Abbreviations

ATS Advisory Technical Services

DOC Direct operating cost

ECDC Economic Cooperation among Developing Countries

GIEWS Global Information and Early Warning System for Food and Agriculture

GOE General operating expenses

ICA In-country appraisal

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development

LDC Least developed countries

LIFDC Low-income food-deficit countries

NGO Non-governmental organization

PPRC Programme and Project Review Committee

SPFS Special Programme for Food Security

STS Supervisory Technical Services

TCA Policy Assistance Division

TCCT Technical Cooperation among Countries in Transition

TCDC Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries

TCOT Technical Cooperation Programme Service

TCP Technical Cooperation Programme

TOR Terms of Reference

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UTF Unilateral Trust Fund

I. Introduction

The Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) was launched in 1976 as an essential means to make FAO's specialized competence more readily available to member countries for the solution of their most pressing development problems in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors, and related to rural development and socio-economic issues.

Through TCP, FAO allocates limited, but identifiable and assured, resources to fulfil one of its key constitutional functions, i.e. "to furnish such technical assistance as governments may request". It is an integral part of the Organization’s Regular Programme financed from the assessed budget. In particular, TCP is the instrument, that enables FAO to respond rapidly to urgent needs for technical and emergency assistance in member countries and to contribute to their capacity building. The programme does not operate in isolation, but is closely associated with other normative and field activities of the Organization. It contributes in its own right to major Regular Programme objectives.

The main features of TCP are its unprogrammed and urgent character; its flexibility in responding to new technical issues and problems; speed in approval; clear focus; limited project intervention with short duration; low costs; practical orientation; and catalytic role. By design and in practice, TCP meets unforeseen needs, fills critical gaps, complements other forms of assistance and promotes resource availability for technical cooperation in the above fields, whether channelled through FAO or otherwise.

The focus of the programme is on increasing production in agriculture, fisheries and forestry, and on raising the income and nutritional standards of small farmers and rural workers. It gives priority to the least developed countries (LDC), to the low-income food-deficit countries (LIFDC), and to small-scale producers and workers.

Requests for technical assistance under the programme may be presented by governments of member countries that qualify for development assistance under the UN system and by intergovernmental organizations/ of which such countries are members, and are recognized as such by the UN system and FAO./ They may also be submitted by national non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and national institutions or associations, if endorsed by the Government concerned.

Projects under TCP are implemented with the fullest possible involvement of beneficiaries and the maximum utilization of their personnel and resources, and recourse to the Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC)/ Technical Cooperation among Countries in Transition (TCCT) modalities, where feasible and appropriate.

II. Types of Technical Cooperation

TCP provides technical inputs in the form of short-term expert and consultant services, short-term and practically oriented training activities, equipment and supplies deemed essential for project activities (not exceeding 50 percent of the total project budget, except in the case of emergency projects). TCP projects may include subcontracts to institutions for technical services. Expert services may also be provided under FAO’s Partnership Programmes (e.g. especially TCDC/TCCT expertise).

III. Criteria

The criteria, which govern the nature and the types of TCP technical cooperation, as laid down by the FAO Governing Bodies, require that requests from Governments:

" (a) give emphasis to increasing production in food and agriculture, fisheries or forestry, with a view to increasing incomes of small-scale producers and rural workers;

(b) be accorded high priority by the Government, which must also ensure that the required local support facilities and services will be available and that follow-up action will be taken;

(c) be directed to an urgent and specific problem or need, limited to a particular sector or area, and involve practical action with well-defined objectives and expected results;

(d) complement, without duplicating, other development activities, fill a critical gap and, where possible, serve as a catalyst for a larger-scale activity;

(e) be limited in duration, preferably from one to three months (in no case should the overall duration of project activities exceed 24 months);

(f) be limited in cost, not exceeding the upward limit of US$400 000 per project and preferably much lower, and involve the most effective and least costly method of execution;

(g) provide assurance of the fullest possible participation of the Governments in project execution, through such means as the use of national institutions, personnel and resources."/

IV. Project Categories

TCP assistance can be rendered under one or more of the following categories:

Emergencies (E)

These are projects designed to meet urgent and immediate needs arising from disasters and unexpected calamities which affect, or are expected to affect, the country's food, agriculture, fisheries and forestry situation. They are directed towards resumed productivity or the limitation of the decline in production, by the provision of essential inputs, including seeds, pesticides, vaccines, etc. TCP is not intended to provide emergency food aid. TCP may help to monitor the situation (food crop assessments by the Global Information and Early Warning System for Food and Agriculture [GIEWS]), assess emergency requirements, determine the humanitarian impact of the emergency in relation to the nutritional and food security situation, evaluate non-food rehabilitation needs and contribute to the continuum process from emergency relief to rehabilitation and development.

