Title: FAO Sub-regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe
1FAO Sub-regional Office for Central and Eastern
Europe
- The Role and Mandate of FAO in CEE
Improvement of Information Exchange between
Education institutions in the SEE Region 1-3
June, Godollo
Benczur utca 34, H-1068 Budapest, Hungary Tel
36 1 4612000 Fax 36 1 3517029
FAO-SEUR_at_fao.org
2The establishment of SEUR
- In the Third Millennium, FAO has committed itself
to play a renewed role in Europe, specially
focusing on some of the problems brought about by
political events in the Region over the past
decade. - A key move was the establishment of the
Sub-regional Office for Central and Eastern
Europe (SEUR) in Budapest in 1996, staffed by a
core team of specialists, with expertise in
various areas relevant to the development and
transition needs of Central and Eastern European
Countries (CEECs).
3FAO Member Countries in Central and Eastern
Europe
FAO SEUR covers 20 member countries Albania,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia,
Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Poland,
Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Ukraine. Belarus applied for membership
in 2004. Observer Russian Federation.
4The Mandate of SEUR
- The FAO Sub-regional Office for Central and
Eastern Europe (SEUR), closely working with the
Regional Office for Europe (REU) and relevant
Technical Departments at Headquarters, is
responsible for - monitoring and reporting to Headquarters the
major developments and trends in the Central and
Eastern European Sub-region, - identifying priority areas of action for the
Organization in the Central and Eastern European
Sub-region, with particular emphasis on the World
Food Summit follow-up, - providing technical assistance to Member
Countries within the areas of technical expertise
available, - promoting and implementing the Agreement on
Technical Cooperation between Countries in
Transition and other Partnership Programmes, - providing support services as appropriate to
FAOs activities in the Sub-region.
5FAOs priorities in the CEE
- According to the FAO Regional Conference for
Europe FAOs priorities in the CEE up to 2007
are - Poverty reduction, through support to sustainable
rural livelihoods and food security - Food safety and quality
- Sustainable management of natural resources
- Institution and capacity building to support the
process of transition to market economies in the
rural sector
6 Organizational Structure of FAO SEUR
- Office of the Sub-regional Representative (SEUD)
- Multidisciplinary Team (SEUM)
- Operates in close coordination with the
respective technical departments of Headquarters
as well as with the relevant units of the
Regional Office for Europe - Policy Assistance Unit (SEUP)
- Operates in close coordination with the Regional
Office for Europe Policy Assistance Branch (REUP)
and Policy Assistance Division of the Technical
Cooperation Department.
7Office of the Sub-regional Representative (SEUD)
- The Sub-regional Representative's office ensures
the efficient functioning of the Sub-regional
Office and oversees the utilization of the staff
and resources allocated to it it participates in
the development and implementation of a
coordinated and balanced programme of work of the
Organization and liaises with national
authorities and other segments of the
Organization.
8Work Programme
Agricultural Information Management Farm
Management and Agribusiness Food Standards and
Nutrition Land Tenure and Rural
Development Livestock Sector Development Forestry
Policy Assistance Library and Information
Services
9Agricultural Information Management
In close coordination with the Library and
Documentation Systems Division (GIL) at FAO
Headquarters
- promotes the development of national and
sub-regional agricultural information systems and
networks compatible with FAOs information
systems, - advises agricultural research, education and
development institutions to use more efficiently
FAOs information systems, databases and data
banks, - assists in the development and strengthening of
the network of WAICENT centers in the sub-region,
- works as WAICENT-Outreach contact person in
Eastern Europe,
- visits national AGRIS/CARIS centers in the
sub-region to review their activities, needs,
and advises them on the problems limiting their
input to the system, - assists in the organization of, and lectures at,
seminars, workshops and training sessions related
to WAICENT information services, - organizes and maintains a modern agricultural
Information Centre and Library suitable to the
needs and tasks of the Sub-regional Office.
