A new guideline for developing agrifood value chain in conflict-prone and conflict-affected contexts
The need for tailored guideline became clear to address the specific challenges faced by practitioners working on value chain development in conflict-prone or conflict-affected contexts. FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (FAO-RNE) in collaboration with the Sustainable Food Value Chains (SFVC) team of the FAO Food Systems and Food Safety division of the FAO Head Quarters have developed a practitioner guideline on agrifood value chain selection, analysis and design adapted to the specificities of conflict-prone and conflict-affected contexts.
Three main pillars of the guideline:
Strengthening the resilience of agrifood value chains through systems-based solutions to maintain and possibly improve economic, social and environmental performance of value chains despite the impact and likelihood of shocks and stressors.
Adopting a context-sensitive programming approach to ensure that the designed solutions do not have an unintended negative influence on the contextual dynamics of the agrifood value chains, in compliance with the “Do No Harm” principle.
Ensuring an adaptive programming effort through a Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) framework, to facilitate the testing and scaling-up of value chain upgrades in a highly volatile environment.
Objectives of the workshop
FAO-RNE invited representatives of governments and international organizations from countries affected by conflict in the NENA region to a four-day workshop in Cairo to provide their perspectives, views, and priorities for implementing the guideline, and more specifically,
provide an overview and raise awareness on challenges and opportunities for development of sustainable and resilient agrifood value chains in conflict-prone and conflict-affected contexts.
obtain multi-stakeholder views on solutions to overcome barriers in implementation of the guideline and to improve sustainability of interventions for short, medium and long-term impact.
identify entry points and partnerships opportunities to implement the guideline in countries.
Target Audience
Country representatives from FAO Country Office and the relevant ministry in Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Palestine, Syria and Yemen.
Representatives of partner organizations and international financial institutions.
Agenda
Day 1 – Monday 24 July
DAY 1 – Monday 24 July | |
Moderator: FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (FAO-RNE) | |
Time | Session title |
8:30 – 9:00 | Reception and registration |
9:00 – 9:10
| Opening remarks FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (FAO-RNE) |
9:10 – 9:20 | Workshop at a glance |
9:20 – 9:45 | Getting to know each other |
9:45 – 10:25
| Round table: challenges and opportunities of value chain development in conflict-prone and conflict-affected contexts National representatives and FAO-country offices |
10:25 – 10:40 | Q&A and comments |
10:40 – 11:00 | Coffee/tea break and group photo |
11:00 – 11:55
| Introduction to sustainable food value chains and context-sensitivity Office of Emergency and Resilience (FAO-OER), and Sustainable food value chain team (FAO-ESF) |
11:55 – 12:10 | Q&A and comments |
12:10 – 13:00
| Overview of the guideline on value chain development in conflict-prone and conflict-affected contexts FAO - ESF |
13:00 – 13:10 | Q&A and comments |
13:10 – 14:10 | Lunch break |
14:10 – 14:40
| Step 1: Context analysis: Overview of the main steps and how it looks like in practice, FAO-OER & FAO-ESF |
14:40 – 14:50 | Q&A and comment |
14:50 – 15:40
| Group exercise on context analysis: Exploring contextual dynamics, their driving/ mitigating factors and stakeholders, and possible overlapping with agrifood value chains Facilitated by FAO country offices |
15:40 – 15:55 | Coffee/tea break |
15:55 – 16:45 | Moderated plenary discussion on context analysis |
16:45 – 17:00 | Day wrap-up |
Day 2 – Tuesday 25 July
