Strengthening Social Accountability Mechanisms for Food Security and Agricultural Development

68 Pages·2011·3.13 MB·English

Strengthening Social Accountability
Mechanisms for Food Security and
Agricultural Development:
A Look at the Asian
Development Bank (ADB)
A Scoping Study
PhilDHRRA and Binadesa in partnership with AsiaDHRRA
and with support ANSA-EAP
AsiaDHRRA,
Binadesa,
PhilDHRRA
contents
Introduction 5
Methodology And Limitations Of The Study 7
The Asian Development Bank 9
ADB, Food Security, and the Agriculture Sector 19
Monitoring of ADB Projects on Food Security and Agriculture 23
Civil Society Participation 39
Main Findings 43
Monitoring Indicators 45
Conclusions 49
Anexes 51
Annex A 53
Case Study (Philippines): Agrarian Reform Communities
Project (ARCP) 53
Annex B 63
Case Study (Indonesia): Poor Farmer Income
Improvement through Inovation Project (PFIP) 63
Strengthening Social Accountability Mechanisms
for Food Security and Agricultural Development:
A Look at the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
A Scoping Study
May 2010
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STRENGTHENING SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMS FOR FOOD SECURITY AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT:
A LOOK AT THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB) SCOPING STUDY
INTRODUCTION
he World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing “when
all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to
Tmaintain a healthy and active life8. Commonly, the concept of food secu-
rity is defined as including both physical and economic access to food that
meets people's dietary needs as well as their food preferences. Food security
is built on three pillars: 1) Food availability – sufficient quantities of food
available on a consistent basis., 2) Food access – having sufficient resources
to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet, and 3) Food use – appropri-
ate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate
water and sanitation.
Food sovereignty, on the other hand, emphasizes the rights of people to
define their own food policy that is culturally appropriate and ecologically
sound. It is an alternative economic and political framework introduced
at the World Food Summit in Rome in 1996. Its six principles are food as a
basic human rights, agrarian reform, protection of natural resources, reorga-
nization of food trade, ending the globalization of hunger, social peace and
democratic control. The framework goes beyond food security, noting the
necessity of the framework towards achieving said goal and realizing the
right to food.
8 The def nition of food security is culled from the World Health Organization’s website
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In most developing countries, international financial institutions (IFIs)
such as the World Bank (WB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provides
financial support to various programs and projects. This allows the IFIs to
have influence, whether direct or indirect, over its member countries’ devel-
opment agenda. In addition, the IFIs are also a primary source of develop-
ment knowledge and policies. They also play a significant leveraging role, in
part precisely because they have a development mandate which makes them
by far the largest source of development finance in the world. They are also
the standard-setters in international finance, investment, and policies.
Given the potentially strong influence that the IFIs have in shaping the
development agenda of its member countries, it is imperative for civil soci-
ety organizations (CSOs) to focus their attention in monitoring the priorities
of IFIs in terms of their country investments and financing programs in the
region. This study is part of an initiative to strengthen social accountability
mechanisms for food security and agricultural development. Specifically,
the program aims to strengthen the capacity of CSOs to monitor and analyze
public expenditure processes of IFIs, in particular, the ADB, and the nation-
al agencies focusing on agriculture. This paper will:
1. provide background information on how the ADB operates
2. analyze the ADB’s operations in two pilot countries (the Philippines and
Indonesia) focusing on agriculture-related projects
3. in-depth analysis of two ADB projects on agriculture as case study (one
per pilot country)
4. CSO participation in ADB processes
STRENGTHENING SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMS FOR FOOD SECURITY AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT:
A LOOK AT THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB) SCOPING STUDY
METHODOLOGY AND LIMITATIONS OF
THE STUDY
comprehensive review of literature, including ADB documents and
operations manual, and agriculture-related references was conducted.
AI n addition, statistical data gathering, processing, and analysis for
quantitative information were done. In the Philippines, preliminary findings
of the study were presented in a Roundtable Discussion (RTD) attended by
representatives from selected NGOs and the Department of Agrarian reform
(DAR). In addition, the paper has benefited from various consultations with
CSOs and key ADB units (e.g., NGO and Civil Society Center, the Agricul-
ture, Food Security, and Rural Development Unit, and the Philippines Coun-
try Office). The inputs from the various consultations have already been
incorporated in this paper.