When an emergency occurs and help is requested, FAO will normally make an on-the-spot assessment, using expertise closest at hand, and assist the Government in drawing up a plan of action for immediate assistance, if required. On the basis of this assessment, TCP may provide expert advice together with limited amounts of the most urgently needed equipment, supplies and supporting services, pending the arrival of more substantive assistance from other sources. While TCP emergency aid is thus of a transitional nature, it may also include the services of FAO in mobilizing larger external resources for rehabilitation programmes, and in starting up coordination of emergency assistance.

Investment (I)

Projects in this category are aimed at stimulating increased investment, by the Government itself or with the support of external funding institutions, in agriculture, fisheries, forestry and rural development. These projects provide technical cooperation in the form of pre-investment activities, or by actions that will make an existing investment project more effective.

When assistance is not available from other sources, TCP may provide short-term consultancy services for the identification of investment projects directed to national or external funding sources, including the World Bank, IFAD, regional banks, multilateral and bilateral development funds, private credit institutions, etc. These services are also available for small feasibility studies, for completion and improvement of existing technical data, for the updating of data from previous surveys and for conducting limited additional surveys/studies required for a timely preparation of investment projects or proposals.

Specialized consultancy services may be provided to help the Government formulate and introduce certain policy changes which may be a prerequisite for obtaining external investment funds for development and which fall within the Organization's mandate. TCP may also offer appropriate advisory services to fill missing links in current investment projects, or limited amounts of essential equipment, when required, to bring investment projects to fruition.

Training (T)

TCP gives priority to practical training of those directly involved in agriculture, fisheries, forestry and related fields. Academic training is excluded except in rare cases where it is directly related to a specific development problem. Whenever possible, training will be provided locally.

Emphasis is placed, for example, on the following type of activities: practical training courses for farmers; training in the identification, formulation and execution of investment projects; refresher courses; courses in technologies new to the country and of direct practical application; specialized courses for agricultural, fishery and forestry technicians and workers, and training programmes for rural women. Special training may also be arranged in connection with technical assistance projects outside the country, dealing with specific problems relevant to the country's agricultural development.

Training projects financed by TCP are of short duration and are normally implemented on site or at local training facilities. They may include limited amounts of equipment and other inputs and the production of teaching materials not available from other sources and considered essential for the strengthening of a national training institution.

Advisory services (A)

Governments frequently need assistance in policy matters in specialized fields to meet urgent requirements that could not have been programmed. TCP can finance such services which are usually covered by short-term missions and, under exceptional circumstances, can involve repeated assignments over a period of time. The topics covered by such missions are very diversified and may include: public sector development; support to improved agricultural credit provision; assistance with strengthening of marketing systems including, where appropriate, cooperatives and similar bodies; agricultural planning; pest and disease management and control; seed production; agronomic research; forestry development; introduction of new technologies for increased production or productivity; food and nutrition programming and planning; formulation of new legislation or new policies in the agriculture sector including natural resources; establishment of disaster preparedness programmes; sector and subsector reviews, preparation of technical documentation required for round tables and consultative group meetings; capacity building; and institutional reform.

Formulation and programming missions (F)

Governments may need the advice of a multidisciplinary mission to determine the sectors that require strengthening and to identify technical assistance requirements, including the identification and formulation of project proposals, for the preparation of country or rehabilitation programmes or similar exercises conducted by donors, which are required for the preparation of donor conferences, round tables, etc.

There are also cases where donors have expressed an interest in financing a development project, but need a basic document to negotiate its grant with the recipient Government. In this case FAO can field a mission to assist in formulating a development programme and in identifying the inputs to be financed by the donor.

