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Vol. 1984/0 244 
  
 
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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(84) 660 final  
Brussels, 27 November 1984
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND PARLIAMENT
on the execution of the special programme to combat hunger
in the world
COM (84) 660 final

CL C 6  = *
I. INTRODUCTION
Article 11 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1993/83 of 11 July 1983  
implementing a special programme to combat hunger in the world  
stipulates that, one year after the entry into force of the Regulation,  
the Commission must submit an interim report on the execution of the  
programme to which the Regulation refers.
This paper reports on the execution of the programme up to 31 July 1984.
Given the short time that has elapsed since the financial resources allocated  
to this programme were actually made available (January 1984), this report  
will not include any evaluation of the results obtained.
The report consists of two parts :
(i) the first part describes the measures taken by the Commission and the  
recipient states to enable the 50 million ECU appropriation entered  
under Article 958 of the 1983 Community budget to be mobilized within the  
time frame laid down by the budget rules;
(ii) the second part sets out broad guidelines for the use to be made of  
the appropriations entered in the same article of the 1984 budget.
II. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SPECIAL PROGRAMME TO COMBAT HUNGER IN T H E  W O R L D  (1983) 
(Article 958 of the budget of the European Communities)
2.1. Following the favourable opinion of the Committee for the Special
Programme to Combat Hunger in the World (see Article 10 of Regulation  
No 1993/83) at its first meeting on 14 December 1983, the Commission,
(1) O.J. N° L 196/6, 20 July 1983

on 20 December 1983, took financing decisions involving Community
budget appropriations whereby 19 operations (described briefly in the annex)
could be implemented.
2.2. These 19 operations represented a commitment of 49 320 000 ECU. The sum  
committed from the appropriations authorized in the 1983 budget, after  
including sums already spent to prepare the operation (in Haiti) and  
the food strategies of four countries receiving Community assistance in  
this area (Kenya, Mali, Rwanda and Zambia), amounted to 49 412 000 ECU  
(98.8% of the appropriations entered in the budget).
2.3. These appropriations may be broken down in the following ways :
(a) betweeen the two types of operation provided for :
- support measures to increase the level of
self-reliance in food 61 % (30 000 000 ECU)
- measures to protect natural resources 39 % (19 000 000 ECU)2.
Cb) geographically
- ACP countries
- other developing countries  
(principally Haiti, Nepal and Bangladesh)70 7. (35 000 000 ECU)
30 7. (14 000 000 ECU)
(c) by category of country
- countries classified as least developed
- others80 % (39 000 000 ECU)
20 7. (10 000 000 ECU)
2.4. As will readily be seer., most of the operations financed will take
much longer to complete than the one year (running from 1 January 1984)  
in which the appropriations (non-differentiated)have, of necessity,  
to be spent, in order to avoid their cancellation.

3.
To obviate this difficulty, the Commission has, in its financing agreements  
with the countries receiving the aid, made provision for one or other of  
the following :
- the opening of special accounts by the implementing authority, which are  
monitored by the Commission Delegate in the country concerned and to  
which the entire allocation for the operation is to be transferred
before 31 December 1984, to be paid out later as and when needed to implement  
the operation;
- the transfer of the funds to the co-financing body associated in the  
operation (IBRD in the case of Nepal, France in the case of Haiti);
a speeding up, of the procedures for supplies tendering so that suppliers  
can be paid in full by 31 December 1984, provided that thffy have lodged  
a security equal to the sum due between that date and the final date for  
receipt of the supplies, guaranteeing reimbursement if the contract is not  
fully carried out.
Within this framework, the amount of expenditure as of 31 July 1984 amounted  
to approximately 10 000 000 ECU (20 % of the commitments).
The Commission now believes that the whole of the 1983 commitments of  
49 412 000 ECU will have been disbursed by 31 December 1984.

4.
2.5. Concerning actual implementation in the field, it is still too efSfly
- a mere seven months after the funds were first made available - to  
form any conclusions. However, the overall impression is that, unless  
something goes drastically wrong, the programme should proceed as  
expected.
The final evaluation report to be submitted by 31 December 1984  
(in accordance with the same article of the Regulation) should reveal  
whether this first impression is justified.
HI. GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF THE 1984 APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE SPECIAL  
PROGRAMME TO COMBAT HUNGER IN THE WORLD
3.1. In the 1984 budget of the European Communities, the following appro­
priations (differentiated) were entered under Article 958 :
- Commitment appropriations 58 000 000 ECU
- Payment appropriations
(to be mobilized in 1984 and 1985) 42 000 000 ECU
3.2. The Commission suggest that the following guidelines, which are very  
similar to those used for the 1984 programme, be adopted for the use  
of these appropriations.

