Dushanbe - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Tajikistan and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Tajikistan signed the project document on “Developing Capacity for Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Selected Countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia” that is funded by the Russian Federation.

The project is to strategically mediate the challenges in the country and promote cross-sectoral collaboration by providing adequate capacity to effectively pursue and manage coherence between agriculture, nutrition, health, education and social protection sectors.

The achievement of the SDG2 (to reduce hunger and improve nutrition), while making agriculture and food systems sustainable, requires an integrated approach that includes nutrition and social protection in the agricultural and food security intervention. In this approach for example: the provision and supply of school meals is linked with local agriculture, and reinforced by hands-on work on food and nutrition education; school gardening and active engagement of families, school personnel and communities to create children’s lifelong healthy eating habits and healthier school food environments. By applying such integrated and comprehensive approach, several country objectives could be met: enhanced food and nutrition security, market creation, livelihoods improvements, development of value chains, promoting healthy diets using local products and increasing and diversifying local agriculture.

“The project directly contributes to the increase of crop productivity, diversification, food nutrition and employment opportunities for migrants, including capacity development activities of the national partners and beneficiaries, and by a large the project will support a food security improvement in the country”- said Mr Oleg Guchgeldiyev, FAO Representative in Tajikistan.

The outcome of the project is to strengthen capacity in the country to establish an enabling environment for providing food security to the most vulnerable population.

Fruitful partnerships are being established with the ministries and agencies of the Republic of Tajikistan, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Labour, Migration and Employment, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Agency on Statistics as well as with the National Dehkan Farm Association. Besides, the project liaises and cooperates in Tajikistan with organizations, such as the Russian Federation Embassy, the International Organization on Migration, the World Food Organization, the World Health Organization and the International Children's Emergency Fund of the United Nations.