R4 Rural Resilience Initiative. Annual Report: January - December 2017

Rome (Italy)/Boston (Massachusetts - USA): WFP/Oxfam America, 2018.

English English

36 p.

WFPWFP3842017

In 2017, the R4 Rural Resilience Initiative (R4) expanded from four to six countries. This year marked the beginning of Phase 2 of R4 in Southern Africa, thanks to funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). This second phase saw the scaling-up of the Initiative in Malawi and Zambia as well as the start of the inception phase in Zimbabwe. For the first time, some farmers transitioned from accessing premiums fully through labor to partial cash payments in both Malawi and Zambia. This is an important progress towards achieving program sustainability. Furthermore, R4 was piloted during two rain seasons in Kenya, with the number of participants increasing from 963 to nearly 5,000. Overall, 57,625 farmers (50 percent women) participated directly in R4 while around 300,000 people benefited from it in five countries, namely, Ethiopia, Senegal, Malawi, Kenya and Zambia with its comprehensive risk management approach. In 2018, the initiative will start its operational activities in Zimbabwe with an initial target of 500 participants. At the end of the year, an impact evaluation of R4 in Ethiopia was published, showing how the initiative was successful in limiting the negative impacts of climate shocks on the food security of participating farmers’ households. Overall, all R4 countries were affected by poor rain performance. In Ethiopia, Senegal, Malawi and Zambia the indexes triggered as documented in the end-of-season-assessments. Payout amounts and number of recipient farmers are being finalized. In Kenya 936 people received payouts amounting to US$40,247 for the long rains season (March to May). R4 farmers during rice harvest in Senegal.

Print and electronic ed.

WFP 384.2017

R4 Rural Resilience Initiative. Annual Report

English

MON-016783