1st NPSC meeting of the FNS-REPRO at the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations organized the 1st National Progarmme Steering Committee (NPSC) meeting of the Food and Nutrition Security Resilience Programme (FNS-REPRO) in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, at the ministry’s premises. FNS-REPRO is a 4-year project that is funded by the Government of the Netherlands.

The steering committee’s ToRs, the results of the programme inception phase and an overview on the strategic priorities for the implementation for 2020/2021 were discussed.

FNS-REPRO’s overall outcome in Sudan will be reflected in resilient livelihoods and food systems and contributing to sustainable localized peace, which will be achieved through:

• Improved inclusive access to and management of natural resources.

• Greater livelihood and income opportunities along the gum arabic value chain.

• Enhanced knowledge, skills and capacity of communities in nutrition-sensitive livelihood support.

• Established and implemented learning mechanisms that reinforce field activities and facilitate improved policy and practice on food system resilience.

Adopting a unique approach to the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, the programme incorporates a robust learning agenda that will inform policy and practice for improved food system resilience and target local communities and institutions as active participants in designing and implementing interventions. This learning and knowledge agenda will be implemented under the leadership of the Wageningen University & Research (WUR), a key partner in FAO’s global learning programmes, and will contribute to both policy dialogue and implementation through its links with the Global Network Against Food Crises.

The NPSC for FNS-REPRO will provide national policy and strategic guidance to the programme. This oversight body will be guided by its country’s commitment to build resilient livelihoods and food systems while contributing to sustainable localized peace.

The  Acting Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Eng. Abdel Gadir Turkawi, stressed the strategic cooperation with  FAO, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. “This project is the first specifically designed to raise the production and added value of gum arabic in the states of Darfur and that Sudan is one of the largest producing countries for gum arabic, which is a strategic commodity and contributes to the national economy”, Turkawi said.

For his part, the FAO Representative in Sudan, Dr Babagana Ahmadu, stressed the importance of cooperating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources to develop the agricultural sector. “The program aims to present a strategy for implementing the project at the country level and for the national components to remain on the right track towards the goals and plans of action, building the vulnerable groups and contributing to the sustainability of local peace, develop an innovative model to help vulnerable and conflict-affected areas to cope with food insecurity, adapt to climate change, and ensure women's participation and empowerment in Darfur”, Ahmadu said.

He added that the gum arabic is one of the most important commodity in the global markets.

The ambassador of the Netherlands in Sudan, Ms Irma van Dueren expressed her appreciation for this first edition of the Steering Committee meeting of REPRO. “This programme encompasses the right choice in order to attain socio-economic stability and resilience as a fundament on which democratic transformation can be built. The Netherlands is very proud to support the REPRO programme”, Ms van Dueren said.

The meeting was attended by senior officials from various concerned bodies such as; the Forest National Corporation, Ministry of Animal Resources, Ministry of Labour and Social Development, Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources, Gum Arabic Board, representatives from the communities served by the program and representatives from the private sector.