Evaluation of FAO’s contribution to the Islamic Republic ...the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, particularly H.E. Mr Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan, Federal Minister for National Food Security

OFFICE OF EVALUATION

Country programme evaluation series

Evaluation of FAO’s contribution to the

Islamic Republic of Pakistan

2012-2017

November 2017

country programme evaluation SerieS

evaluation of Fao’s contribution to the islamic republic of pakistan

2012-2017

FooD anD agriculture organiZation oF tHe uniteD nationSoFFice oF evaluation

november 2017

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Office of Evaluation (OED)

This report is available in electronic format at: http://www.fao.org/evaluation

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Cover photo credits: @FAO/ FAO Pakistan, ©FAO/Farooq Naeem (4th picture top to bottom)

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Evaluation of FAO’s contribution to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

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Acknowledgements

The FAO Office of Evaluation would like to thank all those who contributed to this evaluation. The evaluation team, led by Omar Awabdeh, Evaluation Officer, consisted of Dr Tariq Husian (Economist and Rural Development expert), Dr Sajidin Hussain (Agriculture and Climate Change expert), Ms Umm e Zia (Gender and Livelihoods expert); the team was ably supported by Mr Mikal Khan, Evaluation Analyst. Special thanks go to Mr Patrick Evens, who was FAO Representative during most of the evaluation process, and Ms Mina Dowlatchahi, the new FAO Representative, Mr Francisco Gamarro, the Deputy FAO Representative, and Mr Nasar Hayat, the Assistant Representative – Head of Programme. They always warmly welcomed and supported the evaluation despite our many visits and data requests and provided invaluable insights, knowledge and advice.

We would also like to acknowledge key stakeholders from the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, particularly H.E. Mr Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research and the ministry team, in addition to all the Secretary Chiefs, Director Generals and Project Officers in all Provinces for their generosity, openness and valuable insights.

We cannot acknowledge here all those from FAO Pakistan who contributed to this evaluation but would like to express our particular gratitude to: Mr Zabeeh Ahmed, Assistant FAO Representative (Administration) and his team, Mr Raffaele Del Cima and his team in Peshawar and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Mr Marcel Stallen and his team in Balochistan, Mr Banaras Khan and his team and Mr Asif Ali Shah, the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist.

Many FAO staff at headquarters and the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) supported the evaluation process, sharing material and information and taking the time for in interviews and workshops. Our appreciation is extended in particular to Mr Daniel Shallon, the Regional Country Programming Coordinator in the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) for his coordination role to align the Country Programme Evaluation with the Country Programme Framework formulation process.

The evaluation team is also grateful for all the logistics and administrative support provided by Ms Sarah Jaff, who makes the impossible happen and still with a smile on her face.


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Executive Summary

Introduction

1 This evaluation represents the first comprehensive, independent evaluation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO’s) country programme in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The evaluation was conducted at the request of the Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, with the support of FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP).

Purpose

2 The purpose of the evaluation is to provide inputs to the FAO country office and the Government of Pakistan to better orient FAO’s approach, strategy and programme in Pakistan, and to align FAO’s approach to the needs of the country. The evaluation supports FAO accountability to government and non-government partners, communities and resource partners in the country, as well as all member countries, by assessing FAO’s contribution to Pakistan’s achievement of its development goals. It will also draw lessons and make recommendations for FAO’s future engagement in the country.

3 The evaluation provides advice to FAO management and staff at the national, regional and headquarters levels on how to improve the impact and relevance of the Pakistan programme. The evaluation also identifies potential areas for the next Country Programme Framework (CPF 2018-2022) in line with FAO’s comparative advantages.

Key findings

4 Strategic relevance: For the period between 2012 and 2017, FAO’s programme addressed challenges that were important to small-scale farmers and contributed to government priorities, particularly on shifting from subsistence to market-oriented farming and safeguarding agriculture production in areas affected by floods. FAO’s contribution to the institutional, regulatory and policy challenges was less evident.

5 Partnership and coordination: In the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, Balochistan and the flood-affected districts in Sindh, FAO’s approach of direct implementation in collaboration with provincial departments has leveraged FAO’s quality and timely assistance but there is a need for provincial level partnerships that are broader than project-level scope.

6 Comparative advantages of FAO: FAO’s activities to promote agricultural development followed an extension agent approach – with projects engaged directly with farmers and government extension departments. While this approach yielded good short to medium-term results, there is a need to focus more on the upstream enabling environment through agribusiness investment planning and sector-wide analysis.

