The Medium Term Cooperation Programme with Farmer Organizations (FOs) in Asia and the Pacific Phase II is known as MTCP 2. The goal of MTCP 2 is to contribute to the poverty alleviation in the Asia and the Pacific region through strengthened capacities of the rural poor and their organizations that lead to improved livelihoods and positive socio-economic impacts in the rural development.
MTCP 2 will be implemented over a period of five years. It is currently being implemented with a $5 million grant from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). IFAD will provide $2 million from its own resources and SDC will provide $3 million as co financing. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is a specialised agency of the United Nations mandated to enable poor rural women and men to improve their food security and nutrition, raise their incomes and strengthen their resilience. Its mandate therefore dovetails with the priorities of Switzerland’s development policy. As a member of and contributor to IFAD, SDC focuses on strengthening IFAD’s role as a global facilitator and coordinator of efforts between governments, farmers’ organisations, women’s groups, the private sector, agricultural research institutions and other stakeholders, on behalf of the rural poor in developing countries.
The MTCP 2 is implemented by the Asian Farmers’ Associations for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) but managed by FOs at the regional and national levels. AFA is the Programme’s technical Regional Implementing Agency (RIA) working in partnership with La Via Campesina (LVC) and is the grant recipient and financial manager for this Programme. More information on MTCP 2 is available on the web at http://asia.ifad.org/web/mtcp.
The Pacific Island Farmers Organisation Network (PIFON) is the Sub-Regional Implementing Agency (SRIA) for MTCP 2. Five farmer organisations from the five countries directly involved in the MTCP 2 project for the Pacific have been selected to be PIFONs National Implementing Agencies (NIAs). The NIAs manage the implementation of the Programme at a national level and under PIFONs guidance. The appointed NIAs are: Tei Tei Taveuni (Fiji), Samoa Farmers Association (Samoa), Farm Support Association (Vanuatu), Kastom Gaden Association (Solomon Islands) and Tonga Growers Federation (Tonga).
