Two FAO projects benefit from Belgium’s innovation funding

FAO is further developing a monitoring, early-warning and risk-mapping system to help farmers manage an invasive species in Africa, and roll out solar energy projects for farmers in Gaza, as part of innovative projects awarded funding by the Government of Belgium.

Thanks to an initiative sponsored by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Development Cooperation Alexander De Croo in line with the Belgium Humanitarian Aid Strategy – geared to promote innovation – FAO was granted two million euros to broaden its fight against Fall Armyworm in Africa and restore agricultural productive activity in Gaza.

“At a time of rising hunger, when bridges between humanitarian and development assistance are needed, innovation is crucial, especially when threats to food security are complex and multiform,” said Dominique Burgeon, FAO’s Director of Emergencies and Resilience Strategic Programme Leader.

“Innovation in this sense needs to be both relevant to specific contexts and scalable,” Burgeon added. “We welcome the challenge from Belgium to pioneer innovations, which for us is an opportunity to find viable solutions.”

UNICEF and the World Food Programme also received funding in the first round of the new initiative from Belgium, to promote international development.

Pest control

The recent arrival of Fall Armyworm (FAW) in sub-Saharan Africa has put maize harvests, especially those of smallholders, at grave risk. FAO is developing and coordinating the implementation of two new tools: the Fall Armyworm Monitoring and Early Warning System (FAMEWS) and the Fall Armyworm Risk-Map.

Renewable energy in Gaza

In Gaza, the project will set up solar energy facilities that will address critical shortages of electricity. Currently, farmers in the Gaza Strip only receive electricity for about four hours a day, a situation that is likely to deteriorate further, limiting agricultural production and subsequently food security and livelihoods of an already vulnerable population.

Original source: FAO
Published on 13 June 2018