en général.



45


La protection sociale pourrait être définie très rapidement comme l’ensemble des mesures publiques mises en œuvre pour assurer au monde rural l’accès à certains services publics qui participent à le sortir de la précarité et de la pauvreté. Dans le domaine de la sécurité alimentaire et de nutrition, elle se traduit d’une part, par l’ensemble des programmes mis en œuvre dans la production agricole pour une production en qualité et en quantité suffisante pour tous. Elle se traduit d’autre part, par les différentes prestations assurées par les services publics (accès facile aux intrants, à la sécurité sociale, à l’assurance agricole, garantie d’accès aux crédits…) pour faciliter la production et l’accès à la nourriture suffisante à toutes les catégories sociales dans un pays.

Au Bénin comme dans d’autres pays de l’Afrique de l’Ouest les gouvernements avec l’appui des Partenaires Techniques Financiers ont élaboré plusieurs programmes en direction du monde rural en vue de la sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle.

Les produits de grande consommation sont les plus concernés par. Il s’agit au Bénin du maïs, du riz, du haricot (Niébé), de la tomate etc… Les programmes mis en place à cet effet sont pour la plupart élaborés pour être exécutés sur de courtes durées (2 à 5 ans). Une fois le projet à terme, la pérennité des actions conduites n’est plus assurée. En tout cas, c’est à des cycles de projets à n’en point finir qu’on assiste. Un projet fini, un autre commence et ainsi de suite.

Le grand constat est que les producteurs « bénéficiaires » des projets n’arrivent pas à continuer dans la même direction, puisque n’avaient pas été préparés à une autonomisation brusque et précipitée.

Il serait alors judicieux que les gouvernements et leurs Partenaires Techniques Financiers, dans la formulation des projets et programmes doivent :

prévoir leur durabilité par un montage associant sécurité sanitaire, sécurité sociale et sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle,

Protéger le pouvoir d’achat des ménages par la création de filets sociaux de proximité ainsi que des systèmes de garantie pour l’accès aux crédits bancaires à taux relativement acceptable,

Associer les organisations paysannes dans la définition des produits d’assurance agricole et apporter une subvention à ceux-ci sur quelques années pour susciter et encourager leur adhésion massive à cette forme de sécurisation d’eux-mêmes mais aussi de leurs produits et exploitations.

Ces quelques éléments pourraient à coup sûr donner un coup de fouet au système de protection sociale et influencer très significativement la sécurité alimentaire.

Edith HOUHA (ACFM/BENIN)

36. University of Guyana Agriculture Economics Research Group 1 University of Guyana, Guyana

1. What is your understanding of social protection? How these programmes can address West African countries’ needs? Social protection are programmes in place to avoid, organize and overcome problems that has a harmfully effect on human’s beings and their well beings. Social protection for food security and nutrition can be defined as when everyone in a society has access to sufficient physical, economical resources for safe and nutritious food that gives a person all the food nutrients




46


required for a healthy and productive life. Social protection can take the form of: social assistance and community-based or informal social protection.

· Social assistance – resources, either cash or in-kind, are transferred to vulnerable individuals or households. These transfers can be unconditional (for example, social pensions or cash benefits) or conditional (given in exchange for work on public works programmes or attendance at school, for instance).

Programmes can be implemented that would subsidize the agriculture sector in rural areas so that prices would stay down for agriculture proceeds populated urban settlements. Hence, with adequate subsidizing the agriculture sector for smaller farmers, they can increase their production while reducing their prices.

· Community-based or ‘informal’ social protection – mechanisms by which social safety nets and coping strategies are provided and sustained at community-level. For example –Residents can become more involved in community agriculture cooperative to secure food for their community and country at large.

Social protection in a country can reduce migration and benefit citizens in a country.

37. Tosin Apiriola Victoria Women and youth development initiative, Nigeria

Dear colleagues,

I am really happy about the West Africa consultation, reading contributions from different people gladdens my heart and gave the assurance that the future is certainly not bleak.

Recently, I participated in a West Africa learning event on Community Based Adaptation which was sponsored by the CARE International, CCAFS and END Energie. You can read the COMMUNIQUE and the blog post on the outcome of the event.