Assistance to development (D)

Small amounts of supplies may be urgently required to stimulate production, even though not related to an emergency, such as limited quantities of seeds, pesticides, vaccines, drugs, spare parts, specialized equipment, or even assistance for the repair of equipment. Assistance under this category is provided in exceptional cases only when the essential nature of the input required has been clearly demonstrated. Assistance for Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) projects is covered by this category.

Intercountry cooperation (C)

As part of FAO’s support to technical and economic cooperation among developing member countries as well as those in transition, TCP assistance may be used to provide a catalytic input in promoting such "horizontal cooperation" in clearly identified and priority areas of FAO’s concerns. TCP assistance must be focused on the transfer of cost-effective and appropriate technologies, based on the existing arrangements for sustained and longer-term cooperation among the participant institutions/countries. In addition to complying with TCP criteria, such TCDC/TCCT activities should meet the following prerequisites:

(a) the corresponding TCP request should relate to a problem common to the participating countries, it should constitute a priority for their governments and be supported by a clear policy commitment;

(b) the countries concerned should already have initiated, in the relevant technical field, long-term national programmes (possibly at different stages of development), which already have at their disposal human, technical and financial means that need only to be activated by TCP;

(c) Governments should accept free interchange of technicians, information, equipment, supplies (such as seeds), etc.;

(d) Governments should agree to cover, either entirely or in part, the local cost incurred during the exchanges (specialists' salaries, board and lodging, internal transport, national lecturers, etc.).

Once these four prerequisites have been met, TCP may be used to facilitate the technology transfer and the sharing of experience between those national programmes by financing the external cost of self-contained operations.

TCP may also be used to support research networks, twinning of institutions, etc. on condition that TCP criteria are met.

V. Formulation of Requests

Requests are normally submitted or endorsed by governments of member countries, and in some cases by regional or interregional organizations of which such governments are members. They may also be submitted by national NGOs or other national institutions or associations (including non-governmental institutions, national foundations, cooperatives, unions or other private organizations) if endorsed by the Government concerned. However, at the request of the Government, the FAO Representative's office, the subregional offices, the regional offices, FAO headquarters or FAO field projects, can provide assistance in formulating appropriate requests for assistance. In strictly exceptional situations, and if field missions are required for project formulation, the expenditures for the project formulation can be considered as an advance allocation to be subsequently included in the project budget when approved.

VI. Format of Requests

There is no rigid format for the presentation of requests for TCP assistance. However, to ensure prompt action and to avoid the need to return to the originator for clarification, requests should contain, in sufficient detail (as shown in Annex I), the basic information required for a thorough appraisal and for the preparation of a draft project agreement, i.e.:

(a) a brief description of the specific problem to be solved and the issues to be addressed, complemented when appropriate by background information on the geographical area where assistance is to be applied as well as the expected beneficiaries of the assistance;

(b) a brief justification for the urgency of the request, the critical gap to be filled, and why financing could not be made available from other sources;

(c) a clear definition of the objectives and the expected results of the assistance requested;

(d) a work plan with a schedule for implementation;

(e) an itemized statement of the assistance required from FAO, such as number and specialization of consultants/experts with the tasks to be performed, description and quantities of equipment and/or supplies, type and level of training and number of participants involved;

(f) a clear indication of the manner in which the Government intends to participate in project implementation (designation of the Ministry, agency or organization responsible; description of local support arrangements, facilities, services and national staff to be assigned);/

(g) a statement on the type of action that is envisaged by the Government as follow-up to the TCP-supported activity, including identification of expected sources of funding;

(h) a short description of other assistance received or programmed in the same or related areas.

VII. Submission of Requests

Requests for TCP cooperation must be addressed to the Director-General of FAO. The Assistant Director-General of the Technical Cooperation Department may receive requests on behalf of the Director-General. In those countries where FAO has an accredited Representative, the requests should normally be channelled through him/her./

The request may be in the form of a letter, cable or fax (e.g. in case of emergencies), or in the form of a fully or partially formulated project proposal. The communication submitting the request should confirm that it has been endorsed by the Government authorities responsible for the coordination of external technical cooperation, as well as by the technical ministry concerned with the subject-matter.

In cases where a request originates from an entity other than a national government, ministry or agency (e.g. non-governmental institutions, national foundations, cooperatives, unions or other private organizations), it must be channelled through, endorsed and officially submitted by the Government authorities responsible for the coordination of external technical cooperation. Requests for regional activities must be endorsed either by at least three countries participating in the regional activity or by an intergovernmental organization recognized by FAO.

