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FAO-WFP Joint Strategy on Information Systems for Food and Nutrition Security

Strategy timeframe: 2012-17

REVISED DRAFT June 22, 2011

Version: 22 June 2011

FAO- WFP Joint Strategy on Information Systems on Food and Nutrition SecurityRevised Draft June 22, 2011

Table of Contents

Acronyms.......................................................................................................................................ii

Executive Summary.......................................................................................................................iii

A. Background................................................................................................................................7

Rationale and Purpose of the Joint FAO-WFP Strategy on ISFNS......................................................7Emerging Food and Nutrition Security Issues....................................................................................8Roles of FAO and WFP in Supporting Global ISFNS Work..................................................................9

B. Comparative Advantages of FAO and WFP................................................................................10

FAO’s Comparative Advantages......................................................................................................10WFP’s Comparative Advantages......................................................................................................11

C. Vision Statement and Guiding Principles...................................................................................12

D. Joint Strategy Framework for Information Systems for Food and Nutrition Security.................14

E. ISFNS Pillars..............................................................................................................................15

Capacity development to support information systems on in food and nutrition security of member countries...........................................................................................................................15Standards, methods and tools for information systems on food and nutrition security.................17Monitoring and In-country food security and nutrition assessments.............................................19Statistics, information and analysis on food security and nutrition................................................21

F. Considerations for Implementation...........................................................................................22

National Ownership........................................................................................................................22Mechanisms for Collaboration........................................................................................................23Partnerships....................................................................................................................................23Funding...........................................................................................................................................24G. Communication and Advocacy................................................................................................24Advocacy and Awareness Raising....................................................................................................26

Appendix......................................................................................................................................27

FAO-WFP Joint Strategy on ISFNS.................................................................................................27

Strategic Issues and Challenges......................................................................................................4

Pillar on Monitoring and In-Country Assessments...........................................................................5

ð Handbook for Defining and Setting up a Food Security Information and Early Warning System (FSIEWS).......................................................................................................7

Strategic Issues and Challenges:.....................................................................................................9

Expected Results.............................................................................................................................9

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Acronyms

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Executive Summary

1. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) have collaboratively developed this Joint Strategy on Information Systems for Food and Nutrition Security (ISFNS). The Joint Strategy provides a clear statement of intent on how the organizations will effectively support member states, and work with the global community of development partners concerned with achieving a sustainable reduction in poverty, hunger and malnutrition. This will be achieved through strengthening – in both in the development and emergency contexts – the collection, management, analysis, dissemination, and use of data and information relevant for the design and implementation of policies and programme to achieve food and nutrition security.

2. In 2010, FAO and WFP developed individual corporate strategies to guide their work in ISFNS. These strategies were prompted in part by the findings and recommendations of the “Joint

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AGN FAO’s Nutrition and Consumer Protection DivisionAMIS Agricultural Markets Information System CAADP Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development ProgrammeCFS Committee on World Food SecurityCFSAM Crop and Food Security Assessment MissionsCFSVA Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability AssessmentsEFSA Emergency Food Security AssessmentsEMPRES FAO’s Emergency Prevention System for Trans-boundary Animal and

Plant Pests and DiseasesESA FAO’s Agricultural Development Economics DivisionESS FAO’s Statistics Division FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsFSIN Food Security Information NetworkFSMS Food Security Monitoring SystemsIFAD International Fund for Agricultural DevelopmentIFPRI International Food Policy Research InstituteIPC Integrated Food Security Phase ClassificationISFNS Information Systems for Food and Nutrition SecurityISFS Information Systems for Food SecurityMDG Millennium Development GoalNEPAD The New Partnership for Africa’s DevelopmentODXF WFP’s Food Security Analysis ServiceOEK FAO’s Office of Knowledge Exchange, Research and ExtensionTCE FAO’s Emergency DivisionUNDP United Nations Development ProgramUNDAF United Nations Development Assistance FrameworkUNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund USAID/FEWSNET United States Agency for International Development / Famine Early

Warning System NetworkVAM WFP’s Vulnerability Analysis and MappingWFP World Food ProgrammeWHO World Health Organization


Thematic Evaluation of Information Systems for Food Security” (ISFS) of FAO and WFP (2009).1

The evaluation called on both agencies to strengthen their leadership in ISFS; promote ISFS that respond to specific needs of decision makers; promote long-lasting, national multi-stakeholder partnerships; and develop and apply an ISFS communication and advocacy strategy. The evaluation also recommended that WFP and FAO develop a joint strategy with operational plans for complementary and shared ISFS support.

3. This Joint Strategy is directly aligned with WFP’s and FAO’s organizational work and takes advantage of their established leadership roles on the global food security stage at regional and country levels, while also explicitly covering nutrition security objectives. Its aim is to facilitate unified and coordinated as action, supportive and complementary to the efforts of member states and of development partners.

4. The FAO-WFP Joint Strategy on ISFNS has the following characteristics:

It reflects a commitment to the “twin-track” approach to hunger reduction, which aims at strengthening the productivity and incomes of the poor, food insecure and malnourished through medium to long term investment, while also ensuring immediate access to food and creating social safety nets for the food insecure and malnourished (SOFI 2005).

It responds to growing demand for in-depth analysis of structural and emerging factors underlying acute and chronic food insecurity and malnutrition; age and gender disparities in food security status, infringements of the right to food, the food security impact of market volatility and food trade rules, inequitable access to resources and markets, and the effects of sudden-onset events, as well as climate change on household food security.

It supports country and regional processes, has a user-driven orientation, and built-in feedback mechanisms to monitor the demand of clients and decision makers for ISFNS products and services, including capacity development.

Four complementary pillars, each of which articulate the roles of FAO and WFP in addressing challenges for more accurate, timely, and reliable food security and nutrition information at all levels (globally, regionally and nationally), while setting a course for future actions.

In defining roles and activities, the strategy considers the synergies between FAO and WFP and the comparative advantages of each organization relative to one another and to other actors concerned with achieving food and nutrition security for all.

ISFNS Pillars

5. Given the breadth of work carried out by both organizations, member states and development partners, the following four “pillars” of the Joint Strategy represent key domains of FAO and WFP work that complement each other, while also responding to the distinct areas of demand expressed by major interest groups.

Capacity development to support information systems on food and nutrition security of member countries

Standards, methods, and tools for information systems on food and nutrition security

Monitoring and in-country food security and nutrition assessments

1 WFP/FAO. 2009. Joint Thematic Evaluation of FAO and WFP Support to Information Systems for Food Security. Final Report. October 2009. http://www.fao.org/pbe/pbee/common/ecg/371/en/Microsoft_Word_-_ISFS_acl_16.12_vs_reduced_Final.pdf

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http://www.fao.org/pbe/pbee/common/ecg/371/en/Microsoft_Word_-_ISFS_acl_16.12_vs_reduced_Final.pdf



Statistics, information and analysis on food and nutrition security

6. Capacity development to support information systems on food and nutrition security of member countries. This pillar responds to the demand of member countries for support to strengthen their own ISFNS. It builds on the principles of national ownership of ISFNS, demand-driven information and analysis, long-term commitment to ISFNS by partners, and cross-sectoral approaches to ISFNS. It calls for FAO and WFP to support the capacity development of member countries and regions in the generation, analysis, and management of high-quality food security and nutrition data collection, management and analysis methods through a spectrum of activities, including communication and advocacy.

7. WFP and FAO will collaboratively carry out systematic assessments of stakeholder capacity in the collection, analyses, and dissemination of food security and nutrition statistics at country and regional levels. Both organizations will also work with the nascent multi-stakeholder Food Security Information Network (FSIN), which has established in-country capacity development of ISFS as one of its main objectives.

8. FAO and WFP complement each other in several ways under this pillar. Both organizations have longstanding engagements with different government institutions and development partners, including at the regional level. The depth and breadth of institutional linkages and technical presence of both agencies at country level create an advantaged position for responding to capacity development requests. FAO expertise covers a wide array of technical areas and is thus well-suited to take the lead in establishing multi-disciplinary relationships with academic and research institutions, while also being experienced in particular in longer term capacity development efforts. WFP’s proven experience in working with a wide range of implementing partners, in having developed standardised food security assessment methods and analytical products, and in strengthening capacity in support of an efficient response to food emergencies, complements FAO’s short, medium and longer-term efforts in strengthening rural livelihoods. To catalyze investments into capacity development for ISFNS and to help create an enabling environment for reinvigorating regional and national ISFNS, FAO and WFP will bring together their complementary strengths in close consultation with member country counterparts.

9. Monitoring and in-country food security and nutrition assessments. Commitments to enhanced national participation in and ownership of ISFNS assessment processes, improved coordination of joint assessments, and their increased relevance to decision-making are highlighted in this pillar. FAO and WFP will each increase efforts in joint assessments and monitoring, while building on existing comparative advantages (i.e. food security, nutrition and livelihoods-oriented assessments, and global analysis of food and nutrition security across all dimensions for FAO; and short term food access and vulnerability concerns for WFP). Additionally, the organizations will increase efforts to work within existing systems. Emergency food security assessments will be coordinated across technical units of both organizations to avoid duplication and streamline resources. Effective execution of work under this pillar entails clear communication on the types of information to be collected by the two organizations so that elements of each can be woven into one cohesive assessment.

10. Statistics, information and analyses on food and nutrition security: Under this pillar, the Joint Strategy will provide a number of global public goods and services, including: (i) datasets and statistics on food security and nutrition made available in the public domain for use by a wide audience; (ii) integrated and harmonised food security and nutrition analyses through joint publications; and (iii) other means of joint communication and advocacy on issues of concern to food and nutrition security at all levels. An overarching goal is to achieve consistency, coherence, and integration, and to maximize efficiency by avoiding duplication.

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11. The roles of FAO and WFP in global public goods and services for access and use by a range of decision-makers at all levels are exercised in close relationship with one another. Assessments and analysis provided by WFP are commonly oriented to the national and sub-national levels. FAO provides analyses, statistics and methods at national, regional and global levels and acts as a repository of data and statistics in the food and agricultural sectors (land, water, forestry, fisheries, markets and trade, supply/utilization accounts, country food balance sheets) and provides early warning and meta-analyses of food security and nutrition trends across regions or over time. The Joint Strategy commits both organizations to increasing the synthesis of data collection and analyses conducted separately in order to create a timely ‘seamless data stream’ across historical, short-term, and long-term food security and nutrition analyses.

12. Significant advantages in the harmonisation of global public goods and services include more effective analysis of food security trends, cross-country, and cross-regional analyses, and meta-analysis. Due to FAO’s long-standing experience with statistics and analysis on food, agriculture, food security and nutrition, it will play a significant role in the implementation of the Statistics, Information and Analysis pillar, while working more purposefully with WFP staff at country level in generating data and information for food security analysis . FAO and WFP will structure an array of products around three poles of convergence: (i) data and statistics made available in the public domain; (ii) integrated food security and nutrition analysis and publications, and (iii) improved access to these products through user-friendly web pages.