As the discussion of the FSN Forum is “Social Protection contribution to food security and nutrition in West Africa”, I believe empowering communities with adaptation strategies will go a long way in boosting social protection.

38. Mawuli Sablah Helen Keller International, Senegal

Dear Colleagues from West Africa, The discussion on “how social protection contributes to food and nutrition security in West Africa” is very inspiring. Here is a contribution to reflect on how we forge a stronger partnership to achieve a hunger free West Africa.

Multi-sectoral Public Private Partnership Required for Effective Social Protection on the Right to Adequate Food and Nutrition Security in West AfricaBy Mawuli Sablah: Helen Keller International – Regional Office for Africa



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/fr/users/fsnmoderator

47


Resilience to food and nutrition insecurity should engage multi-sectoral platforms through effective coordination, result based planning with clearly defined strategic objectives, intermediate results and logic models that define input, process, outcome, output indicators for monitoring interventions for impact on addressing food insecurity and malnutrition.

In coping with non-availability and inadequate access to food, vulnerable poor house-holds usually invest in basic staples that are high in energy but low in essential micronutrients when trying to meet their caloric requirements, especially under high food prices as experienced in recent past years. It is important to engage public and private sector to ensure that staple foods that reach significant proportion (i.e. 70 to 80%) of the population, such as centrally processed cereals, vegetable oil and condiments are fortified under mandatory national legislations to meet some proportions of recommended daily allowances for vitamin A, iron, zinc, folic acid and other essential micronutrients of vulnerable groups. These should also be coupled with adequate targeted complementary food fortification for children, dietary diversification, supplementation and public health measures including water, sanitation and hygiene.

National and regional agricultural investment plans must be integrated with linkages between nutrition and agriculture while ensuring nutrition specific as well as nutrition sensitive approaches to promoting the fundamental human right to adequate food and nutrition. The ECOWAS Nutrition Forum should transition into a multi-sectoral regional platform; bringing together a cross-section of key sectors; agriculture food security, health, communication, commerce and industry to jointly deliberate, plan, implement, monitor and evaluate food and nutrition security interventions. Countries in West Africa must imbibe integrated multi-sectoral public private partnership principles and platforms as well as result based planning. Government must create the enabling environment through effective policies, legislation and direct investment over and above 10% of national budget in order to achieve over 6% growth in agriculture and impact on food and nutrition security. Integrated initiatives require diverse food sources, better food chain and post-harvest management systems, better handling, packaging, transportation infrastructure, harmonized standards with regulatory frameworks, strong intra-regional trade as well as food distribution systems, development of small and medium scale food processing enterprises, improved food safety quality management systems, expansion of private sector food services and overall context specific innovations to ending hunger in West Africa.

Cash transfer programs should have productive dimensions to ensure those benefitting from social protection programs evolve to become productive workforce capable of generating sufficient independent resources to ensure their food and nutrition security. While protecting poor urban dwellers through safety nets and fortified centrally processed food staples, rural agriculture should be scaled up, with understanding of agricultural systems that promote mixed cropping/mixed farming to diversify nutrient sources available to rural house-holds. There is also the need to couple this with improved effective mechanization of agriculture, post-harvest management and food processing through efficient food chain management system as the number of urban dwellers increase over rural, largely farming population groups. Context specific understanding of the productive impact of cash transfer is required and nutrition must be mainstreamed into agriculture to deliver safe and nutritious food systems that guarantee food and nutrition security. Regional and national agricultural investment plans of West Africa require nutrition sensitive agricultural value chains that take into account contextual realities, multi-sectoral public private partnership, climate resilient adaptation/mitigation, environmental sustainability and strong political will for result oriented policies as well as financial commitments. Education on the right based approach and documentation of violations as well as best practices to respecting the human right to food and nutrition in West Africa must be promoted. Capacity building and coordination of multi-sectoral public and private partners must underlie innovative programming towards a hunger free (zero hunger) West Africa.