5.
(a) dispersion should be avoided so that operations can make a signifir  
impact;
(b) operations or countries should, generally speaking, be selected n  
where the Commission itself (through a Delegation or suboffice) or  
other donors associated in the operation have the necessary means  
following and monitoring progress ;
(c) where support measures to increase the level of a country's self-re'-  · :  
are involved, the country should have expressed a willingness in this  
direction, there should be a significant Community presence, the co>'ii.. 
should preferably be classified as least developed and it should :  ; . ·  
experiencing financial difficulties.
In general, an attempt has been made to achieve continuity with operation  
launched in 1983 and a larger share of the appropriations is being alloc, c 
to developing countries in Latin America and Asia, in accordance with the  
undertaking made by the Commission in discussions with the Council on the  
1983 programme. There will also be somewhat less emphasis on the Sahel than  
the 1983 programme, with an increase in the number of operations in eastern  
southern Africa.
3.3. Subject to any changes that may be needed in the light of the actual  
content of the proposals the Commission will examine the programme for the  
use of Article 958 appropriations will take the following overall form ;
^Qperat ions  
CountriesSupport for increasing  
the level of self-  
re l  ■ance i  n food  
C( 00 000 ECU)Protection of  
natural resources
('000 000 ECU)Total
('000 000 C '  
(percentages  
in brackets.'·
ACP 25 8 33 (56.° '
SEM 1 2 2 (3.4 a
Developing  
countries in Latin  
America and Asia9 14 23 (39.) . .
Total 34 24 5 8  (1 0 0
1) Countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean which have cooperatin,  
agreements with the EEC.

6.
3.4. The continuation o * the operations covered by the special programme
to combat hunger in the world beyond 1984 will be carried out in the f  r e ­
work of the existing instruments for aid/ namely :
- the new Lomé Convention, which, in its chapter "Agricultural  
cooperation and food security" covers such operations explicitly;
- tht programma of financial and taehnleal aid to non-aaaoelated
developing countiies (Article 930 of the budget).
the financial protocoles of the agreements with the S.E.M. countries

SPECIAL PROGRAMME TO COMBAT HUNGER IN THE WORLD
S u m m a ry  of Actions financed under Article 9 5 8  of the 1 9 8 3  Budget.
Various developing countries - 2 700 000 ECU  
Operation fuelwood.
The operation consists in helping the countries or appropriate regional  
bodies concerned to work out comprehensive/, consistent strategies for  
overcoming the shortage of wood and controlling desertification, harnessing  
the necessary human, technical and financial potential and carrying out the  
most urgent programmes.
The ground for this operation has been prepared by work already done by  
the Community in assessing and identifying fuelwood programmes in different  
regions.
Operations will be undertaken in three parts of the world, taking in a  
number of the target countries in the campaign againts mass hunger.
.  Africa :
- the Sahel, and more specifically Niger
- East Africa, particularly Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya
in southern .Africa, under the aqspices of the Southern Africa  
Development Coordination Conference (SADDC)
.  Latin America :
-Haiti
.  Asia :
- Thailand, Nepal

-  2 -1
Outer regions of the Sahara - 2 000 000 ECU r
U s e  ot rem ote sensing m ethods to study the desertification process in  
the outer regions of the Sahara.
This project reflects the major concern of the states bordering the  
Sahara, which ar? facing an increasingly serious deterioration in elementary  
factors of production (arable land and water) while their popoulations are  
growing rapidly, with all the·social, economic and political implications  
this can have.
The upgrading of the ESA ground station at Maspalomas (Canary Islands) is  
Intended to supply, from July 1984, MSS images from the LANDSAT satellite  
of the West African countries not covered by the receiving station at  
Fucino (Italy).
The research and development measures are designed to devise systems for  
the use of remote sensing in the following six areas :  estimation of  
rangeland resources, inventory of tree-stocks, location and use of water  
resources monitoring of the ceterioratlon of the natural environment,  
town-planning, establishment of a data bank.
Upper Volta - 6D0 000 ECU
Study on fhe recharge of aquifers in the crystalline basement.
The purpose of the operation is to evaluate the extent to which fractured  
aquifers in Africa are recharged by precipitation in the geological,  
geomorphological and climati: context. }
The results of this pitot project in Upper Volta will indicate whether it  
would be feasible to set up a monitoring network covering all of West  
Africa, and if so, what its basic characteristics would be.
The method.will be based on ai analysis of natural isotopes occurring in  
groundwater (by sampling 100 water points where boreholes already exist)  
and by establishing 10 stations for measuring isotope content and water  
level, each of which"is to consist of a borehole and a piezometer.
Upper Volta - 2 000 000 ECU  
Revolving fund for 0FNACER.
The 'purpose of this operation is to make available to the Upper Volta  
National Cereals Board (0FNACER) a revolving fund for the purchase and  
sale of local grains throughout Upper Volta.
The achievement of self-sufficiency in food is one of the fundamental  
priorities of Upper Volta's development policy. As regards the consumption  
of traditional grains, Upper Volta is self-sufficient overall in years of -fr~ 
normal rainfall. .At regional level, however, the north suffers from a  
structural-deficit while the south west produces exportable surpluses. Set  
up in 1971, the NationaL, Ceres Is Board is responsible for organizing the  
marketing of grains at nation«l and regionaL level, and hence
-for establishing security reserve stocks ; ’
~ for giving producers the opportunity to sell their crops at fair  
prices fixed by the government ;
- for ensuring the stabilization of consumer prices at the level set  
by the government.