13. Standards, methods and tools for information systems on food and nutrition security. This pillar envisions complementary contributions from FAO, WFP, and other development partners based on their respective areas of expertise, and reinforces existing roles of both FAO and WFP.

14. FAO has a strong comparative advantage in setting standards for food security and nutrition2 indicators, measurements and analysis, and provides a neutral forum for discussion of ISFNS technical and policy issues. The strategy calls for these activities to continue with a more deliberate focus on: (i) research to advance better practice more quickly; (ii) identifying information needs on emerging issues affecting food security and nutrition; (iii) strengthening food access and consumption data; and iv) improved measurement of gender and social inequities. Under this pillar, FAO, in direct collaboration with WFP, will facilitate an ISFNS community of practice and play a pivotal role in the establishment of a global Food Security Information Network (FSIN).

15. WFP’s strengths are present in the organization’s existing role in providing standardized methods and tools for food security assessment and vulnerability analysis at the global, regional, and national levels, while frequently working in direct collaboration with FAO and other partners in this domain. The pillar calls for increased dissemination of proven assessment and analytical approaches, as well as clear guidance on how to use them. The pillar also calls for a deliberate focus on the development, testing, and refinement of new analytical methods, frameworks for response analysis, and decision-making instruments that support the twin-track approach to hunger reduction. WFP will develop and disseminate normative guidance for household-level food security and nutrition assessments and analysis, as well as analysis related to disaster risk reduction and management.

Implementation

16. Implementation Plans for work conducted by WFP, FAO and jointly by FAO and WFP are an integral part of this Joint Strategy. The implementation plans place great emphasis on the

2 In the case of nutrition indicators, WHO and UNICEF are recognized leaders within the UN community, with FAO delivering estimates of undernourishment, while FAO and WFP have both conducted methodological work on the measurement of dietary diversity.

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principle of national ownership, while identifying mechanisms for collaboration, improved communication, and the building of partnerships. The mechanism for collaboration developed in countries and regions will systematically and purposefully include governments in planning and decision-making with respect to all pillars of the Joint Strategy, and in developing country and regional capacity to implement ISFNS. The Joint Strategy will be managed by a senior-level Steering Committee with co-chairs representing WFP and FAO, and be comprised of organizational representatives for each of the four pillars. The Steering Committee shall meet for coordination, planning, and information sharing, and will liaise with global and regional-level bodies concerned with food and nutrition security, including the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) to ensure that both organizations continuously adjust their priorities to current and emerging needs.

17. A detailed interagency communication plan will support the strategy, establishing systems and protocols for horizontal and vertical information sharing. The Joint Strategy will support each agency’s external communication initiatives to create a space for dialogue with users of food and nutrition security information products, and make a concerted effort to share communication about the agencies’ joint work. In terms of partnerships, areas for coordinated action exist within each of the four pillars of the Joint Strategy. Key stakeholders include the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, UNHCR, USAID/FEWSNET, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Save the Children-UK, Oxfam, CARE, World Bank, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the World Resources Institute, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). WFP and FAO will also work in concerted fashion in their respective leadership roles in CFS and the UN clusters on Food Security and Nutrition.

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A. Background

Rationale and Purpose of the Joint FAO-WFP Strategy on ISFNS

18. This document sets out the strategic framework through which the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) seek to reorient investment toward long-term sustainability of Information Systems for Food and Nutrition Security (ISFNS) developed and maintained by national and regional institutions, while also strengthening and harmonizing FAO and WFP’s own capacities in providing high quality information on the global food security and nutrition situation. The Joint Strategy on ISFNS is fully aligned with the individual Corporate Strategies on ISFNS developed by FAO and WFP through close mutual consultation.

19. The ISFNS strategy documents were prompted in part by the findings and recommendations of the Joint Thematic Evaluation of Information Systems for Food Security (ISFS) of FAO and WFP (2009).3

The evaluation called for both agencies to strengthen their leadership in ISFS; promote ISFS that respond to specific needs of decision makers; promote long-lasting, national multi-stakeholder partnerships; and develop and apply an ISFS communication and advocacy strategy. The evaluation also recommended that WFP and FAO develop a joint strategy with operational plans for complementary and shared ISFS support, based on their identified comparative advantages.

20. Specific objectives of the Joint Strategy on ISFNS are to more effectively channel support to member states and the global community, sharpen organizational response to known and emerging threats to food security, renew commitments to provide timely and reliable demand-driven products and services, and improve internal and external communication channels.

21. The Joint Strategy supports the strategic plans and organizational mandates of WFP and FAO, which recognize that ISFNS are essential to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), specifically to eradicate hunger. It provides a roadmap for WFP’s and FAO’s tandem work along four complementary ‘pillars’: capacity development; monitoring and in-country assessments; statistics and analysis for global use; and underlying standards, methods and tools. It also reflects a commitment to the twin-track approach to hunger reduction supported by FAO, WFP and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)4, which seeks to address acute hunger resulting from rapid-onset shocks, as well as chronic hunger.

22. The FAO-WFP Joint Strategy on ISFNS embraces the definition of food security endorsed by the 1996 World Food Summit: “Food security exists when all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” Food must be available in sufficient quantity and quality and it must be accessible to households and individuals, regardless of age, sex and ethnicity. An adequate dietary intake must be properly utilised through the provision of clean water, adequate sanitation and health care to reach a state of nutritional wellbeing where all physiological needs are met. In addition, food access must be stable in the face of sudden shocks or cyclical events. While FAO and WFP focus on food security pathways to good nutrition, the Joint Strategy recognizes the mandates of other UN agencies (UNICEF, WHO) regarding nutrition outcomes, as well as the analytical work of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and will clarify and strengthen partnerships with these agencies to address all aspects of food and nutrition security.

3 WFP/FAO. 2009. Joint Thematic Evaluation of FAO and WFP Support to Information Systems for Food Security. Final Report. October 2009. http://www.fao.org/pbe/pbee/common/ecg/371/en/Microsoft_Word_-_ISFS_acl_16.12_vs_reduced_Final.pdf

4 FAO. 2003. Anti-Hunger Programme: a twin-track approach to hunger reduction: priorities for national and international action. http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/j0563e/j0563e00.htm

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Emerging Food and Nutrition Security Issues

23. According to FAO and WFP, progress toward hunger reduction targets established under the first MDG has been much slower than needed to achieve them5. According to the latest FAO estimate, over 925 million individuals are undernourished worldwide6. Globally, it is increasingly recognized that more in-depth analysis of factors underlying chronic food insecurity and malnutrition is needed. At the same time, natural and man-made crises that impact in particular on the most vulnerable are increasing in frequency and severity. Certain contextual factors influencing food and nutrition security are therefore growing in importance relative to the design of timely, effective food security approaches, responses, instruments, and information systems. The Joint Strategy is in part a response to this need. Emerging issues include7:

Climate Change: Climate change can exacerbate food and nutrition insecurity via a number of mechanisms, e.g. by increasing variability and uncertainty in food production, human and animal disease burdens, and risks to livelihoods and lives from extreme weather events, often resulting in disruptions to rural and urban supply chains and global food markets. The implications for ISFNS include the need to incorporate sensitive variables associated with climate change into food security analysis, and to strengthen early warning systems.

Volatility in Agricultural Commodity Markets: Food prices in most low-income food-deficit countries remain above the pre-crisis level of early 20088 and international food prices continue to increase. Many countries face large food import bills and growing uncertainty about future price developments. This calls for collaborative efforts among a range of stakeholders to enhance the quality, timeliness and reliability of food market outlook information at all levels, and to regularly assess the effects of this volatility on vulnerable populations.

Urban Malnutrition: In the developing world, urban food insecurity and malnutrition are fast-growing problems, particularly for the 1 billion people who live in precarious, under-served informal settlements and slums. Urban populations tend to be more heterogeneous and face different food security and nutrition-related challenges (e.g. a high burden of disease, high transaction/transport costs, reliance on pre-prepared foods) compared to most rural populations. ISFNS must take into account this context and the interactions between rural and urban food insecurity.

Trans-boundary Threats: Food chain emergencies are increasingly due to trans-boundary plant pests (e.g. locusts, wheat rust), animal diseases (e.g., highly pathogenic influenza/H5N1) and food safety threats (e.g., dioxins). These have an impact on human health, food security, livelihoods, and local, national, and global economies.9

Biofuel – Food Trade-off: Energy security issues and climate change concerns have increased the demand for agricultural crops for biofuel production. There is considerable concern that the resulting reallocation of land and resources will increase price volatility of food commodities and compromise the global stockpile of food for consumption.10

Gender Issues: In many developing countries, women have less access than men to assets, resources and services, which negatively impacts agricultural growth, food security and economic development.11 It is imperative that women’s multiple roles in agriculture and development

5 FAO/WFP. 2009. The State of Food Insecurity in the World: Economic Crises – impacts and lessons learned. Rome.6 FAO/WFP. 2010. The State of Food Insecurity in the World: Addressing Food Insecurity in Protracted Crisis. Rome.7 The list is intended to be indicative, rather than exhaustive.8 FAO/WFP.2010. The State of Food Insecurity in the World: Addressing Food Insecurity in Protracted Crises. Rome.9 FAO Director General’s Bulletin. Food Chain Crisis Management Framework (FCC). July 2010.10 FAO/WFP. 2008. The State of Food Insecurity in the World. 2008. High Food Prices and Food Insecurity-threats and opportunities. Rome. 11 FAO/WFP. 20011. The State of Food and Agriculture 2010-2011: Women in Agriculture. Rome.

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processes are taken into account at programme and policy levels to ensure gender equity and food and nutrition security.

Roles of FAO and WFP in Supporting Global ISFNS Work

24. The roles of WFP and FAO in supporting worldwide ISFNS work are based on a collaborative relationship, which this strategy aims to formalize and strengthen. Food security assessments, vulnerability analyses and food security and market monitoring reports on household-level food insecurity and malnutrition provided by WFP are normally carried out at the national and sub-national levels. FAO provides analyses, statistics and methods at national, regional and global levels and acts as a repository of basic data and statistics in the food and agricultural sectors (land, water, forestry, fisheries, livestock, crops, markets and trade), while also producing country-level supply/utilization accounts and food balance sheets. FAO furthermore provides early warning and meta analysis of food security and nutrition trends over time at country, regional and global levels. The Joint Strategy commits both organisations to increasing the synthesis of data collection, management and analysis conducted separately with the objective of creating a ‘seamless data stream’ across historical, short-term, and medium-long term food security and nutrition analysis. Integrating macro- and micro-level data allows both organizations to generate food and nutrition security information products useful to assist regional, national, and sub-national decision makers in responding to chronic and transitory situations. Such products and services are increasingly considered global public goods (e.g. “The State of Food Insecurity in the World," an annual report published jointly by FAO and WFP since 2009).12

25. The ISFNS Joint Strategy places high priority on ensuring complementarity with the policies and practices of key partners. Particularly timely for the development of the Joint Strategy are FAO’s and WFP’s roles in the global architecture that strongly position them to strengthen ISFNS based on demand and on-the-ground needs. FAO and WFP are co-chairs of the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Global Food Security Cluster, as well as fellow members of the Nutrition Cluster. Membership in these clusters facilitates networking and partnership (in particular in the humanitarian context) with member states, UN agencies, and other food security stakeholders, as well as continued collaboration on emergency and longer-term country-level needs assessments, vulnerability analyses, and common food security indicators for interagency assessments.

