Orientation workshop with the aim of introducing and discussing the broad features of information systems related to food & nutrition security analysis was held at FAO Representation premises in Islamabad.

Fragmentation of food and nutrition security data often prevents the establishment of an integrated understanding of the determinants and outcomes of food and nutrition security – reducing the effectiveness of nationally developed policies and legislation and increasing the likelihood of misallocation of national resources.

Representatives from government, donors and national and international organizations participated in the workshop and shared their experiences and suggestions about the importance of developing an effective system for informing decision makers.

Welcoming the participants, Ms Minà Dowlatchahi FAO Representative told participants that FAO had a long standing experience in supporting countries to help build their food systems. She said there was a need to identify the needs of the provinces and standardise the process of information flow from the provincial to the federal level.

Chief Nutrition, Government of Pakistan said the FSNIS will improve population’s access to food and eventually help in better management of food security in Pakistan.

The functions of a Food and Nutrition Security Information System are:

• Guide planning and policy development – not only at the national and subnational levels but also at the level of private sector and individual actors in production and marketing‐related decisions;

• Provide early warning – collecting and processing information on climate and weather forecasts and monitoring to anticipate storms, floods and droughts, crop and livestock pests and diseases and to help forecast production prospects. Also integrating market and trade information, including information on commodity flows and food prices, imports and exports, allowing traders to adjust their stock levels and delivery plans and farmers to determine the best markets conditions to sell their produce;

• Inform emergency response when necessary – providing critical information required for Emergency Needs Assessments identify affected areas and populations, and guide response options and planning. An integrated FSNIS provides a great deal of the wide array of information and data required for multi‐sectoral and multi‐agency needs assessments, including on nutrition and health conditions and economic factors such as market conditions such as transport and storage, food availability, market prices and population purchasing power;

• Monitoring and evaluation – to ensure that the targets and overall objectives of Food Security and Nutrition related policies and programmes are met and to allow updated information for policy makers and programme managers to take corrective actions where necessary.

Mr. Tariq , Consultant FAO facilitated the discussion where participants agreed that without a functioning nutrition and food security information system, government and stakeholders cannot make effective decisions.