- 3 -
Sahel, countries - 3 500 000 ECU  
Environmental conservation 1n Sahel countries.
This programme provides for the protection and development of the Sahel  
countries' natural resources, and will contribute to the work being  
indertaken to control the process of desertif1caton. It calls for the  
Informed participation of rural communities at village level.
The operations will concern five Sahel countries :
- Senegal :  exploitation of existing boreholes
- Mauritania :  support for reafforestation programmes
- Mali :  support for reafforestation and savings on fuelwood
- Upper Volta :  promotion of village tree-planning schemes on the
Mossi plateau
- Niger :  establishment of a forestry fund.
Niger - 3 000 000 ECU  
Revolving fund for 0PVN.
The action is to establish a revolving fund available for 0PVN (Office des  
Produits Vivriers du Niger) for the purchase of grain storage and  
distribution to all parts of Niger.
Following the drought in the early '70s, one of the priorities of Niger has  
been to secure adequate food supply to all its inhabitants.
The 0PVN (established in 1970) has become the guarantor of this policy  
through its role in securing adequate food supply to alt parts of Niger and  
in the maintenance of price stability to producers and consumers which  
provides incentives for national food production and makes food available  
at reasonable prices even in the most remote parts of the country.
Mali - 4 000 000 ECU
Support measures for Mali's food strategy.
The aim of this project is to implement a programme of measures in support
of Mali's food strategy, which the Commission and the Member States decided
to support in 1982.;
This programme is intended to facilitate the launching of Mali's food  
strategy through practical measures to back the efforts being made by Mali  
and the aid donors.
It consists of measures to support and consolidate the programme for  
reorganizing the grains market now under way ;  technical support measures for  
the Food St rategy-Evaluation Committee, the key instrument of government  
planning for the food strategy, providing Mali with the means for making  
agricultural credit more widely and more readily available to producers  
(small farmers, livestock-farmers and fishermen) and encouraging cooperative  
initiatives, responsibility and associations, and lastly, providing a line  
of credit to cover inputs and equipment, to be drawn on as and when a number  
of current or pending rural development operations are remodelled.

Som alia - 1  290 0 0 0  E C U
Forestry Nursery Development.
The dévastât 1ng droughts of the early 1970s and a massiye inflow of refugees  
have resulted in unbearable pressure on available wood resources. The  
search for forage and fuelwood is denuding existing forests and causing  
serious desertification problems throughout the country.
The project provides for the creation of 10 forestry nurseries in the north  
and south of Somalia and the supply of appropriate equipment for the  
production of seedings.  : "
Djibouti - 200 OQQ ECU
Revitalization and improved use of the doum palm plantations.
This project provides for a study as a basis for proposing ways of preserving  
and making better use of the doum palm plaptations, and also a pilot  
revitalization operation the details of whjch will be established by the  
abovementioned study.
Ethiopia - 2 000 000 ECU
Construction and equipm ent of o n e agricultural research station in G ondar 
an d  G o ja m .
The aim of the project is to strengthen Ethiopia's Institute of Agricultural  
Research (IAR) by constructing and equipping one agricultural research ’  
station in an ecologically representative zone which is not yet covered by  
IAR’s research network.
This researph station will be located in the-northern highlands in Gondar,.  
with substations in Mota and Debrt Tabor (Gojam). «Research will be focussed  
on individual crops such as highland pulses,oi L crops and grains,, which  
have a high production potential in this regjon, as well as on farming  
systems- intégrâting crops and livestock.
Burundi " 1  000 000 ECU
F o o d  strategy in Burundi :  priority measures.
Within this project,, three measures are proposed to prepare the way for the  
intensification of agriculture and soil conservation, namely :
i. the preparation of a soil map for the Mosso region (in the south of  
Burundi, which is one of the largest areas of open country left. This  
map will make it possible to classify the soils and rationalize their  
use for 'arable and livestock farming and forestry ;
1i„ a pilot project for the protection of plants and the development of
seed farms. This project forms part of the programme for the propagation  
and distributidn of selected seeds for food production, introduced by  
the Burundi Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Farjuing with the  
assistance of a number of aid donors ;
iii. the protection of catchmert areas in the provinces of Ruylgi and
Cankuzo, This scheme, which is part of the labour-intensive public  
works programme set up with the assistance of the IL0, will permit the  
reafforestation of hillsides in these two provinces and will have a  
direct and indirect impact on agricultural productivity.