26. Following recent reforms, FAO, WFP and IFAD now jointly support the Secretariat of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), which aims to be the foremost comprehensive international and intergovernmental platform dealing with food security and nutrition. In the humanitarian context, FAO and WFP participate jointly in the forums of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), are co-leaders the Global Food Security Cluster and participate in the UN Inter-Agency Needs Assessment Task Force. Both agencies are also prepared to assume foreseen leadership roles, together with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), in the proposed ISFS Food Security Information Network (FSIN). The FSIN will serve a key function in the implementation of the Joint Strategy. All three agencies are expected to serve on the FSIN Advisory Board and Technical Working Group. These forums provide a platform to encourage member countries to adopt long-term, sustainable approaches to national and regional ISFNS capacity development and to advocate for long-term donor commitment. Additionally, the forums provide an environment for information exchange related to emerging issues threatening food and nutrition security. The large representation of member countries on these forums is also advantageous for setting standards and encouraging compliance with those standards.

12 WFP/FAO. 2009. Joint Thematic Evaluation of FAO and WFP Support to Information Systems for Food Security. Final Report. October 2009.

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B. Comparative Advantages of FAO and WFP

27. The Joint Strategy aims to maximize FAO’s and WFP’s comparative advantages in implementing the pillars by recognizing their relative strengths in terms of organizational scope, experience, expertise, structure, and positioning, and by defining how to leverage their strengths in a complementary way. In work areas that are in pilot or development stages, the strategy aims to set general criteria or parameters for deciding how each organization will be involved.

FAO’s Comparative Advantages

28. Membership and representation. FAO has a wide scope of national representation based on organizational membership of 191 countries13 and a multi-disciplinary, multi-lingual workforce.

29. Statistics, information, and analysis. FAO has a unique position grounded in its organizational mandate and longstanding experience in the collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of information on nutrition, food and agriculture and their inter-linkages. Key activities include global monitoring (climate, prices, markets, national food security), forecasting and projections, analysis of areas most vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition, and global perspective studies.

30. FAO houses and maintains a large body of historical statistical datasets in these areas. The data are considered neutral, and member countries are encouraged to contribute their own statistics in order to update the databases. The datasets are used by experts worldwide to analyse trends in food and nutrition security. Additional indication of FAO’s capacity in statistics is its being recognized as the custodian of one of the two hunger indicators used to monitor the first MDG.14

31. Experience in a range of contexts. FAO’s work covers the continuum of food security contexts. Traditionally it has focused on long-term development efforts in the food and agriculture sectors, while conducting food security information, early warning and analysis work from a food supply/demand analysis and markets and trade perspective, including analysis of household food security. In the emergency and recovery context, FAO has focused on broad-based food security and livelihoods analysis, specialised emergency assessments for the rural sector and development of the response analysis framework, support to national and regional food security information systems, given its mandate in responding to crises with interventions [FAO pls specify re your mandate. FAO has developed jointly with WHO and other organizations various global early warning systems on transboundary plant pests and diseases, food safety, fisheries and forestry that provide ancillary information to food security analysis.

32. Staff expertise. FAO staff have experience across diverse technical disciplines covering development, emergency and rehabilitation contexts as well as data management, information, analysis and policy.

33. Capacity development. FAO has also played a role in developing government capacity in the use of different methods for the collection, analysis and dissemination of data and statistics on food and nutrition security. FAO has a wide and sustained country presence in development, emergency and rehabilitation programmes.

13 FAO also has one member organization, the European Community, and one associate member, The Faroe Islands.14 The indicator is an estimate of undernourishment based on food balance sheets.

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WFP’s Comparative Advantages

34. In-country Assessments. WFP is a recognized leader in supporting countries to conduct household- and community level food security assessments and baseline surveys, which are increasingly viewed as global public goods. Each year, WFP leads or participates in over 100 food security and nutrition assessments, market studies, vulnerability baseline studies and food security monitoring to inform emergency responses as well as longer-term food assistance programming.

35. Leadership in response. WFP has a long history of effectively providing food assistance and strong operational credibility with donors – especially in terms of logistics capabilities, targeting, and rapid response. This expertise gives WFP a comparative advantage for strengthening government agencies’ capacities in disaster risk reduction; disaster risk management; monitoring systems, and response analysis.

36. Field presence. WFP’s extensive and deep field presence in 73 of the world’s most food-insecure and disaster prone countries, including its national and sub-national focus, allow the Programme to directly implement ISFNS activities, particularly in response to crisis. This enables WFP to identify areas within countries where further advocacy, prioritization, and targeting of investments are needed. Country presence also positions WFP to directly support the data collection, processing and analysis capacities of national counterparts and to contribute technical expertise to national universities aimed at building a future generation of food security expertsThis complements FAO’s primarily HQ’s based technical capacity.

37. Institutional linkages. The depth and breadth of its institutional linkages with many national government ministries (e.g., agriculture, education, health, labour, gender and nutrition) position WFP well to advocate for enhanced food and nutrition security. In particular, at the country level WFP has formed strong partnerships with Disaster Management and Social Welfare Depts.

38. VAM technical expertise. WFP’s network of dedicated VAM officers - the largest of its kind in the world - is well-placed to provide operational and normative leadership on the collection and analysis of food and nutrition security information in emergencies, and on the generation of real-time information products. Extensive experience in designing and conducting household and community food security surveys, quantitative and qualitative analysis, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis have built WFP’s expertise in livelihoods and all aspects of household food security: availability, access, utilization, and stability. WFP’s record of providing “on-the-job” and face-to-face classroom training of partners, combined with the assessment guidance and skills development courses produced for implementing EFSAs, CFSVAs, FSMS and market analyses, represent an important asset for national capacity development. WFP’s large network of analysts operating in different geographical and crisis contexts places the organization in a strong position to pilot new methods, instruments and tools.

39. Nutrition security. WFP’s VAM unit has an advantage in the analysis of food-related causes of malnutrition in emergencies.. VAM’s focus on household and community food security analysis provides an opportunity to better link macro-level developments (production, imports, policies, macro-economic framework, etc.) and nutrition outcomes at the individual level.

40. WFP has made a recent commitment to increase the nutritional impact of all its programs.15 This will provide impetus for strengthened causal analysis to better understand the links between food security, health and nutrition. The focus on nutrition will also support global and country-level advocacy and promote policies for proven food components of nutrition interventions.

15 WFP. 2010. Nutrition Improvement Approach. Rome.

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41. Technology. WFP uses mobile technology (PDAs and mobile phones) for data collection and transmission in EFSA, CFSVA and FSMS activities. The use of integrated GPS ensures exact geo-referencing of the collected data for spatial analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Together with remote sensing data, the food security dataset is used to provide advance analysis of the impact of natural disasters on vulnerability and to produce a first-order estimate of drought affected populations for financial planning and risk management. A recent corporate initiative calls for real-time online mapping and reporting of food security data and alerts, leading to better data transmission standards and automated data analysis. The use of technology places WFP in a distinctive position for rapid, efficient data collection and real-time information exchanges for use in decision-making processes.

C. Vision Statement and Guiding Principles

FAO-WFP Joint ISFNS StrategyVision Statement

FAO and WFP will work together to promote informed food and nutrition security decisions by strengthening national and regional capacity to undertake comprehensive, credible, relevant and timely assessments and analysis and being a global reference for

food and nutrition security standards, statistics and information.

42. The Joint Strategy aims to strengthen worldwide statistics, information and knowledge to inform decisions and action that will result in reduced levels of poverty, hunger and malnutrition in line with the World Food Summit and Millennium Development Goals. In this regard, it establishes ISFNS as a cornerstone of FAO’s and WFP’s overall organisational goals:

A reduction of the absolute number of people suffering from hunger, progressively ensuring a world in which all people at all times have sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life;

The elimination of poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all, with increased food production, enhanced rural development and sustainable livelihoods;

Sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, including land, water, air, climate and genetic resources, for the benefit of present and future generations.16

Responding to and preventing acute hunger and malnutrition in post-disaster, post-conflict, or transition situations by saving lives, protecting and rebuilding livelihoods; and investing in disaster preparedness and mitigation measures.

16 FAO. 2008. Report of the conference committee on follow-up to the independent evaluation of FAO (CoC-IEE) immediate plan of action. Thirty-fifth (Special) Session. 18-22 November 2008. Rome.

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43. Guiding principles that complement the framework and support effective implementation of the strategy are shown below. The same principles apply to the separate FAO and WFP Corporate Strategies.

Guiding Principles for the FAO-WFP Joint ISFNS StrategyThe Joint Strategy:1) Is aligned with the MDGs, the Paris Declaration and the work of the reformed Committee on

World Food Security;2) Takes into account all relevant dimensions of food and nutrition security; 3) Covers the spectrum of development, emergency and recovery, acknowledging their inter-

linkages;4) Addresses emerging issues that threaten food and nutrition security; 5) Ensures systematic consideration of gender dimensions;6) Ensures that products and services are responsive to demand in an adequate and timely

manner;7) Promotes sustainability through national ownership; 8) Applies and develops innovative methods and tools, drawing on modern information

technology; and9) Fosters inter-agency collaboration and partnerships at global, regional, national and local levels.

44. Additionally the Joint Strategy is guided by principles of cooperation relative to ISFNS:

WFP and FAO agree on their areas of leadership and expertise relative to each other and on their roles and responsibilities in implementing each pillar, ie (TBD). WFP and FAO agree to expand collaboration on joint products. The Joint Strategy builds on WFP’s and FAO’s comparative advantages, while also strengthening synergies between the two organizations.

WFP and FAO will expand their relationship with other food security actors to support national and regional institutions through the FSIN.

WFP and FAO agree on the roles and responsibilities defined for each organization with respect to each pillar.

Information products, tools, and assessments will have a ‘public good’ orientation to the extent practical.

WFP and FAO will work cooperatively to improve the accessibility of information to internal and external users, such as through a food and nutrition security joint Internet portal.

WFP and FAO will promote and facilitate national ownership of all aspects of ISFNS.

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D. Joint Strategy Framework for Information Systems for Food and Nutrition Security

45. FAO and WFP have adopted the ISFNS framework (Figure 1) to guide the enhancement of food and nutrition security information products and services. The conceptual framework provides detail on the specific outcomes, actors, and functions supported by the Joint Strategy. It is expected that the ISFNS strategy will contribute to the achievement of the following outcomes: 17

high-quality food security and nutrition data, information, and analysis are used for monitoring progress toward international and national development goals, policy formulation, and decision-making related to the full range of food and nutrition security programming;

timely and reliable food and nutrition security information is used in disaster risk reduction and management, programming and planning; and

well-designed and better-targeted programmes to improve food and nutrition security.