In consultation with the Government authorities concerned, the FAO Representative reviews the request. In this consultation, he/she will in particular advise them on the need to respect the characteristics and criteria of TCP and more specifically on the need to focus the request on the urgency of the problem to be solved, the critical gap to be filled, the need for practical orientation of the assistance requested, the relation of the requested assistance to Government priorities and ongoing technical assistance activities, the means of rendering assistance and other relevant factors, such as expected follow-up and catalytic effects. The FAO Representative will also review with counterparts the possibility of linking the requested assistance to the SPFS. This may include different types of assistance: some in form of technical, administrative or operational supporting arrangements, provision of inputs or services, or the use of outputs and results, with the objective that SPFS projects and TCP funded projects have a mutually supportive role where appropriate, practical and feasible. In addition, he will review the possibility and scope for South-South Cooperation arrangements as a source of expertise within the framework of TCP projects.

VIII. Project Appraisal

All requests are subject to a thorough review and appraisal process at different levels of the Organization, involving the FAO Representative, the technical and operating officers at the FAO regional or subregional offices, and the Technical Cooperation Programme Service (TCOT) and the technical units concerned at FAO headquarters.

The FAO Representative prepares a formal in-country appraisal (ICA)/ in which he/she provides his/her personal and independent assessment on the importance and context of the request, emphasizing specifically its relation to Government and donor policies and priorities and chances for follow-up activities. When submitting the ICA to FAO headquarters a copy is sent to the regional office or subregional office concerned for follow-up action, as appropriate. The regional and subregional offices will specifically assess to which extent the requested assistance from FAO would contribute to enhancing food security in the country or region/subregion

The appraisal process aims at ensuring that:

- the assistance is in accordance with the mandate and the priorities of FAO as decided by its Governing Bodies (regional offices and the Policy Assistance Division [TCA]);

- the request does not duplicate other activities, especially supported by external assistance, including on-going or previous TCP assistance (TCOT and FAO Representatives);

- the request meets TCP criteria (TCOT);

- the proposal is not a mere repetition or follow-up of previous TCP assistance (TCOT and FAOR);

- the proposed assistance is technically and operationally feasible and has a potential for follow-up and medium- and long-term catalytic effects (FAO Representatives, technical and operational units at headquarters and regional offices, as appropriate);

- the Organization has adequate capacity to backstop project implementation (technical divisions);

The review and appraisal process is managed and coordinated by TCOT./

If, following the appraisal of the request for its compliance with TCP criteria or its technical and operational feasibility or for reasons related to the financial possibilities of TCP, the requested assistance cannot be approved, the Government is informed immediately by the Assistant Director-General, Technical Cooperation Department, or by the Chief, Technical Cooperation Programme Service, directly or through the most appropriate channel (FAO Representative or UNDP Representative, as appropriate).

36. Non-emergency projects are reviewed by the Programme and Project Review Committee (PPRC) to ensure synergy within the field programme and with the Organization’s goals and policies/.

IX. Project Approval

37. Authority for project approval rests with the Director-General, who may delegate it to a senior official of the Organization who is normally the Assistant Director-General of the Technical Cooperation Department.

X. Project Agreements

TCP projects are normally covered by a project agreement which must be approved and signed by both the Government (or the intergovernmental organization) and the Director-General of FAO. Project agreements for regional projects must be signed by all participating Governments. These agreements describe the urgent and specific problem to be addressed, the objectives of the project, the expected concrete results, the means by which the project will be implemented, and the obligations of the two parties.

As soon as a project agreement has been prepared, it is sent to the Government (or the intergovernmental organization) for examination, if it differs significantly from the original request, or directly for signature if it is in direct response to the problem defined in the request. If, at any stage, a substantive revision of the agreement is required, the amended version also requires approval and signature by the Government (or the intergovernmental organization) and FAO.

Three modalities have been established permitting rapid and focused response to requests provided the TCP criteria are met/:

TCDC/TCCT Stand-Alone Expertise arrangement provides only TCDC/TCCT expertise of limited nature (1-3 experts with short-duration assignments) to respond to specific well-defined needs.

ATS Fast-track processing arrangement provides technical services of FAO technical staff to resolve urgent and well defined specific problems (max. US$50,000).

