Below is a summary of the principles related to DRC’s activities with respect to Food Security, Agricultural rehabilitation and Development. Given that it is a complex subject, the points listed below are by no means exhaustive.

Implementation

• Food Aid should (always) come with an end date, meaning that the beneficiaries should be made aware that this is a short term solution that will not continue, and that other measures to ensure food security should be initiated as quickly as possible to avoid creating dependency. The extent to which food aid becomes part of local surviving strategies should be limited.
  
  
• Too often, Food Aid becomes a solely logistical exercise, which tends to contribute to prolonging the period of food aid distribution and postponing initiation of more sustainable and less dependency creating food security interventions. It is recommendable to have a multifaceted team of experts manage food aid programmes from the onset (logistics, registration, food security/livelihoods, nutrition, and community mobilization).
  
  
• Before initiating Food-for-work/Food-for-asset-creation/Food-support-for-local initiatives schemes it should always be verified that these schemes DO NOT draw people away from more long-term livelihood initiatives. Instead, activities planned and implemented under such schemes should be in support of longer-term development of livelihoods.
  
  
• Remember that the local “agricultural” calendar is one of the most important aspects in planning and implementing successful food security and agricultural rehabilitation and development programs – and that sometimes the donors’ funding cycles do not fit with the calendar. It is also the responsibility of DRC to draw the attention of the donors to this.
  
  
• When purchasing seeds preferably do so in-country as it is then the responsibility of the vendor to ensure any necessary certification, and one is sure that the seeds conform to the standards and soil of the country. If in any doubt whatsoever, seek the advise of the local FAO office or a similar independent institution.
  
  
• Use of local knowledge to select seeds, tubers etc. can be advantageous.
  
  
• Prior to purchasing seeds, always try to have an expert conduct germination tests on samples from different suppliers to test the potential of the seeds.
  
  
• Support/Input given to farmers as a group should be “regulated” by a contract between DRC and the recipients, and it needs to be clear from the onset who reaps the benefit of the intervention and outcome.
  
  
• Projects for restocking of livestock requires veterinary capacity in the programme. If this is not available in-country, one possibility is to use short-term volunteer veterinarians from Denmark (or elsewhere), who can train local veterinary technicians. Livestock is an area where most countries have strict rules and regulations. It is therefore recommended to implement these activities in close dialogue and coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture.
  
  
• In addition livestock restocking projects require thorough preparation to ensure that necessary vaccines are available in-country – it is recommended to encourage a commercial pharmacy to set up import and availability, rather than DRCimporting, in order to ensure sustainability.