This study does not intend to provide full and comprehensive infor-
mation on the how the ADB works, rather, the paper describes the ADB
processes from a CSO’s perspective. An overview of the ADB processes is
necessary to put the study into context and to provide an overview of the
ADB to those who may embark on similar monitoring in the future. Below
are some of the paper’s limitations:
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1. The analysis focused on the projects assisted by the ADB in the two pilot
countries. The study does not focus on ADB’s other programs and opera-
tional policies (e.g., safeguards policy, public communications policy, etc).
2. Data are mostly culled from the ADB website and their other references
(such as Annual Reports, Operations Manual). Any policies revised or
amended after December 2008 have not been included in this study.
3. Filtering was done for projects classified in the Agriculture and Natural
Resources (ANR) sector to be able to capture the share of only the agri-
culture-related projects in the ADB’s portfolio. Filtering was done care-
fully and on the basis that the ANR sector already includes projects for
rural infrastructure, agri credit, and other similar agriculture services, as
explained in the ANR subsector (see Table 1).
4. The case study for Indonesia shows the result of actual field monitoring of
one agriculture project, while for the Philippines’ case study, the accom-
plishments and fund utilization of one agriculture project was showcased.
The approach of the two countries in monitoring was deliberately differ-
ent, as the Philippine study utilized the macro approach while the Indo-
nesian study used the micro approach.
STRENGTHENING SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMS FOR FOOD SECURITY AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT:
A LOOK AT THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB) SCOPING STUDY
THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
he ADB is an international development finance institution whose mis-
sion is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and im-
Tprove the quality of life of their people8. Headquartered in Manila and
established in 1966, ADB is owned and financed by its 67 members, of which
48 are from the region and 19 are from other parts of the globe. ADB’s main
partners are governments, the private sector, NGOs, development agencies,
community-based organizations, and foundations.
From 31 members at its establishment in 1966, ADB has grown to
encompass 67 members, of which 48 are from within the Asia and Pacific
region and 19 outside. The largest shareholders in the ADB are Japan, the
Unites States, and China.
The highest decision-making tier at the ADB is its Board of Governors,
to which each of ADB’s 67 members nominate one Governor and an Alter-
nate Governor to represent them. The Board of Governors meets formally
once a year at an Annual Meeting held in a member country. The Governors’
day-to-day responsibilities are largely delegated to the 12-person Board of
8 This section is culled mostly from the ADB’s website
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Directors, which performs its duties full time at the ADB’s headquarter. Fur-
ther, the ADB President, under the Board’s direction, conducts the business
of the ADB. The President is elected by the Board of Governors for a term of
five years and may be re-elected.
Carrying a triple-A credit rating, ADB raises funds through bond issues
on the world’s capital markets, it also utilizes its members’ contributions
and retained earnings from lending operations. These sources comprise
ADB’s ordinary capital resources and account for 74.1% of lending to ADB’s
developing member countries (DMCs). Loans are also provided from Spe-
cial Funds Resources, financed mostly from contributions of donor members
for ADB’s concessional loan and technical assistance (TA) programs.
To fulfill its mission and realize its vision of an Asia and Pacific free of
poverty, ADB will follow three complementary strategic agendas, as set out
in Strategy 2020, ADB’s long-term strategic framework. Its support will
focus on three distinct but complementary development agendas of the
region: inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth,
and regional integration. Further, inclusive growth and social development,
addressing the environments of the poor, and ensuring that the vulnerable
and poor benefit from regional integration are ADB’s specific contributions
to poverty reduction in the Asia-Pacific region. In this context, it will focus
on five core areas of operation: 1) Infrastructure, 2) Environment, including
climate change, 3) Regional cooperation and integration, 4) Finance sector
development, and 5) Education. In addition, ADB continues to operate on a
more selective basis in health, agriculture, and disaster and emergency as-
sistance.
Further, Strategy 2020 identifies drivers of change that will be stressed
in all its operations: 1) developing the private sector, 2) encouraging good
governance, 3) supporting gender equity, 4) helping developing countries
gain knowledge, and 5) expanding partnerships with other development in-
stitutions in the private sector and with the community-based organizations.
A. PROJECT CYCLE
The various stages that a project undergoes in its planning and execution,
from country programming to project completion and evaluation, is collec-
tively known as ADB’s project cycle. Figure 1 shows the project cycle.
STRENGTHENING SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMS FOR FOOD SECURITY AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT:
A LOOK AT THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB) SCOPING STUDY