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

PRESENTATION TO CTA/CFNI/CARDI SEMINAR“INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TOOLS FOR IMPLEMENTATION

OF FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY PLANS IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION.”

Belize, March 14-18, 2005 BY

SANDRA PLUMMERFOOD SECURITY SPECIALIST

REGIONAL FOOD SECURITY PROJECT

DESCRIPTION OF PRESENTATIONDESCRIPTION OF PRESENTATION

• DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT

• UPDATE OF PROJECT ACTIVITIES

• INFORMATION NEEDS OF EACH COMPONENT OF PROJECT

• RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVED COMMUNICATION

DESCRIPTION OF REGIONAL DESCRIPTION OF REGIONAL FOOD PROJECTFOOD PROJECT

GENERAL OBJECTIVE

To improve food security situation of CARIFORUM Member States both individually and collectively by increasing availability and access to adequate quantities of safe, nutritious foods to food insecure and poor rural communities across the Region.

OUTPUTS• Strengthened food and nutrition, agriculture and trade and economic and social

policy framework

• Efficient, effective and sustainable water resource-related production system resulting in increasing productivity demonstrated on a pilot basis on farms.

NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIESNATIONAL AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

• Vertical Activities

- Demonstration Farms to improve productivity of selected crops

• Horizontal Activities

- Linking agriculture activities to trade, health and nutrition and community development

VERTICAL ACTIVITIESVERTICAL ACTIVITIES

• Increasing output and incomes of small farmers by utilising increased and more efficient irrigation systems to grow more than one crop a year

• 255 farmers across Region provided with technical assistance, training, irrigation equipment, farm inputs

Summary Status of Verticals (Demonstrations) at 10th March 2005

60k

7/3

225k

24

120k

30

63k

8

48k

6/3

280k

69

280k

16

84k75k

35

204k

25

48k

6

75k

4

48k

6/2

Allocation (k=‘000 US$)

Demonstrations

FAO Technical Staff missions

Baseline Survey

?Verticals Steering Committee set-up

Disbursements Started

vegDraft Work Plan to be revised/resubmitted

OK

OK

OK

OK

OK rice

OK

OK

Work Plan submitted(OK=technically cleared)

Quotes being

received.

Quotes being

sought

Crops

planted

Tractor

In island

First crop harvested Dec2004

Demo Activities commenced

Admin Officer missions

Consultant Project Manager missions

Water Management Specialist missions

Trin

idad

& T

ob

ago

Su

rinam

e

St. V

incen

tG

renad

ines

St. L

ucia

St. K

itts N

evis

Jamaica

Gu

yana

Gren

ada

Do

min

ica

Belize

Barb

ado

s

Bah

amas

An

tigu

aB

arbu

da

FAO CARICOM

Food Security Project GTFS/RLA/141/ITA

TRADE COMPONENTTRADE COMPONENT

• Build and strengthen the capacity within agricultural planning and trade policy units in member states for engaging in meaningful trade policy analysis and participating in trade negotiations

• Training of officials involved in planning and trade policy activities

• Provision of technical assistance and support in strengthening the trade-related functions within the respective Ministries of Trade and Agriculture.

Trade Component ActivitiesTrade Component Activities

• Training Needs Assessment• Review of Trade Policy Formulation Process• National Training Workshops in Antigua,

Dominica and St Kitts on trade policy analysis and agricultural trade negotiations

• Regional Training Course in “Trade Policy Analysis and Agricultural Trade Agreements”

• Technical Studies on Sugar (Guyana) and Bananas

Trade Component ActivitiesTrade Component Activities

• Support to OECS

• Collaboration with CRNM

• Analysing international competitiveness of selected crops (Belize)

• April-July, national seminars and workshops will be conducted to sensitize and train persons at the national level.