48


39. Al Hassan Cissé Oxfam, Senegal – Concluding remarks


Dear colleagues,

This discussion on the contribution of social protection to food security and nutrition in West Africa was very instructive. We had significant contributions of people with broad experiences. All participants agreed that social protection can contribute significantly to food security and nutrition in West Africa. Indeed, according to participants, the high level of vulnerability to food insecurity, especially among women and children, requires policy and social protection programmes able to strengthen food security. Participants also highlighted the need to address the challenges related to the development of social protection, such as financing, targeting, coordination and participation of civil society.

From this discussion, I draw the following conclusions:

Participants reached a consensus recognizing the capacity and potential of social protection to strengthen agriculture and food security. Indeed, according to the different experiences and analyzes of participants, social protection as a right CAN play an important role in food security and nutrition in Africa if it is effectively implemented. In 2011, I was in charge of a safety net project with Oxfam in Mali. The monitoring and evaluations activities performed on the field have shown a high potential for social safety nets to fight against people’s vulnerability, and especially women. I remember this 56 year old woman from northern Mali, who had to bear six children. With the money she received through cash transfers, she could buy millet and rice and also invest. With the first transfer, she grew rice and harvest two bags of them. The year before she could not do anything because she had no production means. With harvest and food purchases, she could ensure her household’s food security and greatly reduce the lean period.

In order for social protection to contribute effectively to food security, the choice of appropriate instruments is crucial. The participants in this discussion identify various instruments that are important to include in policies and social protection programmes. These include: cash transfers, agricultural subsidies, school feeding, among others. These tools can be used depending on the context and targets. In the Oxfam project in Mali, cash transfers and training were for the poorest, while working for cash and subsidies of agricultural inputs were for the poor. Indeed, according to the context analysis, cash transfers are more appropriate for very poor households to ensure their food security. Most of the money was actually used for food consumption. In this project, the cash transfers were made at the beginning of the rainy season, during the lean season and at the harvest. This allowed beneficiaries to invest, to buy food consumption without going into debt and protect their crops.

Challenges have been widely discussed. The funding was highlighted as one of the main issue. It is established that it is the state’s responsibility to provide social protection, but it has been



49


highlighted that funding is still largely dependent on donors. However, a secured and sustainable funding is needed to contribute effectively to food security and nutrition. The contributions regularly mentioned funding constraints in the provision of social protection in West Africa. It is worth noting that inaction is much more expensive than social protection. Indeed, social protection can help build resilience and reduce the effects of food crises when they occur (ref ; rapport DFID The Economics of Early Response and Disaster Resilience).

Peter’s contribution highlights the possibility to use resources generated by the oil sector to fund agriculture and, I would say, also social protection. He gives the example of Nigeria whose GDP from the oil sector raises while agriculture, of paramount importance in the country, is poorly funded. There is a need to give greater consideration to agriculture through more investment, and social protection for the poorest. To do so, we need innovative financing mechanisms. Couldn’t we think of a financing mechanism for social protection funded by the mining and oil sectors? Beyond funding, targeting beneficiaries, coordination, and participation of CSOs have been widely identified by participants as important challenges in the implementation of social protection. Targeting has been especially emphasized as it raises the issue of transparency and governance.

These contributions dealing with challenges are consistent with the findings of a workshop on social protection for food security organized by Oxfam in March 2013. The event brought together NGOs, regional farmers' organizations, government representatives of Burkina Faso , Ghana and Mali, ECOWAS parliamentarians, FAO , WFP, World Bank, EU and IFPRI . The participants of the meeting identified the following points as the most important challenges in promoting social protection for food security in West Africa:

Targeting of beneficiaries by adopting methodologies that limit the inclusion and exclusion rates;

Understanding of social protection by CSOs to enable them to participate in dialogue, influence decisions and participate in good governance;

The funding of social protection which raises the question of public expenditures’ priorities;

Governance: consistency agricultural development policies, coordination and participation of CSOs.

As a conclusion, I would like to say that this discussion has been really instructive and will be useful to contribute to the debate on social protection in West Africa.

Thank you very much.