TCP Facility for FAO Representatives enables FAO Representatives to recruit local consultants for short-duration assignments (up to US$10,000) to

quickly solve a specific technical problem for which the expertise may not be immediately available within Government services;

to formulate project ideas or documents required for submission to extra-budgetary funding sources;

to carry out small sector studies or to prepare background documents required by Governments, including reports for the GIEWS.

For very small or for very urgent projects, the project agreement may be replaced by a letter of agreement from the Director-General to the appropriate authority./

Whenever immediate action is warranted in dealing with an emergency or other urgent problem, or when the agreement conforms to the request, the initiation of project activities is authorized by the Director-General as soon as he/she has approved the project and the Government is informed accordingly.

XI. Technical Responsibility for TCP Assistance

Whatever the implementation arrangements and the types of cooperation provided under TCP, the responsibility for the soundness and the quality of the services rendered rests with FAO, which ensures that the technical cooperation arrangements meet the highest technical standards leading to the best possible technical results under the circumstances of the project.

XII. Project Implementation and Monitoring

TCP projects are implemented jointly by FAO and the national counterpart institution/cooperating agency designated by the Government (or the intergovernmental organization), which provides on a full-time basis the technical and administrative personnel, in addition to other local facilities and resources, and which are necessary for the work of the project personnel recruited by FAO. The implementation arrangements depend on the country and the type and duration of the project. Normally, TCP projects would be operated by the FAO Representative, Technical Officers in the Regional or Subregional Office and Headquarters, and in exceptional cases by Country Project Officers located in the Regional Office or Headquarters. The decision on the operating arrangements is taken by TCOT based on guidance from the Field Operations Division, TCO.

No project can, however, have a duration exceeding 24 months, and the appointment of international or national consultants/experts cannot exceed 12 months. Appropriate use is made of national expertise and national institutions, taking advantage of their intimate knowledge of the problems of the country.

45. FAO will implement TCP-funded projects using the most efficient and cost-effective means of implementation, and take full advantage of FAO’s Partnership Programmes (e.g. use of TCDC/TCCT experts and Retired experts), provided suitable expertise at the required level is available under these programmes and the parties agree to meet the obligations under these Partnership Programmes.

46. Depending on the complexity and type of the project, establishment of a Project Steering Committee is encouraged with the participation of the most senior government officials concerned, for the purpose of steering and monitoring the project's implementation. The FAO Representative, in the recipient country, should normally be a member of the Project Steering Committee.

47. Each project should be supervised by a National Project Coordinator nominated and paid by the Government. National Project Professional Personnel or consultants recruited by FAO are fully accountable to the Organization and cannot be on the Government payroll at the time of their assignment.

48. Depending on the project, international consultants will visit the country once or at intervals in accordance with their terms of reference. Where required and appropriate, they will guide, assist and supervise the national teams provided by the Government, including national experts and consultants recruited by the project, in performing their assignments within the framework of the project. Each national and international consultant, including FAO technical personnel providing Advisory Technical Services (ATS),/ is responsible for preparing technical or other reports, as required in the project agreement, that are reviewed and cleared by FAO technical divisions. The use of TCDC/TCCT experts will be implemented in accordance with the provisions set out in the Guidelines for use of TCDC/TCCT experts.

49. During their implementation, TCP projects are monitored by the FAO Representative (or the UNDP Representative) and by FAO Project Task Forces, which operate from the FAO regional or subregional offices, and/or FAO headquarters by means of telecommunication. The appropriate units of FAO can at any time, and even after project completion, inspect, evaluate and audit projects funded under the Technical Cooperation Programme.

XIII. Project Follow-Up

50. Upon completion of field work on a TCP project and before the departure from the country of FAO experts or consultants (if applicable), discussions are organized by the FAO Representative with the Government to review the project’s achievements and results, to identify pending issues, to agree on immediate follow-up action, and to examine the need and the potential for future technical cooperation requirements, including future involvement of FAO through extra-budgetary funding sources (Trust Funds or UNDP) or national funding (UTFs).

51. The completion of each project’s activities is sanctioned by a Terminal Statement or Concluding Letter, in which FAO informs the Government at the highest level of the project's major achievements and recommendations.