FOOD SECURITY ASSESSMENTSFOOD SECURITY ASSESSMENTS

• Identifies the inter-sectoral linkages among Trade, Agriculture and Health and Nutrition

• Identifies factors at national, regional, community and household levels which affect food security

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

NATIONAL LEVEL

REGIONAL LEVEL

Policy

Planning

Socio-Economic

Characteristics

Health and Nutritional Status

Poverty

Education

Employment (Dependency Ratio)

Access to Water

Public Awareness

Health Indicators

Nutrition Indicators

Food Imports

Food Production

Food Exports

Types of Food

Food Prices

Access to Land (Legislation)

Marketing Intelligence (Data Base)

Farm to Market Roads

Drainage and Irrigation

Access to CreditFactors affecting Exports

Food Production

Access to Land (Leases)

Markets and Marketing Intelligence (Location of Markets)

Farm to Market Roads

Drainage and Irrigation

Access to Credit Food Distribution

(Imports and Local)

Regional Governance

Access to Health Care and Nutritional Status

Livelihood Strategies in Region

Issues affecting Livelihood Strategies

Health Facilities

Nutritional Status (Children Under 5)

Livelihood Assets of Vulnerable Groups

Policy

Planning

Policy

Planning

COMMUNITY LEVEL

HOUSEHOLD LEVEL

Community

Governance

Access to Health Care and Nutritional Status

Livelihood Strategies in Community

Issues Affecting Livelihood Strategies

Health Services/Health Programmes

Diseases Present

Nutritional Status of Children Under 5

Food Prices

Type of Employment

Food Production

Food Distribution

(Imports and Local)

Access to Land (Land Disputes and Land Size)

Markets and Marketing Intelligence(Prevention of Gluts)

Access to Credit (Community Arrangements)

Drainage and Irrigation

Transportation Costs for Food

Food Availability at Household level

(Imports and Local)

Household Food Production

Farm Production

Access to Credit (Ability to Repay)

Access to Land (Length of Lease)

Food Accessibility at Household level

Health Status (all members)

Nutritional Status (Under 5)Household Income and Diet costs

Food Hygiene

Household Consumption and Nutrition Knowledge

Policy

Planning

INFORMATION NEEDSINFORMATION NEEDS

VERTICAL ACTIVITIES• Background Data on water quality, stream flow, well

capacity and soil analysis lacking• Water Management Aspect of Irrigated farm

demonstration not adequately considered by countries• Demonstration-farmers and extension officers need to

maintain detailed/accurate crop records• Poor access and monitoring capability• Document requirements between FAO and Member

States

INFORMATION NEEDS:TRADE INFORMATION NEEDS:TRADE COMPONENTCOMPONENT

• Specific data requirements for Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP)

• Determine objectives and outputs for institutional strengthening activities

• Cost of Production data for specified commodities

• Market analysis for specified commodities

INFORMATION NEEDS:FOOD INFORMATION NEEDS:FOOD SECURITY ASSESSMENTSECURITY ASSESSMENT

Categories of Indicators• Food Availability

-Production, Imports, Exports, Stocks, Losses, Other Uses

-Changes in quantities in markets over time

-changes in agriculture production over time

-Food Aid over time

INFORMATION NEEDS:FOOD SECURITY INFORMATION NEEDS:FOOD SECURITY ASSESSMENTASSESSMENT

Food Accessibility

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

INFORMATION GAPS:EXPERIENCE OF INFORMATION GAPS:EXPERIENCE OF PROJECTPROJECT

• Lack of baseline data on farm systems

• Lack of complete data for trade analysis

• Lack of complete data for food security assessments

COMMUNICATION NEEDSCOMMUNICATION NEEDS

• Operational Level

- sharing of information within and between departments

- stakeholders such as farmers’ organisations need to be sensitised re trade related issues

- improvement in the quality of data collected by Ministries of Agriculture and Health

COMMUNICATIONS NEEDSCOMMUNICATIONS NEEDS

• Policy Making Level

- sensitisation of policy- makers to inter-sectoral nature of food security.

- strengthening of existing multi-agency, inter-sectoral mechanisms to address food security

-utilisation of data to plan

• General Public

- sensitisation of general public of link between trade reform and food security

- public awareness of nutrition requirements

COMMUNICATION NEEDS

• Establishment of climate of holistic planning and operationalisation of programmes related to food security at all levels of system.

• Public Awareness on Food Security can serve as push factor

COMMUNICATION NEEDS: GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS

Thank you