7 Normative work: FAO’s Balochistan projects were balanced equally among the largest ethno-linguistic groups of Balochistan (the Baloch and the Pashtuns). In Sindh, FAO worked with resource-poor, food-insecure and vulnerable farming households affected by recurring floods, with equal treatment of men, women and minorities. In FATA, FAO supported unregistered temporarily displaced persons.

8 Normative work: FAO’s women-focused activities in Sindh, Balochistan and FATA (e.g. kitchen gardening, poultry and livestock) empowered vulnerable women by increasing their purchasing power, and contributed to improving their socio-economic status and increased nutritional status of the family.


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9 Programme contributions: FAO’s interventions on food security were limited in scope and coverage. FAO’s interactions within the One UN Nutrition Network were isolated from project designs and implementation.

10 Programme contributions: FAO’s policy-oriented interventions followed a very informative and consultative process. Their impact was limited, however, as the supported national and provincial policies were not linked to earmarked national/provincial budget allocations. Although there was an abundance of studies, analyses and assessments for evidence-based policymaking in Pakistan, they were underutilized by decision-makers.

11 Programme contributions: FAO’s interventions in Balochistan developed and refined a strong production model over time – stronger for crops than livestock – which led to higher incomes and more resilient livelihoods on a significant scale. This enabled beneficiaries to embark on agribusinesses and market development.

12 Programme contributions: FAO’s approach to restoring agriculture-based livelihoods in FATA and flood-affected areas contributed to improved absorptive, adaptive and transformative capacities. FAO has not yet integrated responses to climate change into its programme.

13 Programme contributions: FAO’s interventions on transboundary animal diseases were effective and efficient, and Pakistan is on track to eradicate the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR). Further research, awareness raising and strategies are needed.

14 Programme contributions: Key factors in the programme’s outcome level results included: an emphasis on organizing men and women into community organizations for market-oriented agriculture; promoting integrated natural resource management (iNRM) as a guiding principle for sector-wide management; and applying the human security framework for agriculture rehabilitation.

Conclusions

Conclusion 1. The devolution process has introduced new challenges and opportunities to FAO in terms of its responsiveness and delivery mechanisms.

15 FAO has not yet fully understood the cost of operating under the devolution. FAO’s collaboration with the provincial Governments has been good and institutionally diverse in the implementation of field programmes. There was less collaboration at the policy level, especially in Punjab, which is the largest agricultural producer. FAO’s efforts at grassroots development were also more effective and widespread in Sindh, Balochistan and FATA than in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

16 Although FAO is still predominantly centred in Islamabad, almost all other United Nations agencies have opened sub-offices in each province to support the new devolved ministries and the related service delivery. In line with the constitutional amendment, provincial governments strategize, plan and manage their own resources autonomously from the federal government, including food security and nutrition that are also nationwide issues. Each provincial government has its own plan or vision and is actively working on policy development and implementation.

17 FAO’s devolution in Pakistan is necessary in order to work more closely with the counterparts that have the mandate and resources. So far, FAO has project offices in three locations (Multan, Peshawar and Quetta), and recently closed an office in Sukkur (Sindh) upon completion of the project. Opening and sustaining provincial offices will allow FAO to provide systematic technical support and influence decision-making although it requires some resources for sustaining office structure.


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Conclusion 2. FAO worked towards improving the livelihoods of small-scale farmers. It should also work to modernize regulations and policies to create an enabling environment for sustainable agricultural development in Pakistan.

18 FAO’s approach in Pakistan has been dominated largely by an extension agent approach to agriculture modernization and value chain development, rather than sector investment planning and economic analysis (with the exception of the recent activities in Balochistan). Investment planning, supply chain strengthening and market development are particularly important given that FAO is striving to facilitate a shift in Pakistan from subsistence farming systems to market-oriented agriculture. The key challenges facing small-scale farmers in accessing quality markets and engaging effectively in value addition are related to the enabling environment (e.g. public infrastructure, regulations, policies and political interest). The evaluation found that many partners perceived the FAO programme in Pakistan as opportunistic and driven by donor interests. However, there were many critical needs and areas of specialization in Pakistan’s agriculture for which FAO is best suited to take the lead, and that are overlooked by both donors and governments.

