FAO Regional Office for Africa

Indian Ocean: Regional Programme for Food Security and Nutrition (PRESAN)

FAO and partners provide support

Photo: © FAO/Volantiana Raharinaivo

26April 2016, Antananarivo– In response to a request from the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and following a resolution of the Conference of Ministers of the IOC held in Antananarivo in May 2015, FAO is committed to provide technical support to the Regional Programme for Food Security and Nutrition (PRESAN) for the development and improvement of food and nutrition security in the Indian Ocean States.

The programme, presented to development partners during a workshop, was financed by the German Cooperation as part of a project that aims to integrate nutrition in agricultural development programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa.

PRESAN was adopted by the 31st Council of Ministers of the IOC held on 26 February 2016 in Saint-Denis de la Reunion and was also presented on the sidelines of the 29th FAO Regional Conference for Africa, held in Abidjan from 4 to 8 April 2016.

“PRESAN draws lessons from previous experiences in continental Africa and is integrated in the NEPAD’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme. Its policy instruments – the facilities – have been designed to encourage public and private actors in different Member States to join their efforts with due respect to the principle of subsidiarity and thus within the limits of actions with regional focus”, said the Secretary-General of the IOC, Jean Claude De L’Estrac.

To facilitate the implementation of the Regional Programme for Food Security and Nutrition, the Indian Ocean Commission has created the IOC Regional Unit for Food Security and Nutrition (COI-URSAN), in Madagascar.

In the same vein, a workshop for capacity-building in nutrition and agricultural development has been scheduled for IOC Member States from 30 May to 2 June 2016 in Mauritius, where PRESAN will be largely advocated, including among Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

“The United Nations’ document Rio + 20 The Future We Want (United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, June 2012) recognizes that the situation of Small Island Developing States remains a special case for sustainable development. FAO actively supports SIDS in addressing sustainable development issues related to food security, nutrition and agriculture”, recalled the FAO Representative, Patrice Talla Tatoukam.

PRESAN aims to promote agricultural products of common interest in the region as well and increase productivity, output, competitiveness and trade between the islands as well as improve food and nutrition security in the Indian Ocean States.

 

Contact

Raharinaivo, Volantiana, Communication, FAO Madagascar, [email protected]