Figure 1: FAO-WFP Joint Strategy Framework for ISFNS

Two-

way

com

mun

icat

ion

(bet

wee

n us

ers

and

prod

ucer

s of

FS

info

rmat

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High level goals:

(Impact)

Reduce number of hungry and progressive realization of food and nutrition security Poverty elimination and socio-economic progress Sustainable management and utilization of natural resources

High quality data/statistics & info on F/N security is used for trend analysis and projections

Timely and reliable F/N security information is used in disaster risk management Well-designed and better-targeted programmes and policies for F/N security

Expected Outcomes

Member states (including countries and Regional Economic Organizations) Partners in development and emergency management: UN and donor agencies &

institutions, investment banks, international NGOs Civil society/NGOs and private sector (including farmers, traders, consumers) Academic and research institutions

Key actors (demand for/ users of

FS info products & services)

Capacity development in F/N security data collection and information analysis methods

In-country assessments to address food insecurity and malnutrition Standards, methods, and tools Statistical analysis on food and nutrition security (global public goods)

Key Strategic Pillars

(FAO and WFP’s mandate in ISFNS –

what & how?)

Situation analysis; context & baseline analyses, vulnerability and resilience analysis Food and nutrition security monitoring Early warning, emergency preparedness planning & mitigation Emergency response analysis, needs assessments, rehabilitation Policy and programme formulation, implementation, evaluation Advocacy, prioritization and targeting of investments

Functions of ISFNS

(why info needed?) (purpose)

Persistent high levels of chronic hunger and malnutrition Lack of investment to address chronic and acute food insecurity and malnutrition in

a sustainable manner Increasing occurrence of natural and man-made disasters

Underlying Food & Nutrition

Security Concerns

Figure 1: Joint Strategy ISFNS Framework

17 FAO 2010. Synthesis/Summary Document. Conceptual and Analytical Framework Work Stream.

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E. ISFNS Pillars

46. The FAO -WFP Joint ISFNS Strategy is built on four inter-related pillars that support improved utilization of food and nutrition security information products and services. The activities and products described under each pillar interact to support the strategy’s main objectives. The four pillars are:

Capacity development to support information systems on food and nutrition security of member countries

Monitoring and In-country food security and nutrition assessments

Statistics, information and analysis on food security and nutrition

Standards, methods, and tools for information systems on food and nutrition security

Capacity development to support information systems on in food and nutrition security of member countries

Vision: Countries have the capacity to undertake comprehensive, relevant, comparable, timely and reliable food security analysis, including capacity in the collection, management and analysis of data and statistics for improved decision-making in food and nutrition security.

47. The Joint Strategy promotes national ownership of ISFNS and long-term commitment to their maintenance. The support provided under this pillar focuses on the development of national and regional ISFNS that can be integrated into national and regional policy frameworks. A spectrum of capacity development activities and approaches is necessary to create a sustainable critical mass of expertise within local institutions and institutional networks.18 A balance will be sought between activities to support decision making for humanitarian response and for longer-term development.

48. Critical to the prioritization of ISFNS capacity development efforts are systematic assessments of stakeholder capacities and constraints in the collection, analysis, and dissemination of food and nutrition statistics at the country level. Assessments must take into account the dual role played by targeted participants as users of food and nutrition security information and as producers of information that contributes to regional and global ISFNS. WFP and FAO will work collaboratively to assess capacity development needs based on both expressed and latent demand. The international community’s needs for information could also be used as a means to help increase demand for stronger and more sustainable national information systems, and hence for corresponding capacity development. The assessment exercise may classify or stratify countries by common needs, as a means to prioritize and organize capacity development efforts.

49. While strengthening basic statistics and food security analysis skills are main areas of focus, the full technical and functional skill sets for implementing ISFNS will be considered for capacity development areas. This includes technical capacities in implementing surveys, emergency food and nutrition security assessments, inter-agency assessments; quantitative analysis; market analysis; vulnerability analysis; response analysis; database management; and the use of new technologies. It also includes skills in writing, presentation, facilitation, coordination, communication, and consensus building for policy formation.

18 EC/FAO. 2009. EC/FAO Joint Evaluation of Food Security Information for Action Programme. Volume I. Final Independent Evaluation Report. Prepared for the European Commission, EuropeAid Co-operation Office, and FAO. April 2009.

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50. Capacity development activities shall be designed to build effective ISFNS institutions at regional and country levels, resulting in linkages between food security information and analysis on the one hand and local decision making and policy development on the other.19 Activities shall address government structures such as by working through government institutions that collect statistics, and linking WFP and FAO surveys and assessments to national systems to increase compatibility and comparability of information. Capacity development activities should be long-term (rather than project based), allowing for a developmental learning process and an incremental transfer of accountabilities.

51. The implementation plan for this pillar must employ a country-specific approach based on identified demand and on country/regional context. In particular, options need to be identified on how to effectively build capacity in difficult circumstances such as in emergency contexts, with fragile or weak governments, or in situations where there is no government buy-in to the process.

52. Carrying out capacity development activities requires that FAO and WFP set up a management structure to plan and coordinate activities, in the interest of jointly assisting governments in a seamless way. This will be done with other partners through the FSIN, which will clarify to governments which agencies can best meet their needsCapacity development programs will draw on the complementary strengths of each agency. While both agencies will contribute to some degree to all capacity development efforts, WFP will focus on rapid assessment and emergency response, vulnerability assessment and monitoring, household livelihood assessment, cross-border trade as it relates to food, and local market and price analysis. FAO will focus on agricultural statistics, global price monitoring, cross-border data on pests, pathogens, and livestock, and remote sensing. FAO and WFP will work closely to integrate their efforts in certain areas, such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). They will also synergize efforts to strengthen the capacity of national stakeholders to apply technology such as Personal Digital Assistants, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and mobile phone technology to food and nutrition security issues.

53. The management structure must also address how to handle capacity development at the regional level, and consider the long-term commitment this requires. Both WFP and FAO are well placed to address regional needs given the depth and breadth of WFP’s institutional linkages and FAO’s long-term and current engagement with government ministries. Some regional bodies are more prepared to directly strengthen capacities within their member countries, while in other regions technical experts will be needed to provide direct technical assistance to country-level stakeholders.

54. Partnership with local academic and research institutions are important elements of the Joint Strategy. In line with the proposed Food Security Information Network (FSIN), this pillar posits the creation of regional Centres of Excellence within selected universities and research institutes to provide training and technical support on specific thematic issues, both to fulfil current needs and to prepare a future generation of food security experts. FAO is well-suited to establish multi-disciplinary relationships with academic and research institutions given its holistic array of technical expertise (e.g., agriculture, nutrition, trade and markets, statistics, natural resources, fisheries, forestry, and information technology); WFP will complement FAO’s efforts by providing methods and tools to guide utilization and analysis of ISFNS products.

55. Activities under this pillar go beyond the provision of technical support to advocacy for continued and sustained assistance to ISFNS. To catalyze investment flows into capacity development and to help create an enabling environment for regional and national ISFNS, FAO and WFP will undertake policy dialogue with member country counterparts. FAO brings strength to advocacy

19 Stacy, Roy A. 2010. Issues and Options Associated with a Coordinated International Approach to ISFNS Institution Building. DRAFT.

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via its long-term in-country engagement, and through fora and technical committees which convene regularly. These relationships and fora provide a platform for member countries to discuss sustainable approaches to ISFNS capacity development and to advocate for long-term donor commitment. Similarly, the magnitude and diversity of WFP’s national and sub-national networks, and WFP’s operational credibility with donors, give WFP unique status for engaging with multi-level stakeholders to support continued ISFNS assistance.

56. Planning for external capacity development requires a review of internal capacity, and a plan for addressing these needs as well. The implementation plan for this pillar should thus define the resources for specific capacity areas, and how gaps will be filled - including internal resources and partners, and looking also to increasing “south-to-south” cooperation as a strategy to improve country and regional capacity.

Standards, methods and tools for information systems on food and nutrition security

Vision: Common standards exist for measuring, through an agreed set of indicators, the number and location of people who are food insecure, with FAO and WFP taking joint leadership in organizing a stakeholders group to set standards in food security analysis.

57. This pillar reflects FAO and WFP’s commitment to provide normative guidance in the form of standards, methods, and tools for food security and nutrition data collection, analysis and use at global, regional, and national levels. It represents the organizations’ shared intentions to increase dissemination of proven assessment and analytical products that address food and nutrition security, provide guidance regarding utilization and analysis, and continue to develop and refine ISFNS standards, methods, and tools.

58. The work under this pillar is characterized by the neutrality of the forum, relevance and importance of topics discussed, consideration of gender and emerging issues, and an emphasis on collection and sharing of better practices. The spectrum of activities includes:

providing a neutral forum for discussion of food and nutrition security technical and policy issues (indicators, standards, methods);

setting standards for statistics and indicators (agreement on definition, units, commodity groups, appropriate uses of data, data quality issues);

normative guidance on data collection and analysis (indicators, tools, methods); and mechanisms for identifying better practices in food and nutrition security assessments

59. FAO’s and WFP’s areas of work on food security standards, methods and tools complement each other in that FAO has a comparative strength in longer terms analyses and related methods and tools , while WFP has an advantage in assessing food access and needs in emergencies, as well as assessment for programming purposes. WFP also has a stronger presence at the country level. Examples of current collaborative work under this pillar include the CFSAM and IPC guidelines.

60. WFP will focus on guidance on the Food Consumption Score and Coping Strategies Index. It will continue to apply defined standards in emergency assessment (e.g., those reflected in the EFSA), as well as to develop, test and refine new analytical methods and frameworks for response analysis, as well as decision-making instruments and tools that support the “twin-track” approach. WFP will also provide guidelines for methods of analysis.

61. This pillar includes a shift to a more demand-driven approach to normative work, which should encourage donor investment in products collaboratively identified as the most useful and

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appropriate. Normative work will respond to country and regional information needs related to emerging issues affecting food security and nutrition, as well as research demands identified by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

62. A central component of this pillar is the establishment of a global ISFNS network for discussing and reaching consensus on indicators, methods and tools, which shall be established with the proposed ISFS Development Network. This effort will involve close collaboration with FAO, WFP, IFPRI and other partners based on respective areas of expertise. The decision-making process of the network will be legitimized by the consensus of its members. The network will also take the lead in improving coordination of normative activities among global players by facilitating a community of practice in ISFNS work.

63. Priority areas for the network include standards, tools and methods for in-country analysis by governments, and also for nutrition in particular. The former will require interaction with the Capacity Development pillar as norms are developed; the latter calls for partnership with UNICEF and other agencies with relevant expertise. Areas for particular focus in nutrition include factors affecting utilization such as water, sanitation, health, food safety, firewood, and cooking methods. Additional attention is needed on food consumption indicators (e.g. harmonizing and standardizing food consumption score and dietary diversity index) and how this information can better inform WFP and FAO response.

