“The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World” report of FAO mentioned that more than 820 million people are going hungry. But food security in our times isn’t only a matter of quantity, it’s also a question of quality. Unhealthy diets have now become a leading risk factor for disease and death worldwide. For providing healthy diets, a diverse variety of foods is crucial.

Myanmar, a country enriched by diverse agro-ecological zones, food culture and dietary norms, has reached a self-sufficiency in agriculture. But a lack of variety in our diet highly contributes to various forms of malnutrition in Myanmar.

As a policy and knowledge organization with a mandate to help countries eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition and also one of the leading agencies for the implementation of UN Decade of Action on Nutrition, FAO has been providing technical expertise in supporting for global, regional and national food security and nutrition policies, strategies and programmes. Moreover, “Enhancing food security, nutrition and food safety” is one of the top priorities of FAO for Myanmar.

In this regard, FAO launched its “Technical Assistance in Development of Strategic Tools for Planning Agriculture Diversification and Dietary Improvement” Project on 13 August in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MoALI). At the workshop, U Kyaw Swe Lin, Director General of Department of Planning (MoALI) remarked that "It is hoped the outcomes of the project will be used for government planning. And the project can contribute to promoting small holder farming system."

Through this project, FAO will support the Government of Myanmar in implementing for achieving Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan (MSDP), Multi Sectoral National Plan of Action for Nutrition (MS-NPAN) and Agricultural Development Strategy (ADS) in terms of developing strategic tools for planning agriculture diversification and dietary improvement. The crop suitability assessment tool and the food graphics tools developed by this project will help identify ways for farmers to improve their incomes as well as will promote diet diversification – which in turn will contribute to the Government’s commitment to halt all forms of malnutrition and to strengthen the implementation of policies and action plans in Myanmar.