Fiscal Year 2011: Title II Proposal Guidance and Program Policies Supplementary Fiscal Year 2011 Title II Non-Emergency Programs Country Specific Guidance: Burkina Faso

The country continues to experience alarming rates of childhood malnutrition, poor agricultural productivity, and high levels of poverty. Important factors contributing to food insecurity in Burkina Faso include erratic rainfall, limited access to agricultural inputs and credit, poor post-harvest techniques, soil degradation, and lack of access to markets and market information. Proposals should focus on implementing integrated Title II activities in geographic areas most affected by food insecurity and malnutrition. The regions of Nord, Centre-Nord, Plateau Central, Sahel, and northern areas of Est have been designated as priority target areas. The non-emergency program focus is to reduce food insecurity among vulnerable rural populations in Burkina Faso. Proposals should encourage an enabling environment for promoting gender equality and local nongovernmental organization capacity building, where feasible. In fiscal year 2010, the FFP partner, Catholic Relief Services, commenced implementation of a new five-year Multi-Year Assistance Program targeting 58,633 households across three health districts in North Central and Eastern Burkina Faso. For fiscal year 2011, FFP anticipates making one additional award up to an annual total of $6.5 million for five years, subject to the availability of funding. Mission and FFP priority objectives and recommended activities for Title II non-emergency programs are summarized below. The objectives include reducing chronic malnutrition among children under five years of age and pregnant and lactating mothers by preventing malnutrition among children under two, improving infant and young child feeding practices, preventing and treating childhood illness, enhancing access to clean water and sanitation, and improving hygiene practices. Additionally, the objectives include improving maternal health and nutrition, linking with programs focused on the management of acutely malnourished children, and increasing dietary diversity and quality through home gardens and a small livestock program. The objectives also include increasing and diversifying household incomes by expanding market gardening at community and household levels, strengthening producers' capacity to market and produce livestock, building and protecting women and adolescent girls' livelihood capacity, and applying value chain or agro-enterprise approaches with a particular emphasis on pursuing private sector market linkages and/or Global Development Alliance (GDA) opportunities. Furthermore, the objectives include strengthening and diversifying agricultural production and productivity by assisting smallholder farmers to transit from subsistence farming to integrated food and cash crop production, strengthening integration of livestock and poultry ownership in smallholder production systems, and improving smallholders' access to essential agricultural production enhancing inputs and new technologies.