Common constraints in integrating food security and the right to food into district plans
Lack of or non-functional Food Security Committees
In many countries, districts do not have food security committees and even where similar committees exist their functionality could not be established. A major focus of these committees tends to be on short term emergency responses informed by rapid assessments of the food situation rather than longer-term solutions to the problem.
Financing of Local Government (LG) Plans
The major challenge to the decentralization policy is the inability of local government to raise adequate revenue to finance service delivery. LGs continue to depend on grants from the Central Government to finance their budgets or from development partners. Typically, intergovernmental transfers are highly conditional and limit the ability of LGs to apply flexibility in order to tailor expenditure to circumstances which are peculiar to their localities.
Staffing Shortages in Local Governments
The inability of local governments, particularly in remote ones to attract and retain enough staff is a serious constraint to effective service delivery.
Inadequacy of food security information
Local governments often do not have the human and financial resources to obtain necessary food security and nutrition information that can form the basis for identifying the necessary activities to tackle the underlying reasons for food insecurity. In addition, the lack of information and knowledge on who the vulnerable groups are, where they are located and why they are food insecure present a serious constraint for implementing targeted interventions.
Inadequate participation by civil society
Challenges exist in making planning and budgeting sufficiently participatory and all-inclusive especially with regard to inclusion of lower local councils. In some districts with high density of NGOs, a consultation fatigue can be found, resulting in an expectation to be paid for participating in government planning.
Difficulty in holding Governments accountable
Individuals do not appreciate their right to hold their government to account. In addition, civil society often has no knowledge of government policies, plans and budgets and lacks tools to monitor government. Lastly, accountability and complaint mechanisms often do not exist or are not easily accessible.