w - tVi···—1 > '  '  V w W  ii;Cy
P o o d  strategy :  priority measures·
The operation was designed on the basis of factors identified in the context  
of Rwanda's food strategy. It consists of a programme of priority measures  
designed to Launch this strategy/ which was worked out in conjunction with the  
ECORwanda working party. '  !
The operations selcted are :
( a ) support for and assitance in the organization of food product marketing;
1. through support for the Food and Animal Products Board (OPROVIA) in  
extending its network of sales and purchasing points and
2. through help in building up strategic stocks to provide food security.
(b) as part of the groundwork for more intensive agricultural production;
3. through the introduction of chemical fertilizer inputs and extension  
services.
Tanzania ~ 2 000 000 ECU '
S upply of materials an d  equipm ent for increasing food production and reducing post- 
hdf'v^stLosscsOn the basis of the "National Food Strategy Report" prepared with FAO and DANIOA  
assistance in 1982/83 and the "White Paper" on agricultural policy in Tanzania,,  
published in March 1983, the following priority actions are proposed for Community  
support i
- assistance for the import of raw materials for increasing domestic production  
of agricultural tools and implements;
- supply of fertilizers to increase food production;
- supply of insecticides for reducing post-harvest losses(control of larger  
'grain borer - prostephanus trocatus)
The proposed Community financial contribution for this operation amounts to 2  
million ECU.
Tanzania - 1 0G0 000 ECU $
M easures for environmental conservation including provision of a  substitute for fuel w o o d .
This operation will develop £he productivity and economic return from the poten­
tially rich agricultural lands in the east Usambara mountains of northeast Tanzania  
in the Tanga region, combined with the protection of an endangered region which  
is of unique biological and economic value. The first emergency phase wi\.l consist  
in a ring reafforestation around the endangered area.
Kenya - 4 000 000 ECU
Assistance to the NCPB.>
This proposal which follows on an initial transfer of A.600.000 ECU to the  
National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) as an independent source of financing  
for the Board's grain purchase activities, would make available a second tranche  
of-4.000.000 ECU to ease the Board's financing situation.

-  6 -
Assis,<nc» to food production and storage
The project aims at increasing food production of farmers already producing for  
the market :
“ through the importing of spare parts for agricultural machinery and other  
strategic inputs such as agricultural chemicals and drugs, in order to reduce 
constraints on agricultural production and also to help relaunch local industrial  
production of farm implements and agricultural chemicals;
- by making available structural steel and other building materials in order  
to strenghten the storage infrastructure for agricultural production and  
inputs;
" by mounting a pilot project to help the Provincial Cooperative Unions to put  
their operations on a sound footing.
NEPAL - 2 800 000 ECU  
Forestry development
The aim of the project is to provide backing for the efforts of the Nepalese  
government to protect forestry resources and improve the manner in which they are  
exploited.
It will have a tangible impact on subsequent projects implemented by Nepal in its  
efforts to counter deforestation, which is one of the major obstacles to its  
development.
I
The project consists of two parts :  the first co-financed with the IDA, entails  
the reafforestation of a total area of 26.150 hectares 1n the eastern region of  
the ,Tera1, mainly for the production of firewood but also for the production  
■of timber, fodder and fruit. It also provides for strengthening the departments  
of the Ministry of Forestry, and includes reasearch, training and technical  
assistance. The second part, co-financed with the United Kingdom,.involves the  
establishment of a system for collecting and distributing seeds of forest varieties  
for use in all major reafforestation projects in Nepal.
BANGLADESH - 7 Q00 000 ECU  
Production and storage of food „grain.
The programme consists in financing imports into Bangladesh of fertilizer ori­
ginating in the Community, for a total amount of 7.000.000  ECU. This fertilizer  
will increase significantly the production of grains throughout the country and  
will help to fill the gap between the country's needs and its total production.
The equivalent value of the fertilizers, in local currency, determined on the date  
they were delivered, will be entered in a special account at the Bangladesh trea­
sury as an EEC contribution earmarked for financing part of the local costs in­
curred in the Improvement of grain storage facilities throughout Bangladesh.
HAITI·- 2 230 OOP ECU
Assistance for water engineering and soil conservation in Highlands.
Soil erosion in Haiti has reached alarming proportions, arid now po§es a serious  
danger to agriculture. It vitaL to halt the already very advanced deteriora­
tion before the country's food resources grow even scarcer.
The object of the programme, which will be implemented in three areas of the  
country, 1s to undertake various demonstration measures aimed at ensuring better  
water control in the mountain by providing for water storage and also undertaking  
soil protection measures and boosting agricultural production.Z ’  'S ~ ic 000 000 E C U