Al Hassan Cisse

[Original text]

Cette discussion sur la contribution protection sociale pour la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition en Afrique de l’Ouest a été riche en enseignements. Nous avons enregistré de significatives contributions de personnes avec de riches expériences. Tous les participants pensent que la protection sociale peut largement contribuer à la sécurité alimentaire et à la nutrition en Afrique



50


de l’Ouest. Effet, le niveau élevé de vulnérabilité à l’insécurité alimentaire et particulièrement chez les femmes et les enfants nécessite de disposer, selon les participants de politiques et de programmes de protection sociale pour la sécurité alimentaire susceptibles de renforcer la sécurité alimentaire. Les participants ont souligné également la nécessité de relever les défis liés au développement de la protection sociale et qui sont entre autres le financement, le ciblage, la coordination et la participation de la société civile.

De cette discussion je tire plus particulièrement les conclusions suivantes :

- Les participants reconnaissent de manière consensuelle la capacité et le potentiel de la protection sociale à renforcer l’agriculture et la sécurité alimentaire. En effet, d’après les différentes expériences et analyses des participants, la protection sociale qui est un droit PEUT jouer un rôle important dans la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition en Afrique si elle est efficacement mise en œuvre. J’ai eu à conduire en 2011 un projet de filets sociaux avec Oxfam au Mali et les suivis et évaluations effectués sur le terrain ont montré le potentiel des filets sociaux à lutter contre la vulnérabilité des populations et particulièrement celle des femmes. Je me rappelle de cette femme de 56 ans du nord du Mali qui avait à sa charge 6 enfants. Avec l’argent reçu des transferts monétaires, elle a pu acheter du mil et du riz tout en investissant. Avec le premier transfert, elle a pu cultiver du riz et récolter 2 sacs contrairement aux années précédentes où elle ne pouvait pas le faire rien faute de moyens de production. Avec la récolte et les achats de vivres, elle pouvait assurer sa sécurité alimentaire et réduire grandement la période de soudure

- Pour une contribution efficace de la protection sociale pour la sécurité alimentaire, le choix d’instruments appropriés est déterminant. Divers instruments sont considérés par les participants à cette discussion comme important à intégrer dans les politiques et programmes de protection sociale. L’on peut citer les transferts monétaires, les subventions agricoles, l’alimentation scolaire entre autres qui doivent être utilisés en fonction du contexte et des cibles. Dans le projet que je conduisais au Mali les transferts monétaires et les formations étaient destinées aux très pauvres alors que le travail contre argent et les subventions des intrants agricoles étaient pour les pauvres. En effet selon l’analyse du contexte, les transferts monétaires sont plus appropriés pour les ménages très pauvres qui assurent leur sécurité alimentaire en achetant leur alimentation sur le marché. L’on constatait que l’essentiel de l’argent reçu était destiné à la consommation alimentaire. Dans ce projet, les transferts monétaires étaient effectués en début de saison des pluies, en période de soudure et à la récolte. Ce qui a permis aux bénéficiaires d’investir, d’acheter la consommation alimentaire sans s’endetter et de protéger leurs récoltes.

- Les enjeux de la protection sociale ont été largement abordés dans cette discussion. Dans ce sens c’est le financement qui a été le plus discuté. Il ressort ainsi des contributions qu’il incombe à l’Etat la responsabilité d’assurer la protection sociale mais l’on constate que son financement reste encore largement dépendant des bailleurs de fonds. Alor qu’il faut un financement assuré et durable pour assurer une contribution efficace de la protection à la sécurité alimentaire et à la nutrition. Il est particulièrement évoqué dans les contributions les contraintes du financement de la protection sociale en Afrique de l’Ouest. Pourtant l’inaction est beaucoup plus coûteux car la protection sociale peut contribuer à construire la résilience et à réduire les effets des crises alimentaires quand elles surviennent (ref ; rapport DFID economics of resilience :



