The Philippines and FAO

Improving food security and strengthening disaster resilience

Since 1945, FAO and the Government of the Philippines have demonstrated a strong commitment to working together
towards the eradication of hunger and poverty. FAO established a representation in the country in 1978 and continues to
support the Governments priorities for agriculture, fisheries, forestry and rural development, including nutrition. Recent
cooperation has featured emergency relief and rehabilitation as well as risk reduction interventions.

Having successfully reduced the proportion of

undernourished people in the country by at least
50percent before the end of 2015, in 2014 FAO
awarded the Philippines for achieving the target set by
Millennium Development Goal No. 1.

Regional Initiatives
FAOs Regional Initiatives are gaining momentum in
the Philippines with the support of the Government,
specifically the Regional Rice Initiative, Regional
Initiative for the Intensification of Aquaculture for
Blue Growth and the Zero Hunger Challenge. Since
2013, FAO has been implementing projects to intensify
sustainable rice production and address the challenges
in rice-based farming systems, as well as related
policies and strategies. FAO is also helping to improve
the climate-resilience of tilapia aquaculture production.
These projects directly support efforts to eradicate
hunger and poverty, and increase the resilience of
agricultural livelihoods and food systems.

Contact
Jos Luis Fernndez
FAO Representation
29th Floor, Yuchengo Tower,RCBC Plaza
6819 Ayala Avenue, Makati City
The Philippines
Tel.: +63 2 901 0100
E-mail: FAO-PH@fao.org

Matching FAOs expertise to the

Philippines needs
FAO assistance in the Philippines is shaped by the 2012-2018
FAO Country Programming Framework (CPF), which focuses on
four priority areas:

Improving food and nutrition security by facilitating

improvements in the policy environment and enhancing

capacities to incorporate nutrition, rural gender and social
equity issues in agricultural research and food security
programmes and projects.

Enhancing agricultural production and productivity by

improving rural advisory services and ensuring efficient and

streamlined supply chains, stemming from the effective
organization of small farmers to respond to market needs.

Sustainable management of natural resources through

strengthening land degradation assessment, land

management and planning capacities, and the adoption of
sustainable, participatory and policy/action-oriented practices
in fisheries, forestry and biodiversity, among others.

Promoting agricultural adaptation, climate change

mitigation and disaster risk reduction by facilitating

increased uptake of practical technologies and innovations,
and enhanced commitment to address land, water and forest
degradation and integrated watershed management.

Jointly developed with the Government of the Philippines and

other partners, the CPF reflects relevant guidelines and priorities
set out in key national policies, including the updated Philippine
Development Plan 2011-2016, the UN Development Action
Framework for the Philippines 2012-2018 and FAOs Regional
Office for Asia and the Pacific Framework.
The CPF also supports the Governments peace-building
initiatives and economic growth priorities in Mindanao.

2/2016

Millennium Development Goal

Achievement Award for the Philippines

While the Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone

countries in the world, it is also one of the most advanced in
shifting from reactive emergency response to proactive risk
reduction. Since 2015, the Department of Agriculture (DA)
has been working closely with FAOs technical experts on a
National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy for agriculture and
fisheries.
FAO has also helped farming and fishing communities
and local government units to identify and establish good
practice options. In addition, local government field offices
have received training in disaster response; climate risk
management, planning and early warning systems; and
ICT-assisted post-disaster needs assessments in agriculture.
Livelihood resilience in the face of threats and crises
After Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) devastated
the agriculture sector in 2013, FAO responded to the
Governments request for
support in addressing the
We are committed to
emergency and rehabilitation
ensure that affected
needs of affected farming
populations can build refamilies. The US$40 million FAO
silience to future disasters
strategic response supported
and make sure that when
more than 230 000 households
the next typhoon hits,
and covered four critical areas:
they are able to build
rice and corn farming; coconutback better and safer.
based farming systems; fisheries
Jos Graziano da Silva,
and coastal communities; and
FAO Director-General
coastal and mangrove forest
rehabilitation.
Increasingly, the country is experiencing extreme weather
conditions, including more frequent typhoons coupled with
torrential rains and the phenomenon called La Nia during
the wet season (June-November), and warmer temperatures
prolonging the dry season (El Nio) from December to
May. In view of this, DA and FAO are promoting climatesmart techniques such as the introduction and replication of
stress-tolerant rice varieties, early warning systems, improved
seed storage, community-level agriculture risk assessments
and integrated pest management, among others.
Restoring agriculture livelihoods in
conflict-affected areas
Occurrences of armed conflict continue to contribute to the
persistence of poverty in the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao. These events have caused farming families to
abandon their homes and livelihoods, which further imposes
limitations to their sources of income and food. Since 2005,
FAO has been helping these families to regain their productive
assets, re-start economic activities and make better-informed
decisions about their agriculture and fisheries-based
livelihoods. FAO was also an active development partner in
the formulation of the Bangsamoro Development Plans 1
& 2, which include the Bangsamoro Sustainable Agriculture
Programme to increase productivity, income and food security,
with greater focus on vulnerable groups.

Increasing food production and productivity

for food security
While almost one third of the Philippines total land area
is being cultivated to key food crops, local production still
falls short of the demand. In view of this, FAO implements
capacity development activities to help small producers
boost productivity, and provides technical assistance to
support the Government in reviewing national food security
strategies.

Sustainable use and management of

resources
With growing demand for food and limited land resource,
FAO supports the Governments initiatives on the sustainable
use and management of natural resources by integrating
conservation practices in its projects. FAO is also assisting in
the formulation of a strategy for the mainstreaming of the
Voluntary Guidelines for Governance of Tenure, which aims
to promote optimal allocation for the efficient use of land
resources.

From subsistence farming to agro-industrial

development
Recognizing the need to transform local agricultural
producers from mere subsistence farmers into sustainable
entrepreneurs to contribute to agro-industrial development,
FAO implements interventions such as Farm Business
Schools that foster the production of sustainable agriculture
and fisheries-based products, as well as product and crop
diversification, post-harvest and value-adding technologies,
intensification of new crop varieties and exotic breeds,
disaster risk reduction and promotion of agricultural
adaptation and mitigation to climate change.

FAO/J.Belgrave

Risk reduction in the face of natural hazards

FAO

Building resilience