FLIP: Food Security and Livelihoods (2005 - 2007)

General context

The long-term instability and civil strife in Sudan has completely disrupted livelihoods and altered survival strategies. This has made local populations dependent on subsistence and external aid agencies. Most agencies and donors mainly concentrated on purely short-term emergency funding and operations especially within the south of the country. This has led to an under development of a broad range of economic resources including both human and productive capital, thus leaving the countries vast resource assets either under-utilised or entirely unproductive.  To address these problems, VSF-B developed the Food Security and Livelihoods Improvement Program. The project will provide: 

 

1. Skills based community and producer training 
2. Support and promotion of both national decision making bodies and local authority structures to identify and implement food security policies and actions that specifically encourage sustainable individual and group economic activity.

  

Objectives

Promote long-term food security for Eastern Equatoria by improved and increased sustainable marketing of animal resources through institutionalisation of technical training, support and capacity building of local development actors. Train and support appropriate actors for the application of the ECF control strategy for the local cattle population and for trade cattle in transit through the area by year two. 

 

1. Provide capacity building support to local partners through technical and management training
2. Provide targeted skills based training courses for the target groups through an outreach empowerment mechanism using the Farmer Field School Approach.
3. Provide a limited number of small grants to support program intervention priorities.

  

Implementation Approach

The program will provide support to livestock based food security and livelihood improvement interventions in the areas of operation. The felt needs of target groups will be addressed through targeted interventions covering the three program components, namely: 

1. Skills development through outreach training
2. Capacity building for local authorities, institutions and partners and civil society organizations
3. The control of tick-borne diseases with special emphasis on East Coast Fever (ECF) 

 

Activities

Provide skills based training courses

The action will provide training and support identified by the target groups and provided either by the Livestock Training Centre (LTC) out-reach personnel or under the auspices and certification of the LTC working through the local partner service provider Vetworks Services Trust. Additional technical areas will be exploited as they are identified and prioritized by the target groups. These include food crop production and processing, forestry management and exploitation and fisheries management and access to micro-finance. The following areas of training support will be addressed among others: 

 
1. Livestock Health and Husbandry Skills
2. Product processing and management
3. Entrepreneurship and Business Skills Training
4. Marketing Development Provide support to SAAR to develop an appropriate control strategy for the tick-borne disease, East Coast Fever, in the target area

Long-term economic expansion within the project area is constrained due to the presence of East Coast Fever and its dramatic effect on live animal trade and livestock keeping by the local population. The project will identify and implement measures to control this disease. The control strategy will be aimed at:  

1. The transitory cattle trade passing through the infection zone on their way to terminal markets within Uganda
2. The resident population’s domestic stock  

Activity orientated institutional development

This project will support the institutional and technical development of both the relevant SAAR department and the local authority representatives. This program of support will encompass the following key areas:  

1. Management capacities
2. Technical capacities
    
3. Participatory policy development capacities  

Provide support to the Secretariat of Agriculture and Animal Resources (SAAR) to develop an appropriate tick-borne diseases control strategy, with special emphasis on East Coast Fever (ECF).

Civil society development and support

This project support the development of civil society voice and initiatives. This will be a central theme to the skills based training as well the development and implementation of the ECF control strategy. It is designed to increase popular participation within authority structures decision making and planning as well as cultivate the economic expansion and empowerment of the area. Small grants will be made available to civil society groups to enable them implement relevant pilot community activities. This small grants facility will be utilized for one off initiatives and is not a micro finance scheme.

 Expected results

The situation of target groups

The action will directly influence the support of economic activities at the level of the target groups within Eastern Equatoria through the following mechanisms: 

1. Increased economic activity
2. Increased female access to economic opportunities
3. Increasing returns on investments and improving investment opportunities
4. Improved market information and utilization skills of the host community
    
5. Linking existing and potential economically active individuals and groups to financing opportunities within the region. 

Technical and Management Capacities of target groups and partners

1. Improved technical skills and knowledge of target groups.
2. Epidemiological survey of disease risk
3. Increased producer group management capacities
4. Improved joint planning and implementation for food security policy with authority and local communities
5. Development of Training delivery skills within Vetworks Services Trust and other local partners  

Team 

1. Financial partner: European Commission. Amount: 833.300 Euro. Duration: 36 Months
2. Implementing team: Program Manager - Leina Mpoke
   
3. Program References: Regional Office, Nairobi, Chaka Rd, Titan Complex 3rd, floor, P.O. Box 13986, 00800 Nairobi, Kenya. Tel: + 254 20 2734518/19/20/24/27. Fax: +254 20 2734533. Email: vsfb@vsfb.or.ke
4. Technical Partners: International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi   
5. Local Partners: Vetworks Services Trust, Marial Lou Livestock Training Center, Community Based Organizations, Secretariat of Agriculture and Animal Resources