MINAG, AGCID, SAG, AT-EU hold a technical follow-up meeting of the project in La Habana

The first monitoring mission of the triangular project entitled "Contributing to food security for the population of  Cuba" was carried out in La Habana, Cuba, from 3 to 6 March 2020, with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture of Cuba (MINAG), the Agricultural and Livestock Service of Chile (SAG), the Chilean Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AGCID) and the Technical Assistance of the European Union's ADELANTE Programme.

This meeting was held after the approval of the contract extension until 31 December of this year (11 months). For this reason, it was considered as relevant to carry out a monitoring mission, aimed at analysing the implementation, achievements and possible deviations of the project, as well as to establish a strategy agreed upon for the achievement of the results and the fulfilment of the objective of this action.

During four days, an analysis of the logical framework matrix was carried out, comparing the project's performance with the implementation plan, the level of compliance with the indicators and the necessary corrective measures. In addition, visits were made to the premises of the laboratories benefiting from the project in order to establish the baseline of these facilities prior to the strengthening of equipment, inputs and reagents to be acquired. Finally, it should be noted that work was done on a project visibility campaign for this last year of project implementation.

Thanks to the monitoring exercise, it became clear that the project responds to the political priorities of all partners as well as to the issues faced by the final beneficiaries and that it highly successful in terms of knowledge transfer and capacity building, a component which has exceeded initial expectations. The procurement component of equipment and supplies is suffering some delays so the necessary steps have been taken to return to the planned schedule, in an interesting exercise of good coordination between all partners. If these measures take effect, the planned objective will certainly be achieved and this would contribute to the country's sectoral objectives, achieving a strong positive impact on food security in Cuba. Having analysed all the elements related to sustainability, it was found that the project has taken them into account and has worked on them from the project's design to the present day, so that the benefits generated over the years could be guaranteed.

The project, which seeks to strengthen the infrastructure and staff of the laboratories in charge of the monitoring and control of diseases of animal origin in order to increase the availability of safe food for the Cuban population, was positively evaluated by all the actors with a high sense of ownership by its beneficiaries. With regard to the capacity-building component, it was possible to demonstrate a high level of ownership of the knowledge acquired and the installation of capacities within the institutions, through replication workshops which were given by the officials who actively participated in the project.

All this shows that Triangular Cooperation with the EU helps promote strategic partnerships to address specific challenges on the road towards inclusive and sustainable development.

Finally, within the framework of the global health crisis caused by the impact of COVID-19, the entities in charge of the project have been making all the necessary efforts, adopting complementary measures that allow for compliance with the deadlines and commitments adopted under this mission.