Derived from Section 4.1.7.3 of Grain Storehouse Design Code GB50320-2014, which states that “the net height between the surface of stored grain and the horizontal components of the roof shall not be less than 1.8 m,” Article 24 of the Government Reserve Grain Storage Management Measures (National Grain Warehouse Regulation No. 18 [2021]) stipulates that “…when storing rice, the net height between the surface of the grain and the horizontal components of the roof shall not be less than 1.8 m.” The provisions specified in the document mentioned above are designed to prevent grain from being loaded beyond designated limits. The issue is not relevant if grain does not exceed designated loading lines at a granary. Section 4.1.7.3 is mostly aimed at standardised storehouses that have been built in recent years and may not be applicable to warehouses designed in the 1980s, but attention should nevertheless be paid to the problem of low operating space above stored grain.

Article 25 of theGovernment Reserve Grain Storage Management Measures (National Grain Storage Regulation No. 18 [2021]) stipulates that “government grain reserves shall be stored separately in independent granaries (stored in separate locations in cavernous and/or underground facilities) by variety, production year, grade, nature, and owner and shall not be mixed with other grain.”

Mixed storage should be avoided due to the fact that it can result in potential grain storage safety hazards and lead to confusion in storage management. Grain that is meant to serve as central reserve grain should be promptly dried and cleaned before it is put into storage after it is purchased and acquired as part of the rotation process and can only be confirmed as constituting central reserve grain after it passes an acceptance inspection. Mixed storage of central reserve grain should not occur when grain that is being rotated is in the sorting and temporary storage stage. Grain that has been put into storage generally needs to be dried and cleaned in order to remove moisture and other impurities. The grade of sorted grain may diverge from purchase and warehousing inspection results. Quality inspection results obtained during closing acceptance reflect the overall quality of grain warehouses.

Article 10 of the Grain and Oil Storage Management Measures (National Development and Reform Commission Order No. 5) stipulates that “organisations engaged in grain and/or oil storage shall store grain and oil by variety, nature, production year, grade, moisture content, edibility, and other criteria and promptly meet storage safety requirements.”

Storage management policies covering local grain and oil reserves and related systems shall be formulated and implemented by local grain and reserve departments at all levels according to their authority. It is suggested that reasonable determinations of the level, scale, and distribution of local grain and oil reserves are made. According to the measures mentioned above, edible vegetable oil reserves of the same variety, nature, production year, and grade should be stored in the same oil tank, and mixed storage should not occur. Considering the actual distribution of edible vegetable oil tanks in a given area, local oil reserves under different ownership can be stored in the same tank in order to improve capacity utilisation efficiency and implement local reserve tasks. Storing reserves with more than one owner in the same tank will make management more difficult, however. It is necessary to expand upon relevant storage management measures, clearly delineate management duties and requirements, integrate physical storage and management of the same type of grain and oil, and maintain separate accounts in order to avoid ownership disputes. Final interpretation of specific provisions is the responsibility of the office that formulated them.

WFP China Centre of Excellence for Rural Transformation (WFP China COE) endeavours to share China’s rich experiences in food security, nutrition improvement, and poverty alleviation with other developing countries including those in Africa, in pursuit of Agenda 2030 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 2 for Zero Hunger and SDG 17 on Partnerships. In line with WFP South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) Policy, the WFP China COE’s efforts include policy support, technical cooperation and sharing of know-how so to provide practical knowledge on food security and nutrition to African countries. 

Source: 

The 11th CERFAM's Bulletin, The Role of South-South Cooperation and the Sharing of Good Practices in Achieving Zero Hunger in Africa by WFP China COE

African countries have spent decades trying to jump start agricultural transformation, yet with mixed results, many still face critical challenges in this area today. While China and Africa have developed their agricultural sectors under different historical conditions, China’s agricultural growth is far more advanced which has helped alleviating hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in the past four decades. Many lessons have been learned along the way which can be leveraged to support Africa’s agrarian change. 