51


https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/67330/Econ-Ear-Rec-Res-Full-Report_20.pdf). A travers la contribution de Peter Stele, on peut ainsi retenir l’idée de trouver dans les ressources générées par le secteur pétrolier une source de financement de l’agriculture et je dirais de la protection sociale. Il donne l’exemple du Nigéria dont le PIB tirée par le secteur pétrolier a augmenté alors que l’agriculture qui est d’une importance capitale dans ce pays est faiblement financée. D’où la nécessité d’une plus grande considération pour l’agriculture à travers plus d’investissement et de protection sociale pour les plus pauvres. Et pour le faire, il faut des mécanismes innovants de financement. Ne faudrait-il donc pas réfléchir sur un mécanisme de financement de la protection sociale par les secteurs miniers et pétroliers ? Au-delà du financement, le ciblage des bénéficiaires, la coordination de la protection sociale et la participation des OSC ont été largement soulignés par les participants comme des challenges importants dans la mise en œuvre de la protection sociale. Et l’accent est particulièrement mis sur le ciblage qui pose parallèlement la question de la transparence et de la gouvernance. Ces contributions sur les enjeux recoupent les conclusions d’un atelier que Oxfam a organisé en mars 2013 sur la protection sociale pour la sécurité alimentaire et qui a regroupé des ONG, des organisations paysannes régionales, les représentants des gouvernements du Burkina Faso, du Ghana et du Mali, des parlementaires de la CEDEAO, la FAO, le PAM, la Banque Mondiale, l’UE et IFPRI. Les participants de cette rencontre ont identifié les challenges suivants comme les plus importants pour promouvoir la protection sociale pour la sécurité alimentaire en Afrique de l’Ouest :

o Le ciblage des bénéficiaires en adoptant des méthodologies susceptibles de limiter les taux d’inclusion et d’exclusion

o La compréhension de la protection sociale par les OSC pour leur permettre de participer aux dialogues, influencer les décisions et participer à la assurer une bonne gouvernance

o Le financement de la protection sociale qui pose la question de l’arbitrage des dépenses publiques et du choix des priorités

o La gouvernance mesurée sous l’angle de la cohérence avec les politiques de développement agricoles, de la coordination et de la participation des OSC

En conclusions ces différentes contribuent sont forts utiles et vont permettre d’alimenter les débats sur la protection sociale en Afrique de l’Ouest.

40. Anna Antwi GD Resource Center, Ghana – Concluding remarks

Dear Colleagues,

All too soon this exciting exchange has come to an end. We are grateful to all the contributors for making this first West Africa forum a success. It is just the beginning for greater things to come for the sub-region to develop concrete solutions to solve the numerous challenges we face. I am sure we all benefited from these exchanges.

Social Protection (SP) is increasingly gaining grounds in the (sub) regional policy engagements, and its implementation is also improving though there are still many challenges. The many



http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/west-africa/fr/users/annantwi

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/67330/Econ-Ear-Rec-Res-Full-Report_20.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/67330/Econ-Ear-Rec-Res-Full-Report_20.pdf

52


definitions from the contributions point to the fact that ultimately the purpose of SP is to support the poor and vulnerable to avert the risks of hunger and poverty. In the discussion, eligibility was mostly based on poverty status (and also used as the targeting categorization) and having a household member in at least one of these categories: orphans, vulnerable child or youth (OVCY), the elderly (65 years and above), person with severe disability unable to work, displaced, poor female-head of household either widowed without employment and having any of the above as dependent(s), or unemployed, and the sick. As a summary by a contributor “the proper implementation of social protection programmes in West African countries, will provide assistance to poor individuals, households and communities which will enhance their present and future well-being and give them the capacity to manage risks better”.

However, only few people mentioned HIV/AIDs. Is it because it is not a major problem in the sub-region? About a month and a half ago, I visited People living with HIVs (PLHIVs) dependent on food ration, and it was pathetic when the affected people were begging not to be taken off the food programme. Most of them were too poor to have any source of income, too weak to work or excluded from work by stigma. Such poor PLHIVs needed food to enable them take their routine drugs. Therefore, proper targeting is necessary to cover all socially excluded and vulnerable groups and persons. In the discussions, there are also many SP interventions used in the various countries. Many success stories have also been shared.

