Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

There is now considerable interest among international development organizations and practitioners in agriculture programming and policy to improve nutrition. This discussion is an opportunity to review the substantial international dialogue on improving nutrition through food and agriculture, to identify the research gaps and to distil and prioritize the actions needed at country-level.

While the relationship between food security and nutrition security might seem straightforward from a technical perspective a lively debate is taking place on how to best capture these concepts in a common definition that is both technically and politically acceptable. At present, food security, nutrition security, food security and nutrition and food and nutrition security are all being used. The paper "Coming to terms with terminology" proposes to move towards the more inclusive terminology food and nutrition security in order to better reflect the conceptual linkages between food security and nutrition security. What are your views on this and the new proposed definition of food and nutrition security?

Rural cooperatives and producer organizations play a crucial role in the eradication of hunger and poverty, in the promotion of social harmony and in the achievement of more equitable economic growth. What are the ideal conditions that will enable these member-based organizations to become more self-reliant and sustainable business enterprises?

Reaching the goal to feed a growing world population is threatened by an important lack of investment in agriculture and a decreasing Official Development Assistance (ODA) in agriculture. To tackle this issue, Innovative Financing Mechanisms (IFMs) are being discussed as a means to complement ODA without replacing it to provide reliable and predictable financing for development and specifically for agriculture and food security and nutrition, especially by catalyzing and encouraging new projects.

Following the request by the CFS, the HLPE is approaching the issue of biofuels through the lens of food security, taking into consideration a wide range of issues such as: forecasted demand, competition for biomass feedstock and for land, benefits along the biofuel production chain, the role of smallholders, social issues, new technologies etc. Please share your knowledge and views on this multifaceted topic to respond to the key question: are biofuels compatible with food security concerns or are they not adding too much to the – already unmet -  challenge to feeding the world?

A large percentage of word poverty is rural, largely directly or indirectly associated with smallholder farming. Smallholder farmers produce most of the food consumed locally, and food security at a world scale thus importantly depends on the investments made by external actors and by the smallholders themselves in their agricultural production. What are the constraints that limit these investments and what can be done to encourage investments in smallholder agriculture.

Social protection has risen rapidly up the development policy agenda in the last decade. Although increasingly dominated by conditional and unconditional cash transfer programmes, the wide range of instruments that aim to alleviate poverty and manage livelihood risks often have direct, intended implications for food security.

Agriculture and food systems face the challenge of meeting the growing demand for more and higher quality food, but also of doing so in a way that is sustainable, equitable and meets the nutritional needs and preferences of consumers. How should we move ahead to make sure that agriculture and food systems are up to this task?

Despite women’s critical role and contribution to agriculture and food security, their ability to access land and other natural resources is weakened by their status within their community and by discriminatory customary or statutory laws. What can be done about it? What are examples of policies and tools that promote women's land rights?