January 2013

Local Purchases in the Ecuador-Colombia Border

WFP in Ecuador

Response to Government Priorities

Ecuadorian Constitution, art. 281 on food sovereignty: Strengthen producers’ organizations distribution promoting equality between urban and rural areas

Organic Code for Territorial Organization, Autonomy and Decentralization: Local authorities charged with increasing productivity and ensuring good nutrition

National Development Plan

• Food sovereignty• Food security• Safe, clean local production

Why Local Purchases?

Link small-scale farmer associations with safety nets, special focus on women

Improve:•Access to markets and

local seed varieties

•Agricultural practices

•Incomes and livelihoods

of small scale farmers

Promote:•Diversified diets •Refugee integration

Objectives

Similarities with P4P Strengthening Farmer Associations

* Improved access to markets through collective sales

Public markets:•Local government fairs•Complementing school meals•WFP food assistance to persons with disabilities etc.

Private markets:•Supermarkets with WFP’s voucher distribution•Local rice fortification - Sucumbíos joint initiative with Ministry of Agriculture, UNHCR and private rice millers

* Result: More sustainable incomes

.

Strengthening local governments to improve:

•Implementation capacity

•Quality control

Vegetable gardens for:

•Communities

•Schools

•Families caring for people with disabilities

.

Similarities with P4P

Supporting Women Farmers

•Target associations with women members of both nationalities

•Ensure more stable incomes for women farmers

•Promote women’s participation in sales, access to new technologies and seeds

Similarities with P4P

Increasing family knowledge on nutrition through trainings on food and nutrition security

Increasing skills of farmers in small-scale associations

Empowering women: 60 percent of purchases from women farmers

Developing commitment and capacities of local governments: cost sharing, technical assistance, quality control and follow-up

What Worked Well?

Nutritious menus adopted by schools, which improved the diet of 4,500 children in 2012

School committee and parents involved in reception of products and meal preparation

Purchase of fruits and vegetables (WFP funds) for on-time delivery to schools

Local government support – transport of products and quality control

What Worked Well?

Security: working in a conflict-affected areas: ensuring timely deliveries

Incorporate technology to track purchases, products delivered

Women empowered in associations to sell their products

Competitive prices for farmers associations

Sustainability and handover of activities

Challenges to Expanding Local Purchases

Adapting the school model – moving from deliveries to schools to service providers as part of the National School Meal Programme

Buying from fairs and local markets rather than from individual farmer associations to increase efficiency

Diversifying and expanding

production to meet demand

on a regular basis

Moving towards increased production of organic products

What Next?

Expand credit access with partners

Facilitate sales to supermarkets supporting WFP voucher initiatives

Involve universities to support innovative and sustainable farming techniques

Adoption of P4P successes

Thank You