Download the Studies
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
LIFT ANNUAL REPORT 2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank the governments of Australia, Denmark, the European Union, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America for their kind contributions to improving the livelihoods and food security of rural poor people in Myanmar. Their support to the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT) is gratefully acknowledged. We would also like to thank the Mitsubishi Corporation, as LIFT’s first private sector donor. DISCLAIMER This document is based on information from projects funded by LIFT in 2015 and supported with financial assistance from Australia, Den- mark, the European Union, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the Mitsubishi Corporation. The views expressed herein should not be taken to reflect the official opinion of the LIFT donors. Exchange rate: this report converts MMK into USD at 1200:1, which was the average exchange rate during the year. Photography by Jacquetta Hayes, Anna Laming, Hsu Mon Aung, Save the Children, Jennifer Macintyre, Kaung Htet, Daniel Urrutia Carlos and Minzayar Oo. LIFT is managed by the United Nations Office for Project Services CONTENTS 1. Executive summary 4 2. Results 9 3. Geographic areas 27 3.1 Ayeyarwady Delta 28 3.2 Dry Zone 37 3.3 Uplands 44 3.4 Rakhine 52 4. Supporting the geographic programmes 61 4.1 LIFT’s financial inclusion programme 61 4.2 Private sector engagement 67 4.3 Working with civil society 70 4.4 The migration programme 74 5. Work on systemic change 76 5.1 Supporting government 77 5.2 Financial inclusion 78 5.3 Inclusive agricultural value chains 79 5.4 Land tenure security 80 5.5 Nutrition 83 5.6 Social protection 84 5.7 Climate change resilience 86 5.8 Gender 89 5.9 Studies and surveys 91 6. Fund management 92 6.1 Governance Issues 93 6.2 Allocation of LIFT funds 93 6.3 Fund flow and partner performance 95 6.4 Communications 97 6.5 Monitoring and Evaluation for Accountability and Learning (MEAL) 98 6.6 Finance 100 ANNEXES 102 Annex 1: Active projects and locations 103 Annex 2: Projects signed, projects closed in 2015 105 Annex 3: LIFT logical framework 2015 - 2018 110 Annex 4: Project activity charts for the Delta, Dry Zone, Uplands and Rakhine 105 Annex 5: Summary of achievements by LIFT microfinance partners 134 Annex 6: Policy engagement in 2015 135 Annex 7: LIFT studies delivered in 2015 142 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian MCT maternal cash transfer Nations MEAL monitoring and evaluation for CBO community-based organisation accountability and learning BMP best management practice MFI microfinance institution CSO civil society organisation MMK Myanmar Kyat DAR Department of Agricultural Research MOAI Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation DC Donor Consortium MoLFRD Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and DoA Department of Agriculture Rural Development DoF Department of Fisheries NLD National League for Democracy DRD Department for Rural Development PGMF Pact Global Microfinance DSW Department of Social Welfare PoVAW Prevention of Violence Against Women FMO Fund Management Office Law FB Fund Board PwD people with disabilities FDI foreign direct investment QSEM Qualitative Social and Economic FRD Financial Regulatory Department Monitoring (report) FSWG Food Security Working Group REVEAL Reducing Economic Vulnerability FSIN Food Security Information Network through an Equitable/Inclusive GIS geographic information system Approach to Livelihoods GRET Group de Recherches et d’Echanges SLRD Settlement and Land Record Technologiques Department IFC International Finance Corporation RCT randomised control trial IGA income-generation activity SP social protection INGO international non-governmental SPPRG Social Policy & Poverty Research organisation Group IP implementing partner SRG self-reliance groups LBVD Livestock Breeding and Veterinary SRI system of rice intensification Department UNOPS United Nations Office for Project LEARN Leveraging Essential Nutrition Actions Services To Reduce Malnutrition project VDC village development committee MAHFP Months of adequate household food VSLA village savings and loan association provisioning WASH water, sanitation and hygiene MADB Myanmar Agriculture Development WHH Welthungerhilfe Bank 1 WORKING FOR INCLUSIVE AND TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE CUMULATIVE NUMBER OF FAMILIES REACHED by LIFT 2010 - 2015 The multi-donor Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT) has been active in Myanmar since 2010, helping rural people to reach their full economic potential through improved nutrition, income diversification and skills development. We support the transformation of Myanmar’s rural