FAO shares its expertise on coordinated response to food security crises

Rodrigue Vinet, Senior Advisor for Development and Humanitarian Affairs at FAO Geneva participated to the Scientific Convention on the International Relations during Crises and Disasters.

The event took place on 17-18 April 2017, at the International Conference Centre of Geneva. It was organized by the Center for Crises and Senior Leadership Development at Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS) in cooperation with International Civil Defence Organization (ICDO) and the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations.

The meeting gathered experts in the field of humanitarian affairs from International Organizations and UN Agencies, like the Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). These experts briefed governmental members from Arab countries on the roles played by international and regional organizations in developing international mechanisms of cooperation during crises and disasters.

 M. Vinet underlined that FAO’s goal is to help people to maintain their livelihoods so that they are better able to defend themselves against the worst ravages of natural or human-induced crises. He further emphasized that FAO contributes to the overall coordination of humanitarian assistance in the context of food security crises through:

1) Leading and participating in food security information systems at global and local levels;

2) Developing food security analysis tools and resources, especially in the context of crises (Global Report on Food crises, Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security Report);

3)Participating in coordination mechanisms for rapid and effective response.

 Mr. Vinet finally stressed the needs to make progress on the humanitarian-development-peace nexus and to increase the resilience of livelihoods, especially in rural areas.