Source: 

The 11th CERFAM's Bulletin, The Role of South-South Cooperation and the Sharing of Good Practices in Achieving Zero Hunger in Africa by WFP China COE

WFP support to smallholder farmers in Southern Africa: 

● disseminating climate and crop information to enable farmers to make better decisions

● facilitating nutrition sensitive behaviour change distributing resilient seeds and building farmers' capacity in innovative farming practices 

● organising farmers support groups to improve their access to information and systems

● training farmers in post harvest handling to reduce losses

● distributing low cost storage solutions such as hermetic bags to reduce post harvest losses procuring produce from smallholder farmers for WFP food assistance programmes 

● providing market access through innovative means such as online farmers markets or creating linkages with private sector and schools

● creating assets (such as roads, market infrastructure etc.) to enhance farmers' resilience 

Source: Smallholder Farmers in Southern Africa

Governments and national stakeholders are at the forefront of SSTC. Upon demand, WFP supports governments to tap into SSTC to achieve their own national priorities in food security and nutrition. Some of the areas in which WFP supported governments by brokering SSTC include smallholder farmers support, school feeding, emergency preparedness and response, nutrition, etc.

To do so, WFP leverages SSTC across its work at the policy, programme and operational levels, ensuring coherence across all three. Governments and national stakeholders engaging in South-South exchanges brokered by WFP tap into the wealth of knowledge and expertise from countries in the Global South benefiting from a wide range of services including:

● Effective knowledge management and support with evident generation

● Seed funding support for SSTC project

● Technical assistance in thematic areas under WFP’s scope

● Operational support for piloting SSTC project in the field 

Source: 2021-2022 Overview of WFP's Initiatives on South-South and Triangular Cooperation

WFP faces the challenge of a world that is not moving towards but away from zero hunger.

New wars and unresolved conflicts, the global climate crisis and recurrent economic shocks – including the economic turmoil triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic – are driving this downward spiral.

Working in partnerships is the only way to augment revert this trend of increasing food insecurity and malnutrition.

SSTC offers an opportunity for WFP to bring more partners onboard and unlock the knowledge and solutions available in the Global South to tackle food insecurity and malnutrition.

Strengthening national capacity and systems presents opportunities for scale, impact and sustainability, helping to reach the increasing number of people who are food insecure and unable to afford healthy diets.

SSTC is a key pillar in WFP’s efforts to strengthen national systems and programmes in countries from the Global South, as well as to mobilize new resources and local innovations to achieve Agenda 2030.

Source: 2021-2022 Overview of WFP's Initiatives on South-South and Triangular Cooperation

Triangular development cooperation (triangular cooperation in short) involves a division of labor between three or more partners, with some of them playing the role of enabler (through financial contributions, convening power, technical support), others the role of provider or contributor (through technical assistance, capacity building, training), and still others the role of associate (as a beneficiary of programs, projects, events). The roles of enabler, provider and associate may change over time in a given initiative, or from one triangular cooperation initiative to another, as participants employ fully their differing comparative advantages.

This basic tripartite structure accommodates a growing diversity of actors. The enabler partner in triangular cooperation may be a northern organization (government agency, private foundation, civil society organization), an international financial institution (multilateral development bank, special funds), a civil society or philanthropic organization operating at the international level (international non-governmental organization, private foundation), or another developing country agency at the national or subnational level with capabilities to play a supranational facilitating role. The provider / contributor and associate partners are developing country government institutions or subnational agencies, private, civil society, philanthropic or academic entities.)

Source: Promoting sustainable development through triangular cooperation

South–South Cooperation (SSC) refers to a broad framework of collaboration between developing countries. This usually involves a learning process or transfer of knowledge, experience, training, technology, financial and monetary cooperation or in-kind contributions between two or more countries of the Global South.

When donor countries and/or multilateral organizations help facilitate South-South exchanges, this form of cooperation is called Triangular Cooperation (herein SSTC). WFP is recognized as a triangular partner as soon as it engages in supporting South-South initiatives.

WFP facilitates effective, results-oriented, and demand-driven SSTC to support country-led efforts towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 and SDG 17 with a focus on the most vulnerable and food insecure populations.

In doing so, WFP aims to contribute to strengthening host governments’ national abilities and independence to drive their own development process and leverages multi-stakeholder partnerships to promote food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience.