The second phase was characterized by an extension of the BSF.JP target area beyond the Greater Horn of Africa to the Great Lakes Region, the Central Sahel countries and Angola. The Twelfth BSF.JP Steering Committee Meeting (24-25 June 1996) decided that the programme should operate in 12 countries during the second phase in order to consolidate its project portfolio: Angola, Burkina Faso, Chad, D.R. Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda. As of September 2001, 14 grants had been approved under the second phase (two in Angola, two in Chad, two in Kenya, two in Uganda and one each in Burkina Faso, D.R. Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Somalia and the United Republic of Tanzania) for a total of USD 47.55 million.

The ultimate objective continued to be focused on poverty alleviation through household food and nutritional security (HFNS) in the context of the rehabilitation-development continuum. HFNS is defined as ready access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. It is a multidimensional concept encompassing, among other things, production, marketing, access, entitlements, intra-household distribution and basic social services. The second phase was characterized by the following: (i) a comprehensive, integrated and multisectoral approach through new and additional components within IFAD projects and in targeting areas that are vulnerable to household food insecurity, offer prospects for decentralized governance and decision-making, and are prone to conflicts under post-war conditions; (ii) introduction of a new dimension into the Joint Programme, i.e. improvement of the human resource base through capacity-building for empowerment of the target group and improved local governance; (iii) geographic extension of the BSF.JP target area beyond the Greater Horn of Africa to the Great Lakes Region, the Central Sahel countries and Angola; and (iv) adoption of Comprehensive Participatory Planning and Evaluation (CPPE) within the context of the entire IFAD/BSF.JP project cycle.

During the second phase, the nature of interventions was tailored to certain specificities: (i) in countries prone to household food and nutrition insecurity, such as Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya and some of the Sahel countries, the emphasis was on household coping and adjustment strategies; (ii) in countries registering positive experiences with decentralization, such as Uganda, the civil-society empowerment process was to be consolidated; and (iii) in crisis areas such as the Great Lakes Region, Angola and northern Mali, the focus was on conflict prevention and a peace consolidation process.

Over and above the 33 BSF grants that were approved, involving a total financial commitment of approximately USD 119.88 million, BSF.JP was well placed to attend promptly to ad hoc emerging needs through supplementary grants. As of 31 December 2000, ten such grants had been approved, with a total commitment of BEF 93.10 million. Activities took place in the areas of screwworm eradication, the Summit on Economic Advancement of Rural Women, the European Conference on Hunger and Poverty, a BSF.JP review workshop, a BSF liaison office, Rural Women in Economic Development, the IFAD 20th Anniversary, the International Steering Committee on Advancement of Rural Women, publication of the CPPE manual and the BSF.JP Rome strategy seminar.