52. One year after completion of the project's field activities and the submission of the Terminal Statement or Concluding Letter, the national counterpart institutions concerned and the FAO Representative shall review the actual follow-up to each project as well as its catalytic impact, and prepare a report for FAO headquarters and the Government.

PRO FORMA PROJECT AGREEMENT

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Technical Cooperation Programme

Country:

Project title:

Project symbol:

Starting date:

Completion date:

Government counterpart institution

responsible for project execution:

FAO contribution: US$ ....................

Jacques Diouf

Director-General

I. Project Summary

This should put particular emphasis on the outcome (desired improved situations or changes) expected from the project (not to exceed one half-page).

II. Background and Justification

This section will contain the background to the request and a brief description of the specific problem, highlighting its causes and effects, in the particular sector or sub-sector in which the project will be placed. It should specifically explain the sector's importance, the critical gap to be filled and the urgency of the problem to be solved in the context of the relevant Government’s sector and sub-sector strategy and policy. It should also explain the consequences caused by non-action on this specific problem, and outline how the assistance requested will be utilized to fill a particularly urgent need which cannot be met from other sources. Mention should be made of other related activities supported by the Government or by other assistance agencies.

The justification should highlight the follow-up action expected after completion of the project and the expected project's catalytic role in connection with the Government’s development efforts. It should, in particular, clarify how the Government intends to ensure realization of the planned project results in a sustainable manner, and the extent to which this will depend on national budgetary or policy decisions or funding decisions by other donors.

III. Objectives of the Assistance

This section will state briefly but in specific terms, the particular objectives(s) which the project is expected to achieve. The project objective is defined as a specific aim to be achieved and formulated as the expected future improved situation after the successful completion of the project. The statement should be drafted wherever possible in terms permitting subsequent verification of project accomplishments. Examples include practice of a particular improved technology (developed by the project) by a group of beneficiaries, or staff capable of carrying out specific functions (as a result of training by the project).

IV. Project Outputs (Results)

Outputs (results) to be defined in this section, are the specific products of activities undertaken, the combined use of which by project beneficiaries will achieve the objective of the project, provided assumptions about external factors are correct. They should be defined in terms that permit their verification in quantity, quality and time, and should be consistent with the project objective and design, and provide the basis for the elaboration of a clear, detailed work plan.

V. Work Plan

All the substantive activities required to produce the outputs of the project will be defined. An overall implementation work plan will be given in the form of a timetable with a definition of its start and its end, with an indication of when each of the specific activities will be implemented and outputs produced. The format is flexible but should be sufficiently specific, not only to serve as a practical guide for the national Government and experts/consultants on what activity should be carried out at what time and at what place and to be implemented by whom, but also to serve as an instrument for monitoring project implementation and achievement for both the Government and FAO.

VI. Capacity Building

The project agreement is to describe in clear terms how the project will use national experts/consultants to achieve project objectives and how the use of such experts/consultants will contribute to building national capacity in the recipient institution/country.

VII. Inputs to be Provided by FAO

The description of the inputs should give a clear relationship between each of them and the respective project activities which each input supports. The ORACLE accounts under which the inputs should be budgeted (see budget table on page ix) are shown in brackets in below description.

1. Personnel services

Technical services of international and/or national experts/consultants. The qualifications required, the total duration of the assignment and the number of missions will be stated. Also detailed estimates for the costs of fielding each expert will be provided in this section. Terms of reference for each expert and consultant and mission, with clear indication of the reporting responsibilities, will be included in an annex to the project agreement. No expert can be recruited under the same TCP project for more than 12 months; assignments of 12 months’ duration are exceptional and subject to confirmed follow-up funding or special review.

- International consultants/experts are to be selected and recruited by FAO from its international experts/consultants roster or the contacts and information available at headquarters and the field offices. The level of remuneration will be established according to UN prevailing rates for the type of expertise required. The standard costs include honorarium (5542), estimated travel costs and the daily subsistence allowance (DSA) (5684) applicable to the country.

- FAO Advisory Technical Services (ATS) are project inputs in their own right as they aim to provide tangible and measurable project outputs that are planned and agreed upon in approved project agreements. These inputs are provided by FAO Technical Officers based at FAO regional offices, sub-regional offices or headquarters, and can be reviewed after project completion. They are equivalent to services provided by consultants or experts. In exceptional situations, and only on the basis of specific authorization by the Director-General, formulation of project agreements may be charged under this component. The costs for ATS include honorarium (6120) calculated at the standard rate for FAO services established by the Organization, estimated travel costs and the DSA (5692) applicable to the country.

