ReliefWeb

Full title of the project: Improvement of agricultural livelihoods and resilience for conflict affected communities in ethnic M

Target areas: Rakhine State

Recipient: MyanmarDonor:Japan Contribution:USD 430 166 16/10/2018-30/06/2019 Project code:OSRO/MYA/805/JPN

Objective: To improve household food security and in areas prone to natural and human induced disasters in Rakhine State.

Key partners: Rakhine State Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI)

Beneficiaries reached: 2 219 households (11 925 people) and Rahkine State MOALI

Activities implemented:

Provided 1 000 households with 31 000 kg of rice paddy seeds, assorted vegetable seeds (20 kg yard long bean, 10 kg chilli, 10 kg eggplant, 15 kg bitter gourd, 20 kg roselle, 15 kg okra), 30 000 kg of compound fertilizer for paddies, and 25 000 kg of compound fertilizer for vegetable cultivation.

Trained 262 households on good agricultural practices and provided training manuals to 1 000 households, covering vegetable production, soil fertility management, rice production and integrated pest management using a conflict-sensitive approach.

Provided 89 households with 13 080 kg of pig feed and 104 households with 10 189 kg of goat feed.

Completed an institutional and capacity assessment on disaster risk reduction (DRR) management and climate change adaption of Rakhine State MOALI through a detailed examination of DRR systems, existing activities and capacity gaps of nine departments.

Supported Rakhine State MOALI in the development of its Agriculture Action Plan for DRR (AAPDRR) utilizing a participatory approach to build capacity of MOALI staff.

Provided two drones to MOALI to strengthen its capacity related to DRR by enabling it to collect necessary data.

Provided 16 communities with 19 water pumps and 16 power tillers, machinery that helps prepare land for planting and requires less labour, benefiting 875 farming households.

Set up or re-energized Community Mechanization Committees to further support collective ownership and appropriate management of water pumps and power tillers, with 93 people becoming committee members.

Provided technical training on maintenance and management of water pumps and power tillers to 36 designated operators.

Employed 273 people through cash for work to rehabilitate the historically significant Dan Gyee and Dang Kya ponds in Aung Tet quarter of Mrauk-U Township, which was conducted under the guidance of an engineering expert from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Facilitated and co-chaired five Food Security Sector (FSS) coordination meetings as well as five informal security and livelihoods meetings in Maungdaw with participation from 12 and 15 people, respectively, representing United Nations agencies, international Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), and local NGOs to improve the humanitarian situation analysis and response coordination.

Impact:

Enhanced food production of 1 000 households, with expected rice production at 3 116 tonnes.
Improved livestock production of 193 households, with feed covering the needs of two animals per household for two months.

Reinforced the institutionalization and integration of DRR into various work streams across state level MOALI departments, as demonstrated by the development of the AAPDRR, which was subsequently endorsed at the Union level.

Strengthened the capacity of Rahkine State MOALI on DRR, building staff competency and technical equipment resources.

Raised awareness and built capacity on DRR measures among representatives from community-based organizations and NGOs.

Built collective ownership of community assets as well as technical capacity to manage and maintain land preparation tools, i.e. water pumps and power tillers.

Restored 200 people’s access to water for both drinking and irrigation and provided them with water storage capacity.

Enhanced skills and incomes of 273 households, including many who were internally diplaced.
Improved the mechanisms for coordination and knowledge sharing in the FSS.