First project steering committee meeting for new Italian government funded project held to strengthen climate resilience

KARACHI, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Apr, 2026) The Project Steering Committee of the Italian Government funded “Resilience and Adaptation by Fostering Anticipatory Action” (RAFAA) project met for the first time in Karachi.

The meeting, chaired by Secretary of Agriculture Department Sindh, Muhammad Zaman Narejo and the Ambassador of Italy to Pakistan, Marilina Armellin, brought together senior officials provincial line departments, district administrations, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and CESVI, the implementing partners, to guide the project's strategic direction over its 36-months implementation period, according to a news release on Friday.

Sindh is one of Pakistan’s most climate vulnerable provinces, where repeated floods, droughts, and heatwaves continue to threaten agricultural livelihoods and food security. These climate shocks disproportionately affect rural communities that depend on agriculture and climate-sensitive resources. In response, RAFAA was launched thanks to EUR 4 million funding from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). The project aims at directly benefiting 25,000 households and about 1.5 million people indirectly, throughout the province of Sindh, including targeted interventions in Umerkot and Mirpurkhas districts.

The Ambassador highlighted that “through close collaboration with key institutions, we aim to strengthen multi-hazard early warning systems and connect them directly to anticipatory action on the ground”. Highlighting that resilience cannot be built without addressing livelihoods, the Ambassador indicated that the initiative is also investing in the future of agriculture.

The RAFAA project promotes a decisive shift from reactive emergency response to a proactive approach by integrating anticipatory action, disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation. This integrated approach seeks to mitigate the impacts of recurrent climate hazards and strengthen the resilience of agriculture and food systems across the province. Okoth from FAO noted that “This initiative is grounded in a robust, anticipatory approach that advances climate-resilient crops and scalable nature-based solutions. RAFAA is anchored in a strong community-centred approach”.

Key interventions discussed during the steering committee meeting included strengthening multi-hazard early warning systems, establishing community-led disaster risk reduction committees, developing local resilience and contingency plans, and improving water quality monitoring. This community-centred project also supports gender-responsive and climate-resilient livelihood interventions, innovative crop insurance mechanisms, and nature-based solutions to protect productive assets and ecosystems. Capacity building and awareness raising remain central to the project's approach, with targeted training, communication campaigns, and policy engagement aimed at institutionalizing risk-informed planning.

The Secretary Agriculture, Sindh, noted that real progress on the ground requires accountability at all levels. Deputy Commissioners will play a key role in providing local support, while the Secretary’s Office will extend necessary facilitation to FAO and CESVI. He highlighted that the Government, together with PSC members, remain firmly committed to this process.