Damm clearing by cash for work activity

The Integrated Food Security Program (IFSP) primarily focuses on the rehabilitation of agricultural production and reconstruction of basic rural infrastructure; establishment of linkages with the regional market economy (support of trade and small businesses) and qualitative improvement in the nutritional and health status of the population residing in the project areas.

Considering the success of Sustainable Food Security is reliant on the popular participation of community members and Community Based Organizations (CBOs), the project has adopted participatory development principles and approaches. The IFSP establishes and builds institutional capacities of CBOs at the village, divisional and district level.

As a result, The IFSP-Wanni focuses on four main components
1.	Food availability by assisting resettling families to clear land and cultivate paddy for personal consumption and income generation. IFSP supplies seed paddy inputs and agricultural tools, supports backyard poultry businesses and home-gardens and constructs agricultural wells.
2.	Accessibility to markets ensuring villagers can get to the market, that food is available at the market and that villagers have the capacity to buy food by cash for work activities. IFSP-Wanni constructs agricultural access roads, Multi-purpose Cooperative Society (MPCS) outlets, MPCS stores and rice mills. IFSP provides training to strengthen local Community Based Organisations (CBOs)
3.	Utilization by ensuring drinking water supply, awareness trainings under health and nutrition aspects. IFSP-Wanni constructs drinking water wells and toilets and provides training addressing health and hygiene issues.
4.	Stability in terms of rebuilding community’s social structures and contribution towards reconciliation efforts between the previous conflict parties. IFSP-Wanni has a participatory approach and the conflicting parties, Government of Sri Lanka and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are integrated in all project measures.

Planned Impact:

Community meeting

The primary impact of the project is sustainable food security for the population, on the one hand through direct support of agricultural production and on the other hand through improved access to food through improved infrastructure and purchasing power.

The expected long-term economic impact of the project is the revitalisation of the economy at the local and provincial level and thus the accompanying reduction of absolute poverty. It can be expected that direct food aid will no longer be necessary, thus reducing the dependency factor. The sustainable improvement of nutritional and food security will have a positive effect on public health and on the related high economic and social costs so that a contribution will be made to national economic stability.

In line with this is the impact of the project creating a cash flow in the project area. Scarcity of money is a major severe problem in the Wanni. With the cash for work activities on infrastructure, the target group is able to develop an income. As there is a lack of trade and employment the long term impacts of the project is in investments directed through rebuilding of basic infrastructure with a short term impact of cash for work activities, setting in motion the circulation of cash.

The socio-cultural impacts concern primarily the development of self-initiatives and the self-help potential of the population through the formation and strengthening of self-responsible village organisations. This brings with it a greater legal security and negotiating power for the local communities in the face of government decision-makers and private industry. At the same time a clear improvement in the situation and status, and well as the willingness to innovate, of the women is expected.

The project contributes towards the strengthening of civil society structures, through which possibilities for articulation of interests at the local level are opened up and an important framework condition is created for non-violent solutions to conflict. A future peaceful co-existence between the ethnic groups will also be supported through the contact that the project creates between Tamils and Singhalese, whereby the opportunity will also be taken to openly talk about reasons of conflict and peace strategies.

Since the armistice a promising dialog and rapprochement has been started but political, social and economic security remains fragile. Visible measures for the improvement of living conditions, like wells, store-houses and community buildings, are an appropriate instrument to support the stabilisation process of the social environment.