Day 2 – Tuesday 25 July Moderator: FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (FAO-RNE) | |
Time | Session title |
8:30 – 9:00 | Morning coffee/tea |
9:00 – 9:15 | Recap day 1 and agenda day 2 |
9:15 – 9:45
| Step 2: Value Chain selection: Overview of the main steps and criteria to select a value chain for an analysis and design process in a conflict-prone and conflict-affected context, FAO-OER & FAO-ESF |
9:45 – 9:55 | Q&A and comments |
9:55 – 10:40
| Group exercise on value chain selection: Exploring selection criteria based on expected impact and feasibility of an intervention and their relevance in the conflict-prone and conflict-affected contexts Facilitated by FAO country offices |
10:40 – 11:00 | Coffee/tea break |
11:00 – 11:50 | Plenary discussion on value chain selection |
11:50 – 12:45
| Step 3: Value chain analysis: Overview of scope, main steps, tools and expected outputs to analyze the functioning and performance (sustainability and resilience) of a value chain, FAO-ESF |
12:45 – 13:00 | Q&A and comments |
13:00 – 14:00 | Lunch break |
14:00 – 14:50
| Group exercise: Identify the main disturbances affecting agrifood value chains and feasible upgrading opportunities to increase their resilience Facilitated by FAO country offices |
14:50 – 15:20 | Plenary discussion on value chain analysis |
15:20 – 15:35 | Coffee/Tea break |
15:35 – 15:50 | Value chain-level conflict analysis: Overview of main steps, FAO-OER & FAO-ESF |
15:50 – 16:00 | Q&A and comments |
16:00 – 16:45
| Group discussion on value chain-level conflict analysis: Identify the main tension/ dispute lines, their driving and mitigating factors, and their stakeholders within agrifood value chains Facilitated by FAO country offices |
16:45 – 17:00 | Day wrap-up |
Day 3 – Wednesday 26 July
Day 3 – Wednesday 26 July Moderator: FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (FAO-RNE) | |
Time | Session title |
8:30 – 9:00 | Morning coffee/tea |
9:00 – 9:15 | Recap day 2 and agenda day 3 |
9:15 – 10:05 | Moderated plenary discussion on value chain-level conflict analysis |
10:05 – 11:00
| Step 4: Value chain design: upgrading strategy and development plan Overview of main steps, tools and expected outputs to design a value chain in a participatory manner, FAO-ESF |
11:00 – 11:10 | Q&A and comments |
11:10 – 11:30 | Coffee/Tea break |
11:30 – 12:20
| Group exercise on upgrading strategy and development plan: Identify sustainability hotspots in a specific agrifood value chain (impact), required behavioral change (outcome), outputs to be delivered, risks and mitigating measures Facilitated by FAO Country Offices |
12:20 – 13:10 | Moderated plenary discussion on upgrading strategy and development plan |
13:10 – 14:10 | Lunch break |
14:10 – 14:40
| Context-sensitivity assessment of the strategic options: Overview of main steps, FAO-OER & FAO-ESF |
14:40 – 14:50 | Q&A and comments |
14:50 – 15:40
| Group exercise on context-sensitivity assessment of the strategic options: Identify disgruntled actors and possible impact of the upgrading strategy on the earlier identified dynamics Facilitated by FAO Country Offices |
15:40 – 16:00 | Coffee/Tea break |
16:00 – 16:45 | Plenary discussion on context-sensitivity assessment of the strategic options |
16:45 – 17:00 | Day wrap-up |
Day 4 – Thursday 27 July
Day 4 – Thursday 27 July Moderator: FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (FAO-RNE) | |||
Time | Session title |
|
|
8:30 – 9:00 | Morning coffee/tea | ||
9:00 – 9:30 | Recap day 3 and agenda day 4 | ||
9:30 – 10:30 | Group discussion – Identify the main strengths, weaknesses, areas of improvement of the guide Facilitated by FAO Country offices | ||
10:30 – 10:45 | Coffee/tea break | ||
10:45 – 11:30 | Pooling of results and plenary discussion | ||
11:30 - 12:00
| Summary discussion: Agreeing on the main strengths, weaknesses, areas of improvement for implementation of the guide | ||
12:00 – 12:15 | Conclusion and way forward, FAO-RNE | ||
12:15 – 12:30 | Workshop evaluation | ||
12:30 – 14:00 | Lunch | ||