10Farm Management and Agribusiness
Working in close coordination of the
Agricultural Support Systems Division (AGS)
responsibilities include
- facilitatation, co-ordination and exchange of
information, - evaluation of performance of commercial farming
and agribusiness, food and product supply chains, - development of policy guidelines and strategies,
- advice to member countries in human capacity
building and developing training programmes and
materials,
relating to farm planning, management economics
and agribusiness development, focusing on farm
and firm adjustments and the improvement of
commercial farming and agribusiness, farm data
systems, and related support services.
11Food Standards and Nutrition
Working in close cooperation with the Food and
Nutrition Division (ESN) at FAO Headquarters, the
responsibilities include
- promotion of internationally accepted standards
(e.g. Codex Alimentarius) - support of Codex Alimentarius Contact Points in
CEE, - assistance in harmonizing national standards with
international standards, - assistance in the elaboration and implementation
of the National Plan of Action for Nutrition, - facilitatation and implementation of food control
systems, - establishment of sub-regional directories of
internationally accredited food laboratories,
national control services, national standardizing
bodies, - support of Food Composition Data-base Network for
Central and Eastern Europe (CEECFOODS), - provision of technical backstopping for field
projects in the Sub-region.
12Land Tenure and Rural Development
Working in close coordination with the Land
Tenure Service (SDAA) and Rural Institutions and
Participation Service (SDAR) of the Rural
Development Division (SDA) at FAO Headquarters,
in support of central and eastern European
development,
- Develops and organizes research and analysis
related to land tenure institution changes taking
place in CEEC and CIS countries with particular
reference to land market institutions and
technologies associated with the development and
management of modern land information systems. - Provides advice to FAO members on rural
development, design of poverty reduction,
employment creation programs and institutional
restructuring including support for agricultural
cooperatives and farmers' organizations in
co-operation with technical units at HQ. - Assists FAO members in the design and formulation
of rural development and implementation of
decentralized institutions and adoption of
differentiated policies. - Provides technical support for FAO field experts
in the above subjects, including field missions,
project preparation and supervision. - Develops and prepare material and documents for
technical meetings.
13Livestock Sector Development
Working in close coordination with the Animal
Production and Health Division (AGA) at FAO
Headquarters, the Livestock Sector Development
Officer
- assists and coordinates a multi-disciplinary
programme to promote new developments of the
livestock sector in countries of the sub-region,
- cooperates in formulation of livestock
development policies with special emphasis on
restructuring, modernization or revitalization of
the livestock sector, - Supports capacity building in animal production
and health services, - analyses the economic and technical constraints
to developing sustainable systems of animal
production and associated animal products
processing industries,
- assists in the formulation of integrated
livestock development projects and advises on all
aspects from production to consumption, - cooperates with all relevant institutions and
NGOs active in the sub-region, in particular the
European Association for Animal Production, - promotes the organization of, and participates in
technical meetings with livestock research and
educational institutions involved in the
livestock sector, - assists in the identification and formulation of
technical assistance programmes and projects and
provides technical backstopping to the
implementation of such projects.
14Policy Assistance
The Policy Assistance Unit (SEUP) operates in
close coordination with the Policy Assistance
Branch (REUP) of the Regional Office for Europe
and the Policy Assistance Division (TCA) of the
Technical Cooperation Department and
- provides sector review and policy assistance, on
request, to individual countries - assists in the identification/definition of
national and sub-regional priority areas of
action for FAO's biennial programme of work, - conducts country assessments of structural and
sector adjustment programmes, strategies, plans,
policies and programmes for enhancing food,
agriculture and rural development, - assists FAO Member Nations of the Sub-region in
reviewing sector policy options and choices,
formulating policies and strengthening national
capacities to perform policy analysis, design and
implementation - ensures the necessary coherence and linkages
between sector policy work and FAO's programme
development operational activities within the
framework of each country's development plans and
priorities, - provides technical guidance and backstopping to
agricultural policy analysis and planning
projects in the field and cooperates with the
Agricultural Policy Support Service (TCAS), as
appropriate, in implementing training in
agriculture policy and planning, - prepares country economic and agricultural sector
profiles assists in FAO's programme development
and assists the Information and Procedure Unit
(TCDI) in maintaining up-to-date information on
political, economic and social situations,
including emergencies, for use in the preparation
of country briefs or other information material, - organizes programme development missions and
assists their governments in the reviews of their
technical assistance requirements.
