How to improve food security and nutrition through a territorial approach that allows more effective and resilient local food systems?

This is the crucial question that about ten researchers of universities and research institutions, experts of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other experts from regional institutions, tried to answer, during a workshop, held at the FAO headquarters in Rome, on 2-3 November 2017.

Organised by UNCDF, in partnership with FAO, this workshop allowed to present, discuss, and improve the conceptual framework on food security and nutrition entitled "Cadre méthodologique pour l’identification et la priorisation d’investissements en matière de Sécurité alimentaire et Nutrition dans le contexte de développement économique local ". This framework is the basis for UNCDF’s global Finance for Food programme (F4F), which allows UNCDF to establish a monitoring and evaluation system of investments made at the local level.

"It is a compendium of the type of investments in food security and nutrition, where practitioners can find useful references and use them as they see fit", said Mr. Frans Geilfus, who is the author of the conceptual framework.

He also added that " this method constitutes a methodological support to the diagnosis, which can be reflected in the institutional realities of the countries".

In the context of the joint programme with OECD, FAO and UNCDF and with a view to pooling experiences, this initiative has not only validated the conceptual framework by many strategic partners but also, had formally laid the foundations of an institutional partnership, particularly with the Comité inter-États de lutte contre la sécheresse au Sahel (CILSS), an international organization grouping the Sahelian countries.

As a matter of fact, UNCDF can count on the expertise of FAO and the member states of the CILSS to operationalize the approach regarding the investments in FSN based on a joint roadmap. This will also serve to demonstrate medium and long-term results.

"The methodological approach proposed by UNCDF is clear and consistent and will make possible that the funds invested lead to concrete solutions ", concluded M. Abdallah Samba, President of the CILSS.

For more information please visit our website www.uncdf.org/f4f