64. Additional work under this pillar includes production of joint guidelines for EFSAs, with the purpose of ensuring information capture pursuant to the different needs of WFP and FAO while avoiding duplication of effort. Other opportunities for innovative and collaborative normative work include preparation of a catalogue of terms; standards, methods and tools for response analysis; and guidelines on: nutrition surveillance, urban food security indicators, climate change monitoring, food security monitoring systems, gender, markets, and disaster risk reduction and management.

65. FAO and WFP will continue current collaborative work on methods and guidance for joint assessments such as Crop and Food Security Assessment Missions (CFSAMs), response analysis, and the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)

66. FAO in collaboration with WFP will further consolidate and improve methods and tools for hunger statistics. This will include such efforts as the revision and updating of standards and methods for the measurement of national food availability for the Food Balance Sheets; improvement of the methods and standards to measure food deprivation/hunger using household acquisition and household surveys and revision of the FAO methodology for the measurement of country-level food deprivation.

67. The agencies joint work on normative guidance is closely linked to the Capacity Development pillar. The agencies will share leadership in this area, each specializing in guidelines for methods of data collection and analysis that correspond to its respective strengths. WFP will develop normative guidance for household-level emergency assessment and analysis, as well as analysis related to disaster risk reduction and management. FAO will complement these efforts by providing standard methods and tools for data collection and analysis relevant to food security monitoring (e.g., agricultural production and commodity prices).

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Monitoring and In-country food security and nutrition assessments

Vision: Assessments to inform food and nutrition security policies and programs are credible, relevant, reliable, timely and transparent, and support monitoring and evaluation of responses to food insecurity.

68. WFP and FAO have well-respected reputations among member states and institutional partners for conducting reliable and politically neutral assessments of food security at the regional and national levels. Unbiased and transparent contributions to ISFNS rely on continued engagement in joint assessments and analysis with member states, UN agencies, and INGOs. Achieving the vision of assessment defined in this pillar will require a variety of coordinated and interlinked actions.

69. WFP’s and FAO’s main collaborative assessments are the Crop and Food Security Assessment Missions (CFSAM), although many of assessments led by WFP include FAO when it is present in the country. The organizations also participate in interagency assessments such as OCHA-coordinated multi-sectoral Needs Assessments, Post Disaster Needs Assessments, Post Conflict Needs Assessments, Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis exercises (EMMAs) and the multi-stakeholder Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) exercises. Nearly all assessments undertaken by WFP or FAO are done with partners, including government counterparts. WFP’s focus in on regular household- and community level emergency and vulnerability baseline assessments including CFSVA, Emergency Food Security Assessments (EFSA), Food Security Monitoring Systems (FSMS), market assessments and Joint Assessment Missions (JAM – with UNHCR). For FAO, these include GIEWS monitoring, livelihoods assessment, fisheries and trans-boundary disease assessments, and sector assessments or appraisals for programming purposes.

70. A fundamental commitment under this pillar is to ensure that assessment and monitoring activties undertaken separately play to each organization’s comparative advantages, are coordinated such as to avoid overlap and duplication. Areas of overlap that must be streamlined are assessments undertaken by FAO emergency operations and the WFP Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (VAM) network, particularly livelihood assessments and monitoring. Where feasible, this will involve joint design of assessments to maximize complementarity. FAO will thus increase its efforts in areas where it has a comparative advantage such as longer-term development, (?) crop monitoring. For WFP this includes analysis to augment macro-level assessment, such as trend analysis related to markets, livelihoods, and food and nutrition security at the household and community levels.

71. Effective execution of this Pillar entails clear communication on planned assessments and monitoring missions. Information to be collected by the two organizations can be woven into one cohesive assessment and/or monitoring system (for example, FAO’s agricultural data and WFP’s data on household nutrition and food access). : There must be early consultation on emerging issues in order to delineate individual versus shared engagement.

72. Additional bases for streamlining, consolidating, and improving coordination of activities under this pillar are cost effectiveness, and the needs and response requirements of stakeholders20 - especially in regard to the relevance of assessments to decision-making for programming and policy formulation.

73. Other ways that the two agencies’ work will seek to improve complementarity are by creating better linkages between emergency and development assessments (linking social protection and livelihood), and by linking emergency assessments to baselines and monitoring activities.

20 Examples already exist such as UNHCR/WFP Joint Assessment Missions, UNICEF/WFP Nutrition Surveys, FAO/WFP Crop Food Security Assessment Mission and the IPC.

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74. Work under the Assessment pillar will be harmonized with the work of the Standards and Methods pillar in order to promote the incorporation of standardised, robust indicators of household food consumption, dietary diversity, and nutritional status into assessment instruments. Development of consultative processes and tools for achieving consensus on appropriate response options to food security and nutrition will span this pillar and the Standards and Methods pillar.

75. Improved coordination of joint assessments is another focus area under this pillar. The Joint Strategy will seek to improve inter-agency communication when WFP and FAO have different entry points within the government, e.g., WFP may work with the government disaster response agency, while FAO works with the Ministry of Agriculture or Statistics. The Joint Strategy commits WFP and FAO to timely information sharing regarding each organization’s plans and interactions with government partners regarding assessments.

76. Another aspect of the assessment function under the Joint Strategy is the organization of assessments by geographic and functional levels. Focusing on geographic distinctions enables better coordination through regional and national offices, promotes national ownership of assessment processes, and facilitates demand-driven choices about assessment tools and methods. A review of and focus on the functional aspect of each assessment (baseline, impact, early warning, emergency, etc.) will help to harmonise the current set of assessments and consolidate responsibility between organizations.

77. The enhancement of national capacity, participation and ownership is another important component of the Assessments pillar. This will require coordination with the Capacity Development pillar to continue strengthening the abilities of national and sub-national government partners to undertake assessments. It also entails working within and building on existing national structures and mechanisms. For example, WFP may work directly with government bureaus of statistics to integrate the food consumption score or other measures of diet diversity in government-led Living Standards Measurement Surveys. At the same time, it must be recognized that government ownership may not be ideal for all situations: there is much value in external assessments done by WFP and FAO because of their impartiality. Hence the nature of government’s role in different assessments must be determined in each case. An additional question to consider when working toward national ownership is how to proceed in cases of weak government or poor governance; again, this must be evaluated in each specific context.

78. Clear and timely dissemination of assessment products and recommendations to decision makers, and their presentation as public goods, are further essential elements of this pillar. This calls for rigorous integration of work under the Assessment pillar with undertakings outlined in the Statistics and Analysis pillar.

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Statistics, information and analysis on food security and nutrition

Vision: FAO and WFP are the global references for comprehensive, relevant, comparable, timely and reliable statistics and analysis on food security and nutrition.

79. Accurate statistics are essential for evidence-based monitoring and analysis of factors that threaten food and nutrition security. Under this pillar the Joint Strategy commits to providing a collection of global public goods: regional, national, and sub-national statistics and analysis on food and nutrition security for use in country-led ISFNS. Close coordination of this pillar with the other three is essential given the central roleof capacity development, assessments, and standards to accurate data and analyses.

80. Collectively, FAO and WFP generate a wide spectrum of statistics and analyses related to food and nutrition security. Joint efforts include the State of Food Insecurity Report (SOFI), Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA) studies,), Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), Food Security Monitoring Systems (FSMS), and Emergency Food Security Assessments (EFSA).). In addition, most country-level activities are undertaken jointly along a spectrumof collaboration. On an individual basis, FAO provides statistical databases and analyses on agricultural production and commodity markets, global perspective studies, short-term forecasts and medium-term projections on food supply and demand, early warning analyses, food balance sheets and nutrition surveys, basic domestic food price information and international reference publications. WFP presents findings through market analyses, price impact analyses, disaster risk analyses, and risk profiles of geographic areas and vulnerable groups, among others. WFP also commits to food security analyses that are operationally driven: analyses will meet the analytical requirements such as for Purchase for Progress (P4P), cash and voucher transfer programs, monitoring and evaluation, school feeding, procurement, etc.

81. The roles of FAO and WFP in global public goods for use in ISFNS are complementary and interdependent. Complementarity derives from the agencies’ different orientations: WFP’s statistics and analysis are oriented to the national and sub-national levels, while FAO acts as a repository of macro-level statistics and provides meta-analyses of food and nutrition security trends across regions or over time. For example, WFP’s Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analyses (CSFVAs) provide tables on food security indicators in approximately ten countries/areas; WFP is incorporating all CFSVAs dating back to 2006 into FAOSTAT. WFP uses FAOSTAT as well as FAO’s remote sensing and agro-meteorological products. The FAO Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) database uses sub-national market price statistics provided by WFP.

82. Achieving the vision of the Statistics and Analysis pillar entails commitments by both organizations that will ultimately increase the value-added of food and nutrition information products for both short- and long-term programming. First, is to harmonise global public goods in order to achieve consistency, coherence, and integration, and minimize data duplication. This requires completing the exercise of identifying joint, complementary and future products for both agencies, and determining what information is relevant (to be maintained) versus unneeded (to be discontinued), and where gaps exist. The organizations should define a minimum set of analytical products and decide, going forward, which should be produced by FAO, which by WFP and which jointly. The exercise also requires placing current and future products in the context of other producers of similar statistics and analysis (e.g., USGS, IFPRI, ERS, JRC, etc.), and coordinating with those sources. Further steps in harmonising global public goods are reaching agreement on 20-30 indicators to form the basis for a common database for use by both agencies, and formalizing standard definitions of the indicators and the data

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collection methods for each. This exercise and related decision making links closely with the Standards, Methods and Tools pillar.

83. Second, is to increase the synthesis of data collection and analyses conducted separately in order to create a “seamless data stream” of food security analyses across historical, short-term, and long-term timeframes.

84. Third, WFP and FAO must ensure that their ISFNS products contribute to a strategic, coherent set of global public goods that meets user needs in both humanitarian and development contexts. There must be regular dialogue with users to better understand information needs, ensure awareness of the availability and value of food and nutrition security statistics and analyses, and understand in-country competence in and utilization of the products generated. These objectives will be served by improving access of government and partner agencies to global public goods as both a source and a user of information; the public good element also implies that national data must exist and be shared, unless there is a gap in country capacities (invoking a link to the Capacity Development pillar). Client surveys and other feedback mechanisms may help to ensure that products are consistent with changing needs and integrated into a harmonised system.

85. Fourth, the agencies must increase the timely dissemination of information products.

86. Finally, WFP and FAO must develop a resourcing strategy for producing statistics and food security and nutrition analysis products. For example, they may use the UN Food Security Cluster and the EC Food Security Thematic Programme to “demand” food and nutrition security products.

87. The collective actions under this pillar advance the vision of strengthening FAO and WFP as global sources of food and nutrition security information and analysis. One of the principles for leading the way in global ISFNS is to become a clearinghouse for food and nutrition security statistics, information and analytical products. To this end, additional future activities include creating a joint FNS portal where these products are made available. The joint nature of a future food and nutrition security platform would also serve as a check and balance on the accuracy and transparency of the statistics and analytical products presented.