- National experts and consultants are to be selected and recruited by FAO. They may not be recruited from the counterpart institution/cooperating agency. The level of their remuneration (5543) is based on rates established by the UNDP Resident Representative or official Government rates. Recruitment of candidates is based on TOR and required qualifications. FAO retains the responsibility for their technical performance and reviews their performance.

- International expertise under Partnership Programmes (i.e. TCDC/TCCT or Retired experts and consultants) is to be selected and recruited by FAO based on candidates in the TCDC/TCCT Roster, the Corporate Roster or the contacts and information available at headquarters and field offices. The level of remuneration is established on the basis of separate agreements between FAO and the member countries that are signatories of the TCDC/TCCT agreements and according to the standard terms and conditions (5544 and 5686). If during project implementation unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances indicate that the use of TCDC/TCCT experts and consultants is not possible (unavailability of the TCDC/TCCT expertise with the required qualifications and within the required time-frame), the project may be exceptionally revised to substitute international experts and consultants for the TCDC/TCCT experts and consultants.

- Administrative support (secretarial support, drivers, casual labour,^1/ etc.) will be provided only on an exceptional basis and only in support of the project's activities (5652). Recruitment is normally the responsibility of the FAO Representative.

¹/ Cleaning of premises, security and maintenance costs are to be budgeted under GOE, but should normally be provided by the Government counterpart contribution.

- Supervisory Technical Services (STS) ensure the technical synergy of a project through the mobilization of technical inputs in the form of expertise or other inputs (equipment, supplies or training). They are provided by FAO's technical personnel and comprise technical work required for achieving the highest technical standards of the project inputs and outputs and technical supervision missions by FAO technical officers to the project site. The output of STS is improved project performance in the field, as a result of the technical coherence and standards of all inputs provided by the project. Supervisory Technical Services are calculated on the basis of standard rates (6122 and 6123), which are available at each FAO Office. Cost of Technical Supervision Missions normally comprise the travel costs and DSA (5693), and may include the honorarium (6121) provided output-oriented terms of reference are available. In addition, US$1000 are to be added for project evaluations (6116).

In obtaining personnel services for TCP projects, the Partnership Programmes (use of TCDC/TCCT experts and Retired experts) should be used to the greatest extent possible.

2. Duty travel (5661) by FAO's international and national experts and consultants and staff related to the project within the country (e.g. in-country flights, DSA, car rental in exceptional cases if covered by travel expense claim, etc.). This may also cover travel of the FAO Representative to project sites.

3. Contracts, Letters of Agreements or Contractual Service Agreements (5650) for specialized technical services. The expected results and conditions (including itemized services or inputs to be provided) for such contractual arrangements must be clearly specified in an annex to the project agreement.

4. General operating expenses (GOE) (6300) to cover miscellaneous expenses required in the field for the operation of the project, such as telephone communications, photocopy paper, renting of transport vehicles , etc. (in general, not exceeding $500 per work/month of international and national consultants and not more than 5 percent of the total budget minus the DOC). In addition, US$1 000 are to be added for processing the Terminal Statement or Concluding Letter.

5. Materials, supplies and equipment: the total cost of materials, supplies and equipment to be purchased under the project shall not exceed 50 percent of the budget with the exception of emergency (E) or development support projects (D). FAO's commitment is limited to the supply of the quantities specified in the project agreement, up to the budgetary allocation; unspent funds resulting from lower input costs than estimated in the project budget must be returned to the TCP General Account. They cannot be used for any other purposes unless specifically authorized by the Chief, TCOT.

- Materials and supplies (AL 6000) - specifications and maximum physical quantities for the individual supply items must be stated in the project agreement, including maximum amounts allocated in US$ for the individual supply items.

- Equipment (6100) required for achieving the project's specific objectives: the preliminary specifications including provisional itemized cost estimates should be provided in an annex to the project agreement.

6. Direct operating cost (DOC) (6118)to cover miscellaneous expenses at FAO headquarters related to the implementation of the project. They are calculated on the basis of rates established by FAO headquarters to cover the cost of operating the project: