Forum global sur la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition (Forum FSN)

Please note that the deadline for this call has been extended to 15 November

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is pleased to invite experts to submit abstracts for consideration for inclusion in the above-mentioned expert meeting that is to be held early 2013. Successful applicants will be asked to prepare, present and discuss papers on topics relevant to their expertise. A report of the meeting including all papers presented, will be published and disseminated. A synthesis paper will be prepared drawing on information provided by the papers and on the discussions of the papers in the meeting to help inform the debate at the ICN+21 itself.

This expert meeting will focus on the contribution the food and agricultural system makes to nutrition. The expert meeting will focus on the topics that are listed in the call looking at the impact the food and agriculture system has or potentially could have on malnutrition, both on under- as well as on over-nutrition in both developed and developing countries. While medical approaches and public health interventions are not the focus, a perspective from the health side will be provided.

The expert meeting on nutrition-sensitive food and agriculture systems will determine how food and agriculture systems can better provide the food and livelihoods that lead to improved diets and better nutrition, reducing levels of under nutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and over nutrition, including NCDs. This may be through improved production, trade, processing and distribution systems as well as policies which lead to increased availability, access to and consumption of foods of adequate quantity (calories) and quality (in terms of variety, diversity, nutrient content and safety).

The meeting will discuss policy, strategic, methodological, technical and programmatic challenges and document and present evidence, lessons learned, best practices, knowledge and tools which can mitigate and respond to these challenges. Areas of focus will include food and agriculture system-based approaches for improving diets and raising levels of nutrition; evidence-based recommendations for improved food, agriculture and trade policies and programme design, management and implementation; innovation in methodologies for evaluation of impact, efficacy and cost-effectiveness as well as strategies to promote better eating habits and positive health and dietary behaviours.

The expert meeting will raise the awareness of policy makers of the need to place more emphasis on these approaches if the MDGs are to be achieved. The meeting will serve as the basis for future dialogue, debate and information exchange and facilitate wider support for an international movement committed to the implementation of effective, sustainable and long-term nutrition-sensitive food and agriculture system-based solutions to hunger and malnutrition. The expert meeting outputs are expected to feed into the ICN+21 process thereby contributing to informing the post-2015 UN development agenda by helping to identify priority areas and sustainable development goals for nutrition, as well as the policies and plans and the investments required to improve nutrition.

On the basis of the discussions carried out during the Expert Meeting and issues raised, authors will further develop their papers within three months after the event for publishing in the Proceedings.

Abstracts may be sent to [email protected] and to [email protected].

The deadline is 15 November 2012.

For further information please visit the ICN+21 web site.

 

Sustainable agricultural productivity growth and bridging the gap for small-family farms.

Early in 2012, Mexico, as G20 President, invited international organizations to examine practical actions that could be undertaken to sustainably improve agricultural productivity growth, in particular on small family farms.

The preparation of this report, coordinated by FAO and the OECD, is a collaborative undertaking by Bioversity, CGIAR Consortium, FAO, IFAD, IFPRI, IICA, OECD, UNCTAD, UN High Level Task Force on the Food Security Crisis, WFP, World Bank and WTO.