88. FAO will play a significant role in the implementation of the Statistics, Information and Analysis pillar. FAO already houses, maintains and updates a large body of historical statistical datasets related to agriculture, food security and nutrition, and these data are considered neutral. The databases are updated using statistics contributed by member countries. FAO will structure the final array of global products around three areas of convergence: i) data and statistics; ii) food security monitoring, analysis, and early warning; and iii) policy analysis and perspective studies. Information products created by WFP and jointly will feed into this inventory.

F. Considerations for ImplementationNational Ownership

89. The country and regional levels are the locus of collaboration for the Joint Strategy: this is where the linkage needs to work in operational terms – not only between FAO and WFP, but with regional and national-level partner institutions. The priorities, needs and capacities of national governments and regional inter-governmental institutions define the key areas where FAO and WFP must work together. The mechanism for collaboration developed in countries and regions must therefore systematically and purposefully include governments and local development partners in planning and decision making with respect to all pillars of the Joint Strategy, and in developing country and regional capacity to implement ISFNS.

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Mechanisms for Collaboration

90. The Joint Strategy will be managed by a Steering Committee with two chairs, one representing WFP and another representing FAO, as designated by the organizations. It is recommended that these are the Director of Programmes in WFP (supervising WFP’s Food Security Analysis Service) and the Assistant Director General of FAO’s Economic and Social Development Department (ES) as the chair of FAO’s internal Steering Committee on ISFNS (or a Director designated by the ADG to act on his behalf). Each chair will ensure that one technical staff member from his or her organization will represent each of the four pillars, thus creating a 10-member committee. Chairmanship shall become an integral part of the respective position’s scope of work; the individuals who assume chairmanship shall remain in this role until they leave the position. In contrast, the term of each pillar representative shall be two years, after which staff will be rotated out. Protocol may be introduced to enable staggering the rotation in order to preserve continuity of committee members and initiatives.

91. The Steering Committee shall meet once quarterly for coordination, planning and information-sharing. The chairs may call additional meetings if necessary, and create ad hoc working groups. Pillar representatives for each agency are to be considered the liaisons for work in their pillars in their respective agencies and maintain regular contact outside the quarterly meetings.

92. The Steering Committee shall liaise with global bodies concerned with food and nutrition security initiatives, particularly the CFS, which could provide further guidance on joint FAO-WFP ISFNS activities.

93. The Steering Committee’s primary task in the initial period is to define how the Joint Strategy will be operationalised at regional and country levels, identifying priority activities for the first stage of implementation and how partners will be involved.

Partnerships

94. Effective partnerships are key to meeting the long-standing demand for effective ISFNS services at the national and regional levels, as well as to attracting donors.21 As co-chairs of the UN-IASC Food Security Cluster and members of the Nutrition Cluster, as core members of the CFS, and as agencies whose food and nutrition security information products and assessments are substantially interdependent, it is incumbent upon WFP and FAO to work synergistically with each other and with fellow actors in food and nutrition security at all levels.

95. The FSIN shall serve as the main vehicle through which partnerships will be built. Recommended partners for the Joint Strategy include, but are not limited to, UNHCR, USAID/FEWSNET, USDA, Save the Children-UK, Oxfam, CARE, World Bank, UNDP, IFAD, IFPRI, World Resources Institute, and institutions with remote sensing capabilities such as the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission and the United States Geological Survey. In terms of coordination with fellow UN agencies, the Joint Strategy will follow the UN “Delivering as One” approach.

96. Areas for coordinated action by partners exist within each of the four pillars of the Joint Strategy. FAO and WFP will work jointly with governments to identify capacity development needs at regional and national levels, and to engage partners at the local level to ensure relevance and strengthen sustainability. The implementation plan for the Joint Strategy will clarify the roles of

21 FAO. 2010a. ES Department Strategy on Information Systems for Food Security (ISFS) and other Relevant Inter-Divisional Work. Period. A Concept Note. February 2010.

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ongoing interagency work on humanitarian needs assessments 22 and primarily with UNICEF but also with WHO on nutrition and WASH activities. It will also clarify how to best work with UNICEF on incorporating nutrition into assessments, taking into account UNICEF’s focus on individual nutrition and use of anthropometric measurements, versus WFP’s focus on household and community food security analysis.. The implementation plan should also spell out how to deal with nutrition as it cross-cuts the UN clusters on WASH, Nutrition and Food Security. FAO and WFP will work through CFS to advance the joint pillar on standards. Finally, in terms of statistics, the two organizations will work closely with governments to ensure high quality, relevant statistics that feed into each other’s food and nutrition security products.

Funding

97. The Steering Committee must develop a mechanism for seeking joint funding of the strategy. The funding strategy must take into account donor constraints and possible fatigue as well as donor interest in providing seed money for other initiatives, e.g., cash and vouchers. FAO and WFP are already engaged in various jointly-funded activities that serve as useful models for such collaboration such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), crop and food security assessment missions, and response analysis.

G. Communication and Advocacy

98. Communication among stakeholders, partners and donors is critical for reinforcing institutional buy-in, transparency, and progress in the development of global ISFNS.23 It is also important to carry out ISFNS communications in accordance with humanitarian and development principles including neutrality, impartiality, and transparency.24 To operationalise these principles, the Joint Strategy needs protocols and tools for both interagency and external communications within and across global, regional and national levels.

99. In regard to interagency communication, a detailed communication plan will support the Joint Strategy, establishing systems and protocols for horizontal and vertical information sharing on the work under each pillar. This may involve the initiative and oversight of the Joint Strategy Steering Committee members responsible for each pillar at their respective agencies. Internet-based solutions may be implemented in order to improve communication around shared tasks and functions.

100. The communication strategy for ISFNS is based on WFP’s25 and FAO’s26 corporate Communication Strategies, which define how the agency communicate their mission, work, and results in alleviating global hunger, and how they tailor messaging and activities to respond to a variety of situations. It reflects a commitment to accountability to beneficiaries, host governments, and donors. All ISFNS communications will be carried out in accordance with humanitarian principles including neutrality, impartiality, and transparency.27

22 such as with OCHA and UNDP on Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessments23 FAO. 2009. Global IPC Partnership Final Evaluation. Integrated Food Security Phase Classification: Technical and institutional support for the development of a global multi-agency approach to food security classification.24 Humanitarian Principles. 2004. (WFP/EB.A/2004/5-C); Note on Humanitarian Access and its Implications for WFP (WFP/EB.1/2006/5-B)25 WFP Communications Strategy. 2008. (WFP/EB.A/2008/5-B)26 REFERENCE NEEDED27 Humanitarian Principles. 2004. (WFP/EB.A/2004/5-C); Note on Humanitarian Access and its Implications for WFP (WFP/EB.1/2006/5-B)

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101. Communication of findings and recommendations is a critical element in an effective information system. Thus, the continued enhancement of ISFNS hinges on strengthening FAO’s, WFP’s and partners’ communication capacities. To be effective for decision-making, FNS information must be relevant, of high quality, and made available to stakeholders in the most user-friendly way: it must be timely, readable, and easily accessible. Communication objectives link closely with the statistics and analysis pillar, and with partnerships and fundraising.

102. Investment in information accessibility is paramount for WFP and FAO to respond to a broad variety of decision-making processes, each with its own scope and timeline. Thus, in line with principles outlined in the two agencies Communication Strategies, WFP and FAO commit to identifying channels and tailoring messages to best meet the needs of key local and international stakeholders by basing them on their interests, priorities, and capacity to use different FNS information products. For example, WFP and FAO may collaborate on a shared Internet-based platform that would serve as a ‘one-stop shop’ for the organizations’ collective menu of food and nutrition products and services; this platform would be a venue for the dissemination of statistics, analysis, and normative guidance.

103. To strengthen communication mechanisms for external users and provide a venue for the dissemination of statistics, analysis, and normative guidance, in cooperation with government and interagency partners, WFP will focus efforts on the development of internet-based information sharing solutions at global, regional and national levels. WFP will publish its collective output of FNS information products online to support their use as global public goods and to make them available to as large an audience as possible.

104. The information function is not merely about reporting, but about face-to-face interaction such as bilateral, informal contacts with technical counterparts throughout the analytical process, before presentation of results to decision makers. Therefore, both internal and external communication practices will involve ongoing, dynamic interaction.

105. To ensure the delivery of timely, reliable, evidence-based food security information, WFP will institute a phased communication approach: protocols will be developed for releasing key information at an early stage, before the finalization of full technical reports. This includes creating a systematic method for creating and disseminating Executive Briefs and coordinating them with other communication actions.

106. Turning to internal functions of communications, the development and implementation of the ISFNS strategy contributes to strengthened communication between field staff including country directors, programme managers, VAM representatives, nutrition specialists, M&E and finance staff, and staff directly involved in program implementation. Improved communication between these actors will reduce the amount of time required to integrate and utilize findings from vulnerability and situation analyses into program implementation.

Advocacy and Awareness Raising

107. Awareness-raising and advocacy are key functions of the ISFNS strategy and are directly linked to the cross-cutting components of partnership, communication, and funding.

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108. WFP and FAO commit to developing proposals to mobilize resources to ensure the smooth functioning of ISFNS. Timely, reliable, evidence-based FNS information will underpin the development of FNS advocacy campaigns, with clear identification of objectives, targets, messaging, fora and opportunities for advocacy in close partnership with other UN agencies, and UN Country Teams. WFP and FAO will systemize the use of FNS information for advocacy activities through policy briefs and more standardized presentations for targeted decision makers at global, regional, and national levels. Both hard copy and electronic materials must be utilized in partner relationships.

109. FAO and WFP will play a stronger role in advocating for member states, UN agencies, and other stakeholders to address food insecurity and malnutrition more holistically. Their membership in the UN clusters on ISFNS, Food Security, and Nutrition will be one means of doing this. Additionally, WFP’s broad network of institutional linkages with different sectoral and cross-sectoral national government structures – ranging from agriculture to disaster risk management, education, health, gender, labour, and social welfare – allows WFP and FAO to play a key role in helping to bring together different sectors to address food insecurity and malnutrition in a coordinated fashion.

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Appendix

FAO-WFP Joint Strategy on ISFNS

Information Systems for Food and Nutrition Security

ISFNS Strategy Implementation Plans

Appendix A: Joint FAO-WFP Implementation Plan

Appendix B: WFP Implementation Plan

Appendix C: FAO Implementation Plan

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Appendix A

Joint FAO/WFP IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

PILLAR 1: Capacity Development to support ISFNS of Member Countries

Strategic Issues and Challenges

The Joint Thematic Evaluation of FAO and WFP Support to Information Systems for Food Security (2009) noted that the organizations’ ISFNS capacity development (CD) activities were not sufficiently strategic or based on needs assessments, and were overly focused on individual capacities and one-off training activities rather than support to institutional contexts or post-training follow-up. It recommended that FAO and WFP should promote ISFNS which responds to identified needs and promote long-lasting national multi-stakeholder ISFS partnerships (Recommendations 3 and 4, respectively), based on conducting systematic capacity needs assessments (CNAs) and developing a joint set of CNA guidelines. These recommendations call for a coordinated approach to ISFNS CD of countries in synergy with key partners for sustainable systems in order to address with greater impact the major challenge: weak national systems to generate, analyze and share FNS related information and statistics and insufficient country ownership and capacity to address national needs and priorities. They also suggest the need for a database to systematically capture existing capacities and materials to improve CD support to countries.

