FAO Support Programme Approach Launched

The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, has launched a Programme Approach that will define the main fields of intervention within the next five years in Cameroon. The programme approach will be drawn up with the government since the government priorities are the priorities of FAO. With this approach, the focal points of the ministries concerned will work together with the consultant put in place by the FAO, Regional and Sub-Regional Offices, to define the Programme Approach that will cover a period of five years.

The Assistant FAO Representative (Programme), Felicitas Atanga said the Programme Approach is replacing the Ad Hoc Approach. According to her, moving from the Ad Hoc Approach to the Programme Approach, government stands to benefit a lot. With the approach, the various ministries will define their priority projects for the next five years and the FAO will intervene in relation to the projects in the programme. "At first, we just receive projects from ministries and respond to them without having a programme to better take care of the priority projects. Thus, having a long term programme means having a long term vision", she explains.

The Programme Approach document will be ready in December 31 and FAO will start financing projects as from January 2013. The Programme Approach will have a yearly follow-up plan to evaluate what has been done and provide solutions on the weaknesses that might accrue. Speaking during the launching yesterday September 13 meant to enlighten stakeholders on how FAO projects will hence be financed, the Secretary General in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Jean Claude Eko'o Akouafane, acclaimed the efforts by FAO to fight against hunger and malnutrition as well as alleviate poverty in rural areas.