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Agriteam - CAIDP SDG conference submission

http://www.agriteam.ca/

For over 30 years Agriteam Canada has been implementing development projects around the world in education, health care, gender equality and human rights, environment and climate change, food security, sanitation and hygiene, peace and security, democratic governance, and economic growth. As a member of the UN Global Compact, Agriteam has pledged to operate our business responsibly in alignment with the Ten Global Compact Principles, and to report on our ongoing efforts and activities that contribute to SDG progress. The heart of Agriteam’s mission is to create and provide opportunities for our partners to engage in sustainable economic, social and environmental development. 

In Peru, for example, the Strengthening of Regional Governments for Social and Economic Development in Northern Peru (SRGSED) project funded by Global Affairs Canada (2011-2018), strengthened public administration and planning by supporting more efficient, transparent and inclusive delivery of public services (contributing to SDG 1 – No poverty and SDG 11  Sustainable cities and communities). SRGSED has directly benefited 10,934 people (4,430 women, 6,504 men) and tens of thousands of citizens have benefited indirectly from improved government transparency and service delivery in health, education, transportation, communications and open data. SRGSED supported SDGs 13 (life on land) by working with the Ministry of Environment on activities such as Economic Ecological Zoning and integrating an environmental focus in government planning. Agriteam also worked with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to complete national obligations for Gender Equality (GE) as well as integrating GE in national budgets, education practices, and incorporating GE indicators into the national evaluation matrix (SDG 5 – Gender equality).

Agriteam is currently four projects in Ethiopia that contribute to SDG 2 – zero hunger. With funding from the World Bank, Canada and the Netherlands, we work from the national level down to the homes of small-holder farmers to improve food security, increase sustainable food production, and reduce instances of malnutrition among its population. Combined, our projects operate in over 550 woredas in almost all districts across the country. At the national level, Agriteam is working to strengthen government systems and processes for the implementation of the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP4). We are also supporting the second phase of the Agricultural Growth Programme (AGP-2) by strengthening the capacity of government staff and implementing agencies to improve service delivery, thereby increasing agricultural productivity and commercialization of small-holder farmers, and contributing to dietary diversity and consumption, poverty reduction, and climate change adaptation. Our work on AGP-2 also includes strengthening the capacity for government staff and implementing agencies on nutrition-sensitive agricultureWe are also working with government agencies at all levels to enhance their capacity to implement Ethiopia’s Small-Scale Irrigation Capacity Building Strategy; developing the capacity of Agricultural Technical Vocational Education and Training colleges; and promoting household micro-irrigation among local farmer groups and small-scale entrepreneurs.  

Agriteam also recently began work on National Languages Equality Advancement Project (NLEAP) in Sri Lanka.This five-year project aims to contribute to SDG 1  No povertyand SDG 8  Decent work and economic growth, by improving economic and social equality of Tamil and Sinhala speaking women and men throughout Sri Lanka. Working with government and civil society organizations, the project will: improve the capacity of ministries and public servants to deliver gender-sensitive public services in both official languages (Sinhala and Tamil); increase the effectiveness of the Official Languages Commission to implement the Sri Lankan Official Languages Policy; increase awareness of language diversity and language rights; and increase the ability of citizens to communicate in the official languages. By enhancing acceptance by Sri Lankan men and women of the cultural diversity and bilingual nature of their country, the NLEAP project will directly contribute to reducing inequalities between Sri Lankans of different gender and ethnic backgrounds (SDG 10 - Reduce inequalities).