The idea for this facilitation unit was born at the first GFAR Conference in 2000. A working
group recommended a strong involvement of GFAR in work on underutilized species at the
regional level and also expressed the need for a global facilitation mechanism to stimulate,
support and facilitate activities undertaken by different stakeholders on different aspects of
underutilized crops. The GFAR Secretariat established a task force including FAO, ICUC,
IFAD, BMZ and IPGRI to follow-up on the creation of this facilitation mechanism. At the

The GFU¿s first phase of 34 months will come to an end in February 2005. The
German Government through BMZ is currently funding the project. Before
deciding on a potential new phase and its financial support to it, BMZ requested
a review of the progress made and suggestions for future activities. The purpose
of the review was to evaluate the relevance of such a facilitation unit for other
organizations working on underutilized species and for pushing the topic
¿Underutilized Species for Food Security and Poverty Alleviation¿ higher on the

The reader is kindly reminded of the expected outputs of the Facilitation Unit as agreed by the
steering committee of the Facilitation Unit:1. Improved access to information is available and systems are in place to maintain it. 2. A platform for discussion of concepts, strategies and instruments to promote and to facilitate the sustainable use of underutilized species is created and maintained. 3. Access of stakeholders to financial resources is facilitated. 4. The modalities for developing a sustainable mechanism to support underutilized species are determined.

A new multi-stakeholder initiative to support and facilitate the development of underutilized
species in order to contribute to food security and poverty alleviation of the rural and urban poor

Although only about 30 crops provide the bulk of human nutrition and just over a hundred
species of plants contribute 90 percent of the supply of food crops by weight, calories, protein
and fat for most of the countries of the world, this gives a false impression and a distorted view
of the global contribution made by plant diversity to human activities. Thousands of species
are utilized worldwide, not just for nutrition but to supply energy, fibres, medicines and other

The evaluation of the first phase led to the recommendation that the GFU should focus its services and products to the need of those target groups that can best be served with a facilitation approach. Practitioners and other stakeholders at the technical level expect the GFU to implement projects on particular species and fund research on specific topics. The typical services provided by a facilitation mechanism such as policy advice, information provision, conceptual analyses, networking, lobbying, awareness creation, etc. are not considered equally important to them.