19 The programme addressed challenges that were important to small-scale farmers and the regions in which FAO worked, particularly in shifting from subsistence farming to market-oriented farming, and safeguarding and restoring agriculture production in areas affected by floods. The programme considered some of the most significant local needs and responded with suitable interventions for good agriculture practices, irrigation development, input supply and new crop varieties. Despite being well-positioned to engage in more strategic agriculture-related sectors, FAO has yet to incorporate into its programme key structural challenges in the agriculture sector such as agriculture subsidies, trade, industries, rural transformation, land tenure and market development (as well as the more persistent issue of FATA reform and the possible merge with KP). While recognizing FAO’s excellent track record in supporting grassroots development (small-scale farmers), FAO would need to transform and expand its partnerships and delivery mechanisms, build on its core competencies and address institutional and regulatory structurally important challenges.

Conclusion 3. Throughout its programme, FAO assisted the most vulnerable districts and communities, and emphasized impartiality with ethno-linguistic groups, minorities and unregistered temporarily displaced persons. The organization also supported and empowered rural women, but did not effectively target youth.

20 Rural youth in Pakistan plays a very important role in the political, economic and social development of the country. However, despite FAO’s global knowledge in empowering youth through agriculture, FAO Pakistan does not have a programmatic focus on engaging youth in agriculture.

Conclusion 4. Pakistani policymakers are presented with many studies, assessments and reports on the agriculture sector. FAO is the Organization best suited to synthesize the findings and recommendations on vulnerabilities and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) tracing for policymakers.

21 On an annual basis, dozens of agriculture-related studies and assessments are published by national and international partners, some with conflicting messages. The Pakistani policymakers have expressed their frustration and the challenge they face in extracting reliable evidence to inform policy formulation.

22 FAO actively participated in various needs assessments and action plans (at the regional, provincial and national levels) and introduced a methodology for a Hazard, Livelihoods and Vulnerability (HLV) baseline. The HLV is a useful tool for district governments, United Nations agencies, non-governmental organization (NGOs) and civil society for effective disaster response. It could contribute directly to district disaster risk management planning and act as a baseline for contingency planning during the post-emergency response and recovery. The evaluation team found that numerous national and international partners produced numerous diverse HLV assessments, which varied in scope and quality. This made it difficult for the Government to absorb the material and act appropriately.


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23 FAO has a strong mandate in relation to the SDGs. It is a custodian agency for 21 SDG indicators,1 for which it is responsible for compiling data from countries while also supporting national capacities for data collection. FAO’s work directly contributes to 25 SDG indicators while providing indirect contributions to several others. There are seven SGDs directly related to agriculture and natural resource management (e.g. SDG 1, 2, 6, 12, 13, 14 and 15), plus another four addressed as cross-cutting (SGD 5, 7, 8 and 17). FAO has been active within a One UN umbrella, as well as the SDG consultations in Pakistan. However, the organization has not found the best approach to supporting federal and provincial governments to articulate targets and indicators, with clear plans of action for the many SDGs that fall under the purview of FAO’s mandate. The United Nations Development programme (UNDP), however, has assumed responsibility for improving the capacity development of SDG projects throughout the country. During the Country programme Evaluation visit to Karachi, UNDP had organized an awareness raising workshop on SDGs. FAO was invited, but missed the opportunity to participate in the workshop.

Conclusion 5. Climate change is a pressing issue for Pakistan, and FAO’s work on climate change is post-disaster focused, less on prevention and adaptation. More expert inputs on climate change and a broader partnership framework are needed.

24 The most significant hazards in Pakistan are climate change-related floods, followed by droughts and cyclones. Earthquakes are also considered hazards, though they are relatively rare in Pakistan. In addition, the northern mountainous regions are threatened by high frequency but low impact events such as flash floods, landslides and avalanches. The World Bank/Asian Development Bank flood and damage needs assessment estimated that the flooding in 2010 alone affected over 20 million people and caused estimated losses of over USD 10 billion.2

25 Forging effective partnerships to address the challenges posed by climate change is essential. FAO’s apex partner in Pakistan is the Ministry of National Food Security and Research. However, other key partnerships at federal level were weak and focused around protocol, such as the Ministry of Climate Change (the coordinating authority for Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF)), the Planning Development and Reform Department, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industries and Production, as well as Prime Ministers’ Office and Parliamentarians. Each of these ministries presents FAO with new opportunities, platforms and avenues to increase and improve the Organization’s technical assistance.

Conclusion 6. A strong foundation has been laid for control of transboundary animal diseases in Pakistan. Further progress towards eradication will require an increased understanding of these diseases (epidemiology) and substantial planning (including budgetary), in addition to a regional approach with neighbouring countries.