Objective/Goal

FAO and WFP will work together to address these challenges, particularly through the proposed Food Security Information Network (FSIN) initiative. The joint work will aim at the following goal: Capacities of Member Countries’ to implement ISFNS are strengthened and institutionalized.

ResultsThe country needs assessment for ISFNS capacity development will be the starting point for identifying gaps and proposing support based on the combined expertise, standards, methods and tools of the two organizations. The work will be piloted in selected countries and be expanded gradually over the next 6 years. The following results are expected:

Result 1. ISFNS Capacity Development needs, gaps and key partners identified in target countries

Result 2: Strengthened capacities of national partners’ staff to support ISFNS data collection, processing and analysis in target countries.

Result 3: Improved access to data on FAO and WFP Capacity Development expertise, tools and methods in various domains of ISFNS.

NB: Capacity development activities are an integral component of all other Pillars, therefore key results related to specific methods or ISFNS products are not included under this Pillar.

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Joint FAO-WFP PILLAR 1: Capacity Development to support ISFNS of Member Countries GOOD AND SERVICES (lower level result)

TIME FRAME FAO/WFP DIVISION/SERVICE

LOCATION(Regions/Countries)

ESTIMATED RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS AND GAPS

KEY PARTNERS LINKAGES WITH OTHER PILLARS & COMMENTS

Result 1: ISFNS Capacity Development needs, gaps and key partners identified in target countries

1) IFSNS Capacity Needs Assessments (a) Pilot IFSNS Needs Assessments in 4-7 countries to identify CD gaps, opportunities and resource needs (b) Roll out to 20+ more countries in years 3 to 6.

2 years 2012-13

6 years2014-17

ESS/EST/ESA/ESW/TCS/AGN/OEKC/

ODXF and ODXH

TBC based on country selection criteria (e.g. FAO/WFP presence, government buy-in, funding opportunities)

$560,000 for 2012-13 (7 countries) not funded.

WFP: $200,000/ 50% funded

Collaborate with other institutions carrying out relevant CD

2) Standardized IFSNS Capacity Needs Assessment methodology guide and tools

End 2013 ESS/EST/ESA/ESW/TCS/AGN/OEKC/

ODXF

Rome HQ in consultation with regional and country offices

$210,000/ not funded.WFP: $50,000/10% fundedFAO: $40,000 funded.

IFPRI (within FSIN) PILLAR 4 (FSIN)

Result2: Strengthened capacities of national partners’ staff to support ISFNS data collection, processing and analysis in target countries

3) Selected CD activities based on agreed division of labour according to FAO/WFP comparative advantages and in synergy with activities of other partners.

ESS/EST/ESA/ESW/TCS/AGN /OEKC

ODXF

TBC based on results of CD Needs Assessments

$1,074,000 for 2012-13 (7 countries) not funded.

IFPRI, NEPAD/CAADP

Links with all pillars

Result 3: Improved access to data on FAO and WFP Capacity Development expertise, tools and methods in various domains of ISFNS4) Common repository of existing learning materials, tools, methods, expertise and guidance to support delivery of CD for ISFNS.

End 2012 ESS/EST/ESA/ESW/TCS/AGN /OEKC

ODXF

WFP: $100,000/25% funded FAO: $350,000/100% funded (Trust Fund)

ACAPS, Africa Lead, FEWSNET, IFPRI, regional academic inst., UNICEF

FSIN

5) Selected CD activities in line with FAO/WFP comparative advantage and in synergy with other partners

ESS/EST/ESA/ESW/TCS/AGN /OEKCODXF

TBC based on results of CD Needs Assessments

$1,074,000 for 2012-13 (7 countries) not funded

IFPRI, NEPAD/CAADP

Links with all pillars

6) Develop a joint ISFNS expertise database

2 years ESS/EST/ESA/ESW/TCS/AGN/TCE and OEKC

Rome/Italy with WFP RB and CO

FAO: $50,000/not funded.WFP: $50,000/25% funded

ACAPS, NRC

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WFP/ODXF

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Appendix A


PILLAR 2: Standards, Methods and Tools for Information Systems on Food and Nutrition Security


The aim of this pillar is to provide normative guidance for food security and nutrition data collection, analysis and use. Relating specifically to Pillar II, FAO has comparative advantage in setting standards for food security indicators, measurement and analysis and provides a neutral forum where technical and policy issues of ISFNS can be discussed. WFP complements FAO’s strengths, by possessing comparative advantage in the areas of in country assessments, field presence generally and more specifically VAM technical expertise. The work under this pillar will be strongly aligned with research demands identified within the reformed Committee on World Food Security (CFS), along with national and regional level information needs related to emerging issues effecting food security and nutrition, which may require new indicators, data collection methods and tools. Key identified challenges are:

1. Lack of harmonization and standardization of tools and analyses: currently there is a lack of harmonization and standardization between approaches, tools and analyses used for ISFNS related work resulting in wasted resources. Accordingly there is a need for better coordination among global players in setting standards for indicators and approaches.

2. Need to ensure a demand-driven approach to normative work: A major challenge in the past with normative work related to ISFNS has been its supply driven nature and the ad-hoc, often uncoordinated nature of both research and responses. This pillar will incorporate a shift to a more demand-driven approach and will provide normative guidance at country level.

3. Increase work in areas which have been previously overlooked: For example, a strategic issue, and past challenge, is furthering the emphasis and related work on food access and consumption data which is vital to ensure an accurate measurement of the number of people who are food insecure.

VisionFAO and WFP will work together to promote informed food and nutrition security decisions by strengthening national and regional capacity to undertake comprehensive, credible, relevant and timely assessments and analysis and being a global reference for food and nutrition security standards, statistics and information.

Objective/GoalTo strengthen the role of FAO and WFP in setting standards for food security and related statistics, including age- and gender-specific data where relevant, and improving and harmonizing methods for food and nutrition security analysis.

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Expected Results

Specific expected results for the next four years for the implementation plan are:1) Methods and tools for hunger statistics are further consolidated and improved

2) Method and tools for food and nutrition security monitoring and assessment at household levels are further consolidated and improved

3) Methods and tools needed to improve the analysis of food and nutrition security related emerging issues are developed and promoted.

Implementation and Coordination MechanismsThe implementation and coordination mechanism that will ensure that FAO/WFP Corporate Strategy for ISFNS for Pillar 2: standards, methods and tools will consist of three tiers including;

a) WFP/FAO task leaders for each of the envisaged activity who will ensure a proper and timely implementation of the different activities

b) WFP/FAO Pillar leaders who will ensure that the different activities implementation is consistent with the pillars over vision and expected results

c) The Food Security Information Network (FSIN) that WFP and FAO jointly with IFPRI are currently constituting, will provide strategic direction and help to prioritize stakeholders demand for what concerns the process of methods and tools development and standardization.

Funding will come from FAO and WFP as well as from other sources, to be identified at a later date.

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Joint FAO-WFP PILLAR 2: Standards, Methods and Tools for Information Systems on Food and Nutrition Security GOODS AND SERVICES (lower level result)

TIME FRAME(2, 4, 6 years or ‘ongoing’)

FAO/WFP DIVISION/-SERVICE

LOCATION(Regions/Countries)

ESTIMATED RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

KEY PARTNERS

(External to FAO-WFP)

LINKAGES WITH OTHER PILLARS/ COMMENTS

Result 1: Methods and tools for hunger statistics are further consolidated and improved

1) Development of methodologies and tools for deriving sex-disaggregated data from country available data.

6 years FAO (ESS)WFP (ODXF)

HQ RP and TF (GCP/INT/130/EC)

IFAD

Result 2: Methods and tools for food and nutrition security monitoring and assessment at household level are consolidated and improved

2) Standardize methods for measurement of food and nutrition insecurity (e.g. dietary diversity and food consumption scores)

Ongoing FAO (AGN)WFP (ODXF)

HQ with RB and CO EB (GCP/INT/130/EC) and other programmesRP and TF

UNICEFIFPRIJRC Possible collaboration with IFAD

Joint activity; Statistics, and AnalysisCommunications

3)Refine “Impacts of Shocks on Household Income and Food Consumption Simulation Model”

2 years FAO (EST)WFP (ODXF)

HQ and selected country offices and relevant ministries

Extra-budgetaryIrish project just ended, WFP financing expertise and refining the methodology

WFP Also relevant to Pillar IV, monitoring and in-country assessments

4)Enhance analysis of the severity of food insecurity (IPC)

Ongoing FAO (TCE/ESA) WFP (ODXF)

HQ and Regional Offices in Africa, Asia, and Central America. Collaborating with TCE, EST, AGN, ESW

TF (GCP/INT/130/EC) 8 agency partnership. Partnership agreement with IPC core partners and regional organizations to be established

Also relevant to Pillar III

Result 3: Methods and tools needed to improve the analysis of food and nutrition security related emerging issues 5) Develop market analysis methods/guidance on impacts, value chain, labour markets and livestock and harmonize basic food prices tool to strengthen market analysis and policy monitoring

Ongoing/4-6 years

FAO (EST)WFP (ODXF)

FAO HQ as well as selected Regional and Country officesWFP HQ with RB and CO

IFPRIOther market related organizations

Joint activity: Statistics and AnalysisCommunications

6) Produce guidance and best practice on use of assessment data for response analysis

Ongoing FAO (TCE) WFP (ODXF)

FAO HQ and country offices (e.g. Somalia)WFP HQ + RB / CO

Requires Extra-budgetary support;

7) Develop an analytical framework to link climate variability and change to HH food security status along with joint work of MOSAICC and “climate smart” model

Ongoing/4 years FAO (NRC/ESA)WFP (ODXF)

FAO HQWFP HQ

TF (GCP/INT/130/EC)$1.2 million

IFAD

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Appendix A


PILLAR 3: Monitoring and In-Country Assessments


The complexity of multiple threats to food and nutrition security and the growing number of food emergencies make monitoring, early warning and assessments a critical component of ISFNS. Both FAO and WFP are challenged to keep abreast of a continuously changing global food situation and to monitor the many risks that make countries vulnerable to a sudden deterioration in their food security situation. In addition to the traditional challenges there are also emerging threats that present new information needs, such as drastic changes in worldwide chronic food insecurity, extreme weather events and climate change, trans-boundary plant and animal pests and disease, and increased volatility in agricultural and related commodity markets. These trends may combine and have enormous impact on countries and regions. The capacity to monitor these threats has to be strengthened within each agency as well as jointly through common objectives. There is a need for holistic monitoring and integrated analysis for a more comprehensive understanding of and response to food insecurity. It is also necessary to provide improved outputs and services, such as better classification of countries and people in crisis requiring external assistance, enhanced price monitoring, methods for crop yield forecasts, market information systems, among others.

