Promoting CARICOM/CARIFORUM Food Security (Project GTFS/RLA/141/ITA) (FAO Trust Fund for Food Security and Food Safety

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Promoting CARICOM/CARIFORUM Food Security
(Project GTFS/RLA/141/ITA)(FAO Trust Fund for
Food Security and Food Safety Government of
Italy Contribution)

• PRESENTATION TO CTA/CFNI/CARDI SEMINAR
• INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TOOLS FOR
  IMPLEMENTATION OF FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY
  PLANS IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION.
• Belize, March 14-18, 2005
• BY
• SANDRA PLUMMER
• FOOD SECURITY SPECIALIST
• REGIONAL FOOD SECURITY PROJECT

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DESCRIPTION OF PRESENTATION

• DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT
• UPDATE OF PROJECT ACTIVITIES
• INFORMATION NEEDS OF EACH COMPONENT OF PROJECT
• RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVED COMMUNICATION

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DESCRIPTION OF REGIONAL FOOD PROJECT

• GENERAL OBJECTIVE
• To improve food security situation of CARIFORUM
  Member States both individually and collectively
  by increasing availability and access to adequate
  quantities of safe, nutritious foods to food
  insecure and poor rural communities across the
  Region.
• OUTPUTS
• Strengthened food and nutrition, agriculture and
  trade and economic and social policy framework
• Efficient, effective and sustainable water
  resource-related production system resulting in
  increasing productivity demonstrated on a pilot
  basis on farms.

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NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

• Vertical Activities
• - Demonstration Farms to improve productivity
  of selected crops
• Horizontal Activities
• - Linking agriculture activities to trade,
  health and nutrition and community development

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VERTICAL ACTIVITIES

• Increasing output and incomes of small farmers by
  utilising increased and more efficient irrigation
  systems to grow more than one crop a year
• 255 farmers across Region provided with technical
  assistance, training, irrigation equipment, farm
  inputs

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TRADE COMPONENT

• Build and strengthen the capacity within
  agricultural planning and trade policy units in
  member states for engaging in meaningful trade
  policy analysis and participating in trade
  negotiations
• Training of officials involved in planning and
  trade policy activities
• Provision of technical assistance and support in
  strengthening the trade-related functions within
  the respective Ministries of Trade and
  Agriculture.

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Trade Component Activities

• Training Needs Assessment
• Review of Trade Policy Formulation Process
• National Training Workshops in Antigua, Dominica
  and St Kitts on trade policy analysis and
  agricultural trade negotiations
• Regional Training Course in Trade Policy
  Analysis and Agricultural Trade Agreements
• Technical Studies on Sugar (Guyana) and Bananas

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Trade Component Activities

• Support to OECS
• Collaboration with CRNM
• Analysing international competitiveness of
  selected crops (Belize)
• April-July, national seminars and workshops will
  be conducted to sensitize and train persons at
  the national level.

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FOOD SECURITY ASSESSMENTS

• Identifies the inter-sectoral linkages among
  Trade, Agriculture and Health and Nutrition
• Identifies factors at national, regional,
  community and household levels which affect food
  security

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FIGURE 1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSMENT OF
FOOD SECURITY IDENTIFICATION OF VULNERABLE
GROUPS AND FACTORS AFFECTING FOOD SECURITY

• Poverty
• Education
• Employment (Dependency Ratio)
• Access to Water
• Public Awareness

Food Imports

• Types of Food
• Food Prices

Socio-Economic Characteristics
NATIONAL LEVEL

• Access to Land (Legislation)
• Marketing Intelligence (Data Base)
• Farm to Market Roads
• Drainage and Irrigation
• Access to Credit

Food Production

• Health Indicators
• Nutrition Indicators

Health and Nutritional Status
Policy
Planning
Food Exports

• Factors affecting Exports

• Access to Land (Leases)
• Markets and Marketing Intelligence (Location of
  Markets)
• Farm to Market Roads
• Drainage and Irrigation
• Access to Credit

• Issues affecting Livelihood Strategies

REGIONAL LEVEL
Regional Governance
Food Production
Access to Health Care and Nutritional Status

• Health Facilities
• Nutritional Status (Children Under 5)

Policy
Planning
Food Distribution (Imports and Local)

• Livelihood Assets of Vulnerable Groups

Livelihood Strategies in Region
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• Access to Land (Land Disputes and Land Size)
• Markets and Marketing Intelligence(Prevention of
  Gluts)
• Access to Credit (Community Arrangements)
• Drainage and Irrigation

Policy
Planning
Food Production
Community Governance

• Issues Affecting Livelihood Strategies

COMMUNITY LEVEL

• Health Services/Health Programmes
• Diseases Present
• Nutritional Status of Children Under 5
• Food Prices

Access to Health Care and Nutritional Status
Food Distribution (Imports and Local)

• Transportation Costs for Food

Livelihood Strategies in Community

• Type of Employment

Policy
Planning

• Health Status (all members)
• Nutritional Status (Under 5)
• Household Income and Diet costs
• Food Hygiene
• Household Consumption and Nutrition Knowledge

HOUSEHOLD LEVEL

• Household Food Production
• Farm Production
• Access to Credit (Ability to Repay)
• Access to Land (Length of Lease)

Food Availability at Household level (Imports
and Local)
Food Accessibility at Household level
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INFORMATION NEEDS

• VERTICAL ACTIVITIES
• Background Data on water quality, stream flow,
  well capacity and soil analysis lacking
• Water Management Aspect of Irrigated farm
  demonstration not adequately considered by
  countries
• Demonstration-farmers and extension officers need
  to maintain detailed/accurate crop records
• Poor access and monitoring capability
• Document requirements between FAO and Member
  States

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INFORMATION NEEDSTRADE COMPONENT

• Specific data requirements for Global Trade
  Analysis Project (GTAP)
• Determine objectives and outputs for
  institutional strengthening activities
• Cost of Production data for specified commodities
• Market analysis for specified commodities

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INFORMATION NEEDSFOOD SECURITY ASSESSMENT

• Categories of Indicators
• Food Availability
• -Production, Imports, Exports, Stocks, Losses,
  Other Uses
• -Changes in quantities in markets over time
• -changes in agriculture production over time
• -Food Aid over time

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INFORMATION NEEDSFOOD SECURITY ASSESSMENT

• Food Accessibility
• - Socio-economic monitoring of Vulnerable
  Groups e.g household income, livelihood
  strategies, access to health care, access to
  potable water, periods of poverty, state of
  health, food hygiene, nutritional status

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INFORMATION GAPSEXPERIENCE OF PROJECT

• Lack of baseline data on farm systems
• Lack of complete data for trade analysis
• Lack of complete data for food security
  assessments

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COMMUNICATION NEEDS

• Operational Level
• - sharing of information within and between
  departments
• - stakeholders such as farmers organisations
  need to be sensitised re trade related issues
• - improvement in the quality of data collected
  by Ministries of Agriculture and Health

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COMMUNICATIONS NEEDS

• Policy Making Level
• - sensitisation of policy- makers to
  inter-sectoral nature of food security.
• - strengthening of existing multi- agency,
  inter-sectoral mechanisms to address food
  security
• -utilisation of data to plan

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COMMUNICATION NEEDS

• General Public
• - sensitisation of general public of link
  between trade reform and food security
• - public awareness of nutrition requirements

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COMMUNICATION NEEDS GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS

• Establishment of climate of holistic planning and
  operationalisation of programmes related to food
  security at all levels of system.
• Public Awareness on Food Security can serve as
  push factor

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• Thank you