Real-time evaluation of FAO's response to the desert locust upsurge 2020–2021 – Phase III

Download or read book Real-time evaluation of FAO's response to the desert locust upsurge 2020–2021 – Phase III written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2022-04-20 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the course of 2020–2021, the most devastating desert locust upsurge of the past 25 years has spread across parts of the Near East, the Greater Horn of Africa and Southwest Asia. The upsurge poses an unprecedented risk to livelihoods and food security in some of the most food insecure countries in the world. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its partners have mobilized more than USD 243 million since January 2020. The response includes three key pillars: i) curbing the spread of desert locusts (including surveillance); ii) safeguarding livelihoods and promoting recovery; and iii) coordination and preparedness of the rapid surge support. In this context, the FAO Office of Evaluation (OED) has been requested by the Director-General to conduct a real time evaluation (RTE), conducted across three phases spread over one year. Each phase will cover specific aspects of the response. Phase III focuses on developing recommendations to improve preparedness for and response to future upsurges, collected through a consultative process with critical stakeholders involved in the desert locust response 2020–2021. Eight priority areas for recommendations emerged from this process, with distinct recommendations being made across each one: i) procurement and positioning; ii) training of local locust response teams; iii) embedding sustainable national locust control capacity; iv) optimizing the regional architecture for locust response; v) pesticide selection and stock management; vi) data collection, analysis and dissemination; vii) livelihoods support; and viii) innovation and learning. For each priority area, the evaluation has made a range of recommendations targeting either FAO headquarters, donors and partners, or FAO country offices.