It is increasingly recognised that agriculture must play a role in pro-poor economic growth especially in areas with large poor rural settings as found in our sub-region. Poor rural people’s livelihoods are diverse, risk prone and complex and most of them depend on agriculture and related activities for their source of livelihoods, food security and nutrition. Still, only limited efforts have been made to integrate agriculture and social protection interventions and policies to ensure that beneficiaries of SP programmes are transformed into production operatives. Interestingly, the various interventions mentioned in this first forum have direct and indirect implication on food security and nutrition. Different combinations of programme and instruments with well-defined stakeholder roles and responsibilities can promote both agriculture and non-agriculture programmes with either market-led or non-market SP programmes that are more effective and contribute to results that make great impact on people and their community economies. Social protection plays important role in securing the poor against extreme poverty, deprivation and shocks in times of stress to tackle hunger and under-nutrition. Measures to avert these challenges include cash transfers, public work programmes, school feeding, food vouchers, agriculture, health care and educational grants or subsidies. There are informal and cultural SP issues too. In most places, cash transfers are common means of SP interventions.

I am taking time to acknowledge contributions that may help to shape social protection and future discussions in the sub-region. “To meet the needs of West African countries in terms of food security and nutrition, it is important to promote inclusion as well as productivity by making sure that women and men enjoy the same working conditions. We must provide women with subsidies for building infrastructure to meet and work etc; empowering communities with adaptation strategies will go a long way in boosting social protection. African countries have populations that are predominantly rural, with little or no access to means of production, and resources are unevenly distributed between women and men of a country. Social protection means ensuring decent work and means of production (financial, land) to all citizens which enable them to ensure the food security. Arrangements need to be made at the legislative and regulatory levels. This would contribute to solve the problem of nutrition in West Africa”. Contribution from Australia also indicate that “the African continent has long been recognized for its potential as the global bread basket of the 21 century - 20% of world's land surface but little



53


more than 10% of the people - all that space, soils, water and bio-resources. The contributor concludes by saying “if the custodians of the African continent - those with access to the resources, funds, technologies and, crucially, the vision - don't move into gear others will do it for them”. Another contributor feels one cannot focus on West Africa without taking into account the most dynamic of the regional economies - that of Nigeria. And if Nigeria can come to terms with social protection of vulnerable people in the context of food and nutrition security, then so can other countries in the sub-region. The only contribution from trade unionist indicate that there is a need to clarify the West African context characterised by certain social and economic characteristics that implicate the design and implementation of social protection interventions for the vulnerable in the community of rural workers largely self-employed and the need to go beyond just agricultural production into adding value to farm produce. Mentioned was made to climate variability/changes, poverty and bad governance as some causes of food insecurity and under-nutrition.

Most contributors indicated targeting as a challenge and the importance to “focus on the identification of beneficiaries in order to prevent support being diverted for other purposes including lucrative”. Others specified that “social protection can be an effective way of improving the nutrition of poor households, but the targeting of these must be better regulated and actual impacts should be well measured and assessed in terms of sustainability”. As shown above, targeting women and those in the informal sector was also necessary to get them out of poverty. Still others mentioned building of schools and equipping them for the children from the poorest communities. “This will go a long way to safe guard the future of these children”. Other challenges mentioned include “coordination of all social protection actions developed in several ministerial departments and other institutions; Financing SP must prioritize internal resources to guarantee the sustainability/durability of these programs”. The inter-sectoral and multi-sectoral approach was emphasised to achieve the needed results. As in Benin for example, social protection supports health actors, home visits, and cooking demonstration. Suggestions was made to structure a multi stakeholder and multi sectorial platform; coordination and harmonization between different stakeholders in agriculture, water and sanitation, education and employment, health and support for improved resilience to emergency, climate variability/ change and conflict situations. Yet another found that the “shifting of agricultural production to urban areas are absolutely integral to ensuring food security and nutrition for the always growing population”. A contributor summarizes the constraints of funding as “the implementation of social security is particularly difficult in Africa, because most of the countries in the region face serious budget constraints, making it almost impossible to finance often rather expensive insurances systems. In addition, the implementation and management of social security systems requires quite complex institutions which, again, are not available in most of these countries. Many countries cover a small portion of the population; usually the employees in the public and private formal sectors”. Another opinion is that the receipt of public cash transfer encourages less effort of beneficiaries to look for employment and therefore choose to engage in more leisure instead. Additionally, in cases where strict targeting method is based on income levels, individuals may not be comfortable working for more money for fear of losing their benefits. A contributor supports the Trade Union claim that unless a significant formalization of the entire labour force occurs, the large majority of the poor usually associated with the non-salaried and informal sector will remain excluded from social protection programs in the future. The adoption of ILO Recommendation 202 on social protection floors in 2012 recognize the need to progressively ensure higher levels of protection while guaranteeing access to essential health and minimum income security.