Assessments, which are valuable in raising awareness of impending food crises, also require strengthening through FAO – WFP joint actions. There are numerous assessment methodologies and guidance material, and there have been some improvements in assessment tools and functions in both agencies, but these do not always translate into coordinated, integrated or higher-quality field assessments. In an important way the challenge is to streamline this assessment capacity in a manner that makes the best use of each agency’s comparative advantage while adding value through joint efforts and products such as a joint assessment framework incorporating food security, nutrition and livelihoods. This Pillar strives to address the above challenges by building further on the existing capacity in monitoring, early warning and assessment of both agencies to better support member states. It includes the achievement of three key joint results:

1. Improved monitoring of traditional and emerging threats to food & nutrition security2. Greater integration and harmonization of monitoring, analysis and early warning3. Improving the quality, credibility and independence of assessments.

These results will produce a set of common goods and services, as outlined in the following table.

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Draft 22 June 2011

Pillar on Monitoring and In-Country AssessmentsPillar 3: Result 1: Improved monitoring of traditional and emerging threats to food & nutrition security

GOODS AND SERVICES (lower level result)

TIME FRAME LEAD DIV-FOCAL POINT

LOCATION ESTIMATED RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

KEY PARTNERS

(External mainly)

LINKAGES WITH OTHER PILLARS

1) Expanded and enhanced national and sub-national price monitoring (geographic and time series dbase), add more food items (such as livestock) and improve analysis of impact on the poor.

4 EST / VAM HQ and Country offices

FewsNet Pillar 3, 4

2) Better classification of countries and people in crisis requiring external assistance for food.

2 EST / VAM HQ and Country offices

OCHA, IASC Pillar 3, 4

3) Improved model to measure the impact of shocks on food and nutrition security

2 EST / VAM HQ World Bank, GFDRR, IFPRI, OECD

Pillar 3, 4

Pillar 3: Result 2: Greater integration and harmonization of monitoring, analysis and early warning


TIME FRAME LEAD DIV-FOCAL POINT


KEY PARTNERS

(External mainly)


1) A common platform to streamline monitoring reports, briefs, and/or warnings including joint products at the global regional and national level.

4 EST / VAM HQ, Regional and Country Offices

FewsNet, JRC, GMFS, IRI Pillar 1, 2, 3

2) Roll-out of IPC in a greater number of countries. 4 EST / VAM HQ, Regional and

Country Offices

WFP, FewsNet, Oxfam, CARE, Save the Children

All Pillars

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Draft 22 June 2011

Pillar 3: Result 3: Improving the quality, credibility and independence of assessments.

GOODS AND SERVICES TIME FRAME LEAD DIV-FOCAL POINT


KEY PARTNERS

(External mainly)


1) A joint assessment framework incorporating food security, nutrition and livelihoods, integrating existing methodologies, to better inform short-term and long-term decision making.

4 TCE / VAM HQ

- NGOs, Academic Institutions, IASC

Pillar 2, 3

2) Integrated assessment for food security, nutrition, agriculture, forestry livelihoods etc. through joint support to interagency processes (NATF, EMMA, PDNA, PCNA, etc.

4 TCE / VAM HQ FAO / WFP Pillar 2, 3

3) Coordinated and joint assessments (food security, agriculture, nutrition) at the country level through the Global food security cluster.

2 TCE / VAM HQ

Key cluster members and government

Pillar 1

4) Options identified for institutionalized assessments

4 TCE / VAM HQ FAO / WFP

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Draft 22 June 2011

FAO / WFP Core Products and Services Relevant to Pillar on Monitoring and In-Country Assessments

(DRAFT, to be completed by WFP and FAO)

Monitoring and Early Warning: Analysis and Products

ð The Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) on Food and Agriculture.

Country Briefs Food Outlook Crop Prospects and Food Situation Price Monitoring and Analysis Country Briefs FAO Food Price Index/Commodity Price Indices Global Food Price Monitor National Basic Food Prices – Data and Analysis GIEWS Workstation The Crop Calendar Countries Requiring External Assistance for Food List Commodity Market Review Oil crops Monthly Price and Policy Update (MPPU Economic and Social Perspectives Policy Briefs

ð The Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES).

ð Rapid Agricultural Disaster Assessment Routine (RADAR) on agriculture

ð Global Early Warning and Response System for Major Animal Diseases (GLEWS).

ð Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems Initiative (FIVIMS).

ð Handbook for Defining and Setting up a Food Security Information and Early Warning System (FSIEWS).

ð Global Fire Information Management System (GFIMS).ð Early Warning – Early Action Report (IASC).

ð Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (VAM)

ð Humanitarian Early Warning Service (HEWSweb)

ð Early Warning – Early Action Report (IASC)

Monitoring and Early Warning: Databases, Indicators, Satellite Imagesð CountrySTATð Nutrition Country Profilesð Baseline FSN vulnerability and poverty assessmentð Geographic Information System (GIS) datasets for monitoring,

assessment and analysis of environmental and socio-economic factors.

ð Country Cereal Balance Sheets (CCBS)ð Country Balance Sheets for specific commodity groups (XCBS)ð Cereal Supply/Demand Balances for Sub-Saharan Africað Estimated Cereal Import Requirements of LIFDCsð Interpolated Estimated Rainfall for Africa Databaseð Agricultural Market Access Database (AMAD)ð Rice Market Monitor (RMM)ð Commodity Markets Monitoring and Outlooksð Briefs on Import Surgesð International Agricultural Commodity Pricesð Price Tool (National food prices graphical analysis tool)ð NDVI (SPOT 4) Satellite Images (dekadal)ð Fisheries and Aquaculture Information & Statistics

Joint

ð The State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI)

ð Food Deficit Countriesð NutriNetð Community and Household

Surveys (CHS)

Joint

ð The State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI)

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Draft 22 June 2011

Assessmentð Crop and Food Supply Assessment Missions (CFSAMs) Reports /

Alertsð Assessment and Programme Formulation in Agriculture

Emergencies (GAP)ð Livelihood Assessment Tool-Kit (LAT)ð Livelihood Assessment and Response System (LARS)ð Seed System Security Assessments (SSSA)ð Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS)ð Response Analysis Framework for Food Security Emergencies

(RAF)ð Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)

Inter agency assessmentsð Food security analysis in the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP)ð IASC Needs Assessment Task Force (NATF) ð The Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) ð The Post Conflict Needs Assessment (PCNA)

ð Crop and Food Supply Assessment Missions (CFSAMs)

ð Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessments (CFSVA)

ð Emergency Food Security Assessments (EFSA)

ð Food Security Monitoring Systems (FSMS)

ð Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (VAM)

ð Emergency Market Mapping Assessments (EMMAs)

ð Market Information for Response Analysis (MIFRAs)

ð Price Impact Analysisð Joint Assessment Missions (JAM)

Inter agency assessmentsð Food security analysis in the

Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP)

ð IASC Needs Assessment Task Force (NATF)

ð The Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA)

ð The Post Conflict Needs Assessment (PCNA)

WebsitesGIEWSEMPRESEMPRES-i website (global animal disease information system)Locust WatchHunger PortalFIVIMSIPCWeb Fire Mapper

VAMVAM SIE GeoNetworkHEWSwebEPWeb

8

http://geonetwork4.fao.org/firemap/

Draft 22 June 2011

Appendix A


PILLAR 4: Statistics, information and analyses on Food and Nutrition Security (Global Public Goods)

Strategic Issues and Challenges:

This Joint FAO/WFP Implementation Plan addresses two major limitations in the generation and dissemination of statistics, information and analyses on Food and Nutrition Security, as Global Public Goods (GPG), namely:

The absence of a mechanism to systematically track product use and to improve understanding of user needs, including emerging issues;

The need for an integrated and high quality set of global public goods and services.

Expected Results

1. FAO/WFP Statistics, information and analyses on Food and Nutrition Security respond to user requirements and emerging issues and are easily accessible

To rationalize the supply of GPG and facilitate their access, a common FSN website portal will be established, with links to WFP and FAO own and joint-FSN products, including FSIN. To ensure products are demand-driven and to help identify emerging issues, a mechanism to gather user feedback is designed and put in place. More in-depth stakeholder analysis to be carried out every two years.

2. FAO/WFP ensure their products and services are coherent with each other

In close collaboration with originating Divisions and Decentralized Offices, an inventory of existing FNSI products by WFP and FAO will be drawn up and maintained, so as to serve as a basis for assessing on a regular basis product consistency, overlaps, complementarities and gaps in the provision of information.

Areas identified for joint collaboration/streamlining in the GPG pillar include:

list of countries in crisis (to ensure coherence between the FAO and WFP lists) SOFI (both Global and national SOFI) Food security indicators Domestic prices Food Security Information Network (FSIN)

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Draft 22 June 2011

10

Joint FAO-WFP PILLAR 4: Statistics, information and Analysis on Food and Nutrition Security


TIME FRAME(2, 4, 6 years or ‘ongoing’)

FAO/WFP DIVISION/-SERVICE

LOCATION(Regions/-Countries)

ESTIMATED RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

KEY PARTNERS(External to FAO-WFP)

LINKAGES WITH OTHER PILLARS/ COMMENTS

Result 1: Statistics, information and analyses on Food and Nutrition Security respond to user requirements and emerging issues and are easily accessible

1) Stakeholder information needs analysis and set-up mechanism to keep track of user-needs (standardised indicators to assess FNS product access and use)

2 – 6 years(Activity will be conducted on a biennial basis)

FAO HQ and Regional/Country Offices

Cost of surveys: $1800 (Survey monkey licence for 6 years)

Initial review to be undertaken by FAO and WFP jointly. Successive biannual rounds will be carried out by each organisation independently.

2) Joint FAO/WFP communication strategy to meet stakeholders requirements at global, regional and national levels

1 year development5 years implementation and monitoring

WFP/ODXF FAO/ES

Global, Regional and Country levels

$300,000 1,2

3) Seamless data streams/-harmonised data sets for: (i) food security indicators; (ii) market and price data and (iii) countries and people in crisis

6 years Rome/Italy

Result 2: FAO and WFP ensure their ISFNS products and services are coherent with each other and keep food and nutrition security high on the policy agenda

4) Joint publication of The State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI)

Annual(6 years)

WFP/ODXF FAO/ESA

$1,200,000 IFAD

5) National publications on the State of Food Security and Nutrition (linked to global SOFI)

3 Years WFP/ODXF FAO/ESA

6 countries

$3,250,000 (TF)

0% funded per year

2

6) Common web-site portal for access to FAO and WFP food security and nutrition information and data

6 years WFP/ODXFFAO/ES

Max $250,000 for development$25,000 for maintenance

7) FAO and WFP support to the establishment and maintenance of the Food Security Information Network (FSIN)

2 years FAO HQ and Regional/Country Offices

$....... (RP)

$.......(TF)

WFP/IFPRI

Pillar 1 (Standards, Methods and Tools) and Pillar 2 (Capacity development).

fao-wfp joint strategy on information systems for web view22-06-2011 · fao- wfp joint...

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