26 The transboundary animal diseases in Pakistan, other than Foot and Mouth Diseases and Peste des Petits Ruminants, are not fully covered at present. These include haemorrhagic septicaemia in large ruminants, and sheep and goat pox and contagious caprine pleuropneumonia in small ruminants. Activities to control FMD and PPR present valuable opportunities to collect more data on and provide control of these other transboundary animal diseases, as well as endemic diseases such as brucellosis. A broad approach to transboundary animal diseases control also improves capacity to respond quickly to new transboundary animal diseases that threaten or invade the country’s livestock, such as Lumpy Skin Disease which has recently emerged from Africa to infect West Asia and Southwest Europe, as well as Rift Valley Fever in the Arabian Peninsula.

27 Disease control is just one component of a healthier and more economically successful livestock sector; farmers, livestock professionals and others agree it is beset by numerous other constraints. Only a well-informed Federal Animal Health Commissioner’s office will be able to convince the Provincial and Regional Directors of Livestock and Dairy Development

1 FAO and the SDGs, 2017 (available at http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6919e.pdf )

2 GoP/ADB/WB (2010): Pakistan Floods 2010 Preliminary Damage and Needs Assessment.

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6919e.pdf


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Department to agree on and drive forward policies in line with a national vision. It is also well recognized that such visions and policies need to be built on livestock data in order to build evidence-based planning and budgeting for long-term national goals. It should be noted that the Government of Punjab has recently published a livestock policy for the province, and one is being prepared in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Recommendations

Recommendation 1. FAO should explore options for establishing effective partnerships and delivery mechanisms to position its programme and operations in response to the devolution.

Suggested actions:

• convert the existing project offices to permanent provincial level offices, while learning from similar experiences of other United Nations agencies;

• explore the possibility with provincial governments or donors to fund provincial level offices;

• facilitate inter-provincial cooperation and exchange initiatives for government technical staff;

• establish periodic consultation sessions with the provincial governments chaired by the FAO Representative.

Recommendation 2. FAO, together with the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, should include in the next CPF a programmatic response to the key structural challenges in the agriculture sector, such as agriculture subsidies, trade, industries, rural transformation, land tenure and market development (and the more persistent issue of the FATA reform and the possible merge with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).

Suggested actions:

• pilot the integrated natural resource management approach and actively advocate with provincial governments to adopt iNRM as the sector-wide management approach;

• initiate a dialogue and advocate for a comprehensive update and reform of the outdated acts and regulations that govern the agriculture sector (such as seeds, land tenure, fertilizer, trade and water pricing), with the goal of increasing production sustainably and bringing socio-economic benefits;

• Gain more influence in policy reforms, expand partnerships with the Planning Development and Reform Department, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industries and Production, Bureau of Revenue, Prime Ministers’ Office and Parliamentarians;

• make better use of the relevant FAO global products and services in Pakistan, such as the VGGTs, Codex, statistics and climate-smart agriculture.

Recommendation 3. In the next CPF, FAO should support providing rural youth with entrepreneurial opportunities in agriculture by creating a conducive environment for the value addition of agriculture products.

Suggested actions:

• partner with the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, universities and NGOs to provide capacity development, incubation services and small grants to youth groups in order to engage them in agricultural development.

Recommendation 4. In order to present well-informed and evidence-based policy options, in the next CPF FAO should focus on its core competencies, including policy analysis and synthesis of the various assessments conducted by national and international partners.


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Suggested actions:

• undertake micro-climatic studies and update the profile and status of Pakistan’s agro-ecological zones;

• synthesize the multiple Hazard, Livelihoods and Vulnerability assessments to identify development trends and appropriate response plans;

• integrate SDG-focused interventions into the national development plans.

Recommendation 5. In the next CPF, FAO should have a long-term programme on livestock development and animal health, with the aim of creating synergies among existing interventions and exploring new areas of work, including inter-country collaboration.

Suggested actions:

• FAO and the Government should develop a ten-year or longer programme to build on the successes of recent transboundary animal diseases projects and to maintain delivery of the technical components;

• establish an epidemiology and economics “Strategy Unit” to help develop and drive the national strategies for Foot and Mouth Disease and Peste des Petits Ruminants;

• explore a partnership with FAO Afghanistan to jointly work on border areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan, as these areas are known livestock corridors;

• broaden the consultations for livestock interventions beyond animal health stakeholders to include production, feed and marketing actors and partners.

OFFICE OF EVALUATIONwww.fao.org/evaluation

Documents

Evaluation of FAO’s contribution to the Islamic Republic ...the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, particularly H.E. Mr Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan, Federal Minister for National Food Security