Promoting Information and Knowledge Sharing for Improved Food and Nutrition Security: Exchange Study Tour to Ethiopia

22-26 August,2016

Background

The commitment to end hunger in Africa by 2025 within the CAADP framework, which stems out of the Malabo Declarationon Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods, provides a new impetus for the implementation of the FAO Regional Initiative (RI) on “Africa’s Commitment to end hunger by 2025”. This Regional Initiative is implemented in close partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC), NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA), and the Lula Institute.

A strategic workshop of the Regional Initiative was organized by FAO in Accra, Ghana, from 1^st to 2^nd March 2015. The purpose was to clarify and reaffirm the vision, objectives, and key features of the RI.  It provided countries, regional partners and FAO with the opportunity to engage, share and discuss the challenges, successes and future prospects to ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. One Key recommendation of this workshop was to support peer learning, best or promising practices exchange and knowledge management among the countries of the Regional Initiative.

It is against this backdrop that Ghana, one of the eight countries of the Regional initiative, is embarking on a knowledge exchange study tour to Ethiopia in August 2016 within the framework of the South-South Cooperation programme.

Objective and Approach

The main objective of the exchange study tour is to enhance knowledge and information sharing and adaptation of good practices for improved awareness at country and regional levels on practical measures for creating the needed enabling environment for Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) policies to thrive. It is expected that on return, the Ghana delegation, will champion an action plan aimed at contributing to the FNS goals in the country, following lessons learnt from the study tour. The areas of interest include;

• A Web-based e-Monitoring &Evaluation and Reporting System for FSN to improve the use of information technology for better achievement of results
• Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) used in Ethiopia to prepare the rural poor to resist shocks, create assets and become food self-sufficient.

Expected Outcome

Improved governance, designing, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the different dimensions (availability, accessibility, Utilization & Stability) of FNS policies, programmes and projects; with better consideration of nutrition, social protection and gender and other innovative solutions

Participants

The seven member-group from Ghana includes government Ministries or Agencies and Non State Actor umbrella organizations in Ghana based on the different and complimentary roles they play in FSN related activities (Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate & Coordination Unit; Local Government Service/Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development; Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection as well as Civil Society Organization / NGO representing non state actors).