15Forestry
In close cooperation with the technical Divisions
of the Forestry Department the forestry officer
- Analyze and disseminate information and data
related to forest resources, forest products
markets and forest policies - Develop and disseminate technical advice for
sustainable forestry management - Advise member countries in effective forest
policies and institutional arrangements on the
national and international level - Support programmes and projects related to
forestry and natural resource management. - Active participation in the work of
- FAO European Forestry Commission monitoring
policy processes and institutions, focusing on
cross-sectorial approaches and the regional
integration of Eastern European countries into
the international forestry community - UNECE Timber Committee in particular with regard
to outlook and analytical policy studies as well
as to information and data gathering, - Ministerial Conference on Protection of Forests
in Europe with regard to policy implications.
16Library and Information Services
The Information Centre and Library of the
Sub-regional Office, in close cooperation and
coordination with the Library and Documentation
Systems Division (GIL) provides the users free of
charge with the following services
- use of the reading room
- approximately 1000 papers, mostly FAO
publications mainly about the following topics - agriculture
- farm management
- livestock management and development
- forestry
- rural development
- food and nutrition
- use of the FAO electronic information services
CD-ROM databases, online information services - acquisition of FAO publications
- regular or individual queries on FAO publications
17Projects
Significant progress has been made over the past
recent years in decentralizing operational
responsibility for projects at the country level.
In the European Region, due to the lack of FAO
Representations, the operational responsibility
for projects rests with the Regional Office. The
average number of projects which SEUR operates in
the Region on a yearly basis is between 30 and 35.
18Regional and national projects
The following projects have been recently
approved by the Director General of FAO
- "Support to the formulation of a medium-term
agricultural and rural policy framework" C
ountry Ukraine Project
symbolTCP/UKR/3004 (A) Starting date
April 2005 Completion date March 2006 - "Assistance in piloting small-scale modern
on-farm irrigation technologies - Phase
II" Country MOLDOVA Project
symbol TCP/MOL/3001 (A) Starting date
March 2004 Completion date January 2006 - "Food safety capacity building" Countrie
s Armenia and Georgia Project
symbolTCP/RER/3003 (A) Starting date
February 2005 Completion date July 2006 - "Strengthening food safety in South East
European transition countries - A regional
approach to food legislation and
control" Countries Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYR Macedonia,
Kosovo - Serbia and Montenegro, Moldova,
Romania Project symbolTCP/RER/3002
(A) Starting date December
2004 Completion date May 2006
19Major events in 2004-2005
The Sub-regional Office hosted and supported
several significant international events, e.g.
2005 Location Title
20-21 June Budapest, SEUR office UNECE/FAO Workshop on policy consequences of the European Forest Sector Outlook Study (EFSOS)
06-09 June Durdevac Croatia Policy options for improved forest land use in South-East Europe
1-3 June Godollo, Hungary Improvement of Information Exchange between Education institutions in the SEE Region
6-7 May Nitra, Slovak Republic Development of Land Markets and Related Institutions in Countries of Central and Eastern Europe
18-21 April Zvolen, Slovakia Policy options for storm damage management - Workshop
autumn Tbilisi, Kiev Two sub-regional workshops on FAO assistance aiming at the Forest Sector
autumn Budapest, SEUR office Meeting of the UNECE/ FAO team of specialists on sustainable development of the forest sector in Central and Eastern Europe and in the CIS
20SEUR on the Internet
http//www.fao.org/Regional/SEUR