For solutions to combat the challenges some proposals include transparency in the management of public markets; identify the guiding principles, the governance structures and the mechanisms



54


which help to generate and support good governance. Alliance and network building were also mentioned as in West African Alliance against Hunger and Malnutrition (WAAAHM). Food Security Policy Advocacy Network (FoodSPAN) in Ghana and the various Alliance against Hunger and Malnutrition in the different West African countries are critical for advocacy, working with other stakeholders, and promotion of the SP concept. Using framework in these countries should build on, and work through these structures as much as possible, from targeting procedures, to implementation, grievances and monitoring etc. These structures also aim to ensure synergies and complementarities among programmes, and with other development-oriented interventions. The trade unionist suggested the importance to appreciate the transformation of the economies that which involve diversifying away from agriculture and other primary production. It entails developing industry, especially manufacturing, in order to realize sustainable employment growth that can ensure progressive realization of the Right to Food and other rights inherent in decent employment. Intensive Labour Public Works similar to WFP’s food for work or asset promote people’s life skills acquisition, while addressing community infrastructural (rural roads, warehouses, soil and water conservation, etc.) needs for sustainable development. Decentralisation efforts could bring decision making closer to the people and development closest to those in most need. Participatory and equitable access to productive resources and its management for production systems and marketing could help the poor. However, in all specific or clarity of objectives to reach the target beneficiary, with assured markets for rural farmers created through social networks and to protect these farmers from rural poverty is important. The political will of the various governments is also essential in SP.

Thanks for the many links, some I have already acknowledged. I read through all the contributions and links more than once. Brokers and FARM linkage of SP and food security are also interesting and informative and so are the earlier ones. There is the need for long term and integrated approaches that lay emphasis on livelihood based social protection and agricultural production through input subsidy. The different SP interventions all support a common goal. Provide cash transfer to the poor and help them transform their socio-economic status through linkage with their production by providing agriculture extension from pre-production through post harvest to ensure sustained growth. Social mobilization is important for empowerment. Social protection schemes have the potential to contribute to the realization of basic human rights like rights to food, incomes, education, health and combating inequalities and advancing women and children’s rights. The essence of SP affords countries the opportunity to support the poor and vulnerable, and tackle immediate problems of hunger and under-nutrition before it escalates to famine. As indicated earlier, almost all the SP interventions like Labour Intensive Public Works, Cash transfer, school feeding programme, Health Insurance Scheme and Free Maternal and Child Health Care, agricultural input subsidies etc all support a common course to enable the poor and vulnerable to enjoy basic rights like good health and food, and prevent them from falling into extreme poverty. The major challenge to ensure better targeting of beneficiaries is the use of common targeting mechanisms to guarantee that proper objectives are reached. Like many other aspects of social life in the sub-region there are many governance challenges in managing SP programmes. The growing quest for good governance in general should push harder on the SP front to ensure higher levels of accountability, efficiency and effectiveness and probity. Addressing climate variability/ change, targeting, good governance and proper SP interventions delivery, the poor and vulnerable people will be able to meet their minimum food and nutrition needs. Thank you all for your insightful contributions.

Anna Antwi (PhD), Development Consultant, Ghana.



Women in Agriculture and Food Security: Web viewHow can social protection contribute to food...

Documents

Transcript of Women in Agriculture and Food Security: Web viewHow can social protection contribute to food...