economy by promoting inclusive growth, with opportunities for smallholder farmers and landless people to take part in Myanmar’s development. LIFT provides new knowledge, technologies and access to finance and markets. In addition, we generate evidence to back the development of policies that will improve the lives of rural poor people. LIFT support, amounting to USD 207 million, has reached around ten per cent of the country’s rural population. Projects are implemented through partners, who are local and international non-government organisations, UN LIFT is supported by Australia, Denmark, agencies, civil society actors, academic and research the European Union, France, Ireland, bodies, and the private sector. LIFT provides technical Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, support and guidance to the government of Myanmar. New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States In 2015, with substantial new funding, LIFT started new of America. The Mitsubishi Corporation phases for the current Delta, Rakhine, Uplands, and Dry is LIFT’s first private-sector donor. Zone programmes, as well as programmes for migration Funds are pooled for aid effectiveness. and financial inclusion. These programmes put the Under the management of UNOPS, the updated LIFT 2014 strategy into operation, by helping Fund’s mandate has been extended target beneficiary groups to ‘step up’ into commercial twice at the request of donors, and value chains, ‘step out’ of marginalised farming and into more profitable agricultural and non-farm support jobs, activities are expected to continue to and to ‘hang in’, gaining better nutrition and skills that will the end of 2018, at least. enable them to later ‘step up’ or ‘step out’. LIFT ANNUAL REPORT 2015 2 IN MEMORY OF STEVE DOWALL Steve Dowall was LIFT’s Lead Technical Officer from 2013 until his untimely death in a mountaineering accident in November 2015. During 2015 he led the team through the launch of seven calls for proposals, as well as providing guidance in the appraisal process. His professionalism and good nature were noted by all: “Steve always made time for us,” says U Thura Aung, Head of Programme for partner Radanar Ayar. “He was knowledgeable, thorough, considerate and an admirable person.” Steve is sorely missed by his colleagues, who thank him for his high standards, hard work and dedication, and for his laughter and exceptional kindness. 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. 2015 marked the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund’s (LIFT) sixth year of operations in Myanmar and its sixth year of growth in terms of the people LIFT’s programmes reach. By the end of the year, 3.6 million rural people - or roughly ten per cent of Myanmar’s rural population - had received LIFT support. In 2015, LIFT worked in 13 states and regions and 93 townships across the country. 2. LIFT continued to deliver strong results. LIFT has met or exceeded its targets for 14 of the 15 indicators for which data exists and targets were set. These include all indicators of its highest- level outcomes of improved rural incomes, resilience and nutrition. Over two million people have achieved measurably improved food security, 680,000 people live in households with increased incomes, and 880,000 people live in households with increased assets, an important measure of household resilience. People are moving out of poverty - there was a 33 per cent decrease in households reporting to have earned less than MMK 50,000 per month, and a 24 per cent increase in those earning at least MMK 100,000 a month. Child stunting also showed a dramatic improvement with a nine per cent reduction in the prevalence of stunted children, although further analysis is required to better understand how this reduction was effected. Other major outcomes are significant increases in use of regulated financial services and crop production. LIFT continues to support women, particularly through improved maternal nutrition, increased financial literacy and access to credit - 93 per cent of LIFT-supported microfinance clients are women - and by insisting on equal wages for men and women in cash-for-work activities (see Chapter 5 for details). 3. Although the pathways to improved livelihoods differ across the agro-ecological zones of the country, LIFT’s interventions reflect a strong, unifying strategy. Activities are designed to lift people out of poverty, with improved and diversified livelihoods, greater resilience, healthier and better diets, and increased opportunities. The projects LIFT funds align with this strategy, but are tailored to the local context, and there were successful interventions in each of the agro-ecological zones where LIFT operates. In the Ayeyarwady Delta, interventions along the rice value