APPENDIX

Questions posed during the E-conference on Integrating Sustainable Food Security dimensions into the NARS Research Agenda

QUESTION 1
What research strategies are being (or could be) undertaken to address/improve household food security in terms of:

facilitating access to food;
increasing food production;
improving food nutritional value; and
reducing food losses?

QUESTION 2
How do research strategies for improving national food security relate to those aimed at addressing household food security?

QUESTION 3
What research strategies could be undertaken by the NARS to incorporate the significance of the following into an agricultural research agenda in terms of enhanced food security at the household, community or national level:

forests; and
fisheries?

QUESTION 4
a.) Which are (or could be) the NARS research strategies that can address the specific needs and constraints of resource poor farmers in less-favoured agro-ecological zones and fragile ecosystems? and,

b.) How can these be best combined with research strategies that address intensive agriculture in more productive areas?

QUESTION 5
What should be the guiding principles for NARS research strategies to capitalize on biotechnology's contribution to food security while taking into account socio-economic, cultural and environmental concerns at:

the household level (specifically address this for both limited resource/vulnerable groups as well as less vulnerable groups); and
the national level?

QUESTION 6
How can the NARS take advantage of these tools to facilitate partnership building among scientists, collaborative efforts in research planning and implementation and the sharing of research results?

QUESTION 7
What are the implications of these technologies for enhancing communication between and sharing of results with end users?

QUESTION 8
From your experience, what limits the effective use of information and communication technologies in your institution?

QUESTION 9
How will the following external issues or trends affect the direction of NARS research and what should be the research strategies for the future regarding:

globalization of trade;
urbanization;
decentralization of decision-making;
privatization of research and development; and
property rights issues?

QUESTION 10
From your experience, what are the PREREQUISITES for integrating participatory research strategies into the NARS, in particular to address the sustainable food security needs and priorities of marginalized groups such as resource poor farmers, rural women, youth, farm workers and the landless? Will the same strategy work for all of these groups?

QUESTION 11
In your view, which are the MOST IMPORTANT disciplines that must be mobilized to address sustainable food security in an integrated fashion?

QUESTION 12
In your opinion, what is the BEST MECHANISM for ensuring a linkage between national policies that influence food security and the research agenda aimed at addressing food security? (How and by whom?)

QUESTION 13
Based on your experience, what are the current CONSTRAINTS to incorporating participatory, interdisciplinary and intersectoral approaches into NARS research strategies?

QUESTION 14
How can improved analysis through disaggregation, mapping and monitoring efforts of food insecure regions, communities and households by NARS and other institutional partners serve to prioritize research?

QUESTION 15
How can NARS better contribute to understanding of differing farmer circumstances? How can farmers participate in developing research strategies best adapted to their circumstances? (Please provide examples)

QUESTION 16
a. How can NARS assist farmers/producers in identifying promising alternatives for agriculture, land and farming systems with high, long-term competitive advantage (in particular agricultural commodities that benefit from the greatest elasticity in demand)?

b. How can NARS assist subsistence farmers in marginal areas where there are limited market opportunities or with severe limits to income generation?

QUESTION 17
How can NARS address the interests of both producers and consumers? What mechanisms can be used to involve both groups in decision-making on research? How can consumers participate in assessment of the impact of technology (in particular, on the environment and health)?

QUESTION 18
How can greater awareness of the overall implications of food security be incorporated into and influence the research agenda (awareness for and by whom)?

QUESTION 19
How can NARS (along with other partners such as universities) develop more effective messages and information exchange amongst researchers, extension services, producers and consumers? What are the implications of this for better designing information systems?

QUESTION 20
How can communication, information and education be used effectively for scaling up of research results and lessons learned?

QUESTION 21
Which key stakeholders/partners should be involved in the discussions when setting overall long-term research priorities (about 15 years) related to sustainable food security for the NARS?

QUESTION 22
What should be the mechanism for engaging these partners and for reaching consensus for such an activity?

QUESTION 23
What should be the criteria for prioritizing long-term research on sustainable food security?

QUESTION 24
What information will these stakeholders/partners need to have to determine their long-term research priorities? From which sources should this information come?

QUESTION 25
Which key stakeholders/partners should be involved in short-term (less than five years) research planning within the context of addressing long-term research priorities? What should be the role of the different stakeholders?

QUESTION 26
What information do they need to carry out this planning effort? From which sources should this information come?

QUESTION 27
What should be the mechanism for identifying and engaging research teams (including various disciplines and non-research partners) for the integrated implementation of the short-term research plan? What should be the role of different types of partner groups?

QUESTION 28
Which stakeholders/partners should be involved in assessing the research efforts and their impacts? What should be the roles of these different stakeholders/partners?

QUESTION 29
How can research teams monitor and evaluate their work to ensure that it is on track to produce the desired end results? What mechanisms can be used for identifying indicators of success?

QUESTION 30
What might be the criteria used to assess the overall impact of research and specifically for farmers'/consumer groups? (In particular for rural women and resource-poor farmers).

QUESTION 31
What mechanisms can be put into place for sharing results with farmers, consumers, policy-makers, donors and other researchers?

QUESTION 32
How can the NARS (and their partners) better orient their programmes and retool their professional staff in addressing the sustainable food security dimensions?

QUESTION 33
What policy options and incentives can be described and provided for NARS to ensure support for the full integration of food security dimensions in their agenda?

QUESTION 34
What incentives could be provided for the NARS and their partners to establish linkages to ensure the integration of food security dimensions into the research agenda?

QUESTION 35
How can farmers (particularly women and resource poor farmers) be empowered to take an active part in every stage of the research process to ensure appropriateness and relevance of the research to their socio-economic and environmental conditions?

QUESTION 36
What should be the follow-up roles of FAO, the Global Forum for Agriculture Research (GFAR), the Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research (CGIAR), development agencies and donors in using the guidelines?

QUESTION 37
What tools, mechanisms and activities should be proposed to ensure that the guidelines are interpreted into action programmes at national and regional levels?