Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

The technical webinar "Nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food systems" is part of the series organised by the FAO elearning Academy, Agreenium (l'Institut agronomique, vétérinaire et forestier de France) and UN-ESCAP (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific). 

The webinar aims to: 1) provide an overview of the existing resources on the formulation of nutrition-sensitive outcomes for sustainable food system policies, investments and programmes; 2) promote an understanding of current country needs to prioritize interventions, and 3) share the results of national research as evidence of the importance of sustainable nutrition-sensitive food systems.

The webinar will take place on 24 February 2021, 15:00-16:30 CET.

Please register here to participate in the event.

Since 2018, FAO and the Federal Government of Switzerland encourage innovation by publically recognizing best practices through the International Innovation Award for Sustainable Food and Agriculture. The award does not only acknowledge digital innovation, but also new or existing products or practices that are used in a specific context, to increase effectiveness, competitiveness and resilience. The second edition of this Award has been launched, which is open to individuals, private companies and institutions. It comprises two categories:

• Category A awards excellence in digitization and innovation for sustainable food systems (USD 30 000)

• Category B recognises an innovation that empowers youth in sustainable food systems (USD 30 000)

In the spirit of the forthcoming Food Systems’ Summit in 2021 and aligned to the aspirations and goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the candidates should demonstrate the important role of their innovation in transforming food systems through sustainable food and agriculture and the improvement of food security and nutrition for all, particularly in the face of increased environmental challenges. In line with the requirements and technical competencies of the Federal Office of Agriculture of Switzerland, all innovations must apply to agriculture and pastoral systems only. 

This call is open until 19 March 2021.

More information on this call and on how to apply can be accessed here. 

The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) is an international conference on central issues of global agricultural and food policies, held in Berlin on an annual basis. The 2021 event will take place virtually on 18–22 January focusing on the topic of how can agriculture provide the world with food in the long-term for a balanced diet despite pandemics and climate change.

As in the past years, FAO will participate in the GFFA at several levels, including the following events:

CFS: Water and climate recommendations to feed the world

18 January 2021, 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. (CET)

The discussion, organized jointly by FAO and the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), will look at water as the primary medium through which we all feel the effects of climate change.

More information

Managing city region food systems – Enhancing strength and resilience against pandemics and climate change

19 January 2021, 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. (CET)

The joint panel discussion of FAO and the Global Partnership on Sustainable Urban Agriculture and Food Systems, will provide a forum for urban and national representatives to share experiences and review how the City Region Food Systems approach has helped them deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to define a vision on the way forward.

More information

How can innovation help strengthen the sustainability of food systems and prevent future pandemics?

19 January 2021, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (CET)

The panel will bring together a group of high-level policy makers, including FAO Director-General QU Dongyu, to discuss the impacts of the pandemic on food and agriculture and the role of innovation in this respect.

More information

Attending these virtual events is free of charge, it only requires prior registration through the GFFA website here.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are accepting submissions on good practices from Europe and Central Asia in digital agriculture. 

This call is the first phase of the regional contest entitled “Digital Excellence in Agriculture in Europe and Central Asia”, aiming at collecting good practices in the field of digital agriculture and providing a mechanism for identifying outstanding initiatives, projects, and programmes across the regions to be awarded with a special recognition of Digital Excellence in Agriculture.  

It will enable individuals and organizations using digital agricultural practices to share knowledge, solutions, and suggestions that highlight the potential of stepping up good practices in the region of Europe and Central Asia.

The regional contest will have six phases:

• Submission of good practices open from 4 November until 11 December 2020;
• Nomination of outstanding practices in January 2021;
• Production of a stocktaking report including all good practices collected;
• Selection of the finalists and award recipients;
• Production of a special promotional video focusing on outstanding good practices, as well as production of the Digital Excellence in Agriculture report;
• Award ceremony where the finalists will receive an opportunity to present their good practices and outstanding achievements during the “Digital Excellence in Agriculture in Europe and Central Asia” event (February-March 2021), and the winners will be awarded with a special recognition and a trophy.

Submissions are accepted in the following categories: 

• Regulatory frameworks/Enhanced market access/Financial services and insurance;
• Capacity development and empowerment;
• Agriculture innovations systems and sustainable farming;
• Disaster risk management and early warning systems;
• Food safety and traceability.

This regional contest follows a joint ITU-FAO Study on the Status of Digital Agriculture in 18 Countries of Europe and Central Asia, that clearly demonstrated how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are playing an emerging role in the agriculture of Europe and Central Asia.

This call will contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and, in particular, SDG2 on “Zero Hunger”, by contributing to close the digital, rural, and gender disparaties, known as the triple divide, and ensure an inclusive digital transition. The contest is also an important milestone in the implementation of the Regional Initiatives of both, the ITU and FAO. 

For more information, please visit http://www.fao.org/europe/resources/call-on-digital-excellence/en/

The need for concerted action to prevent the COVID-19 international health emergency from triggering a catastrophic world food crisis received a welcome new tool today as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations formally launched the Food Coalition.

A "network of networks", the Food Coalition is a voluntary multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral alliance set up to support innovative initiatives to ensure global food access, increase the resilience of agri-food systems and put them on a more sustainable course.

First suggested by the Government of Italy and with more than 30 countries having already expressed interest in joining, it will support existing and future efforts to overcome the pandemic's disruptive impacts and help countries get back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, particularly those of ending hunger and poverty.

FAO and partners have co-organized a series of Innovation Zoominars addressing the role of innovation and digital technologies in increasing resilience of smallholders to emerging disruptive impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural livelihoods.

This Zoominar session will be part of ITU-UNESCO Regional Digital Inclusion Week for the Arab States, focusing on challenges facing the innovation processes in the agriculture sector with regards to governance and public policy aspects. The session will involve all partners and government representatives from the NENA Region and will emphasize on accelerating the development of innovation and digital agriculture in agri-food systems in the countries.

The discussion will examine the role that FAO and partners could play in facilitating the implementation and scalability of such innovations in the NENA region and guiding governments towards a robust policy plan of action to avoid the worst consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agriculture sector and food security.

Join the Zoominar on Thursday, 12 November 2020 at 13:00 – 15:00 (UTC+2).

You can access the full agenda and further details of the Zoominar here.

Please find the registration link here.

Wednesday 6 May 2020, 11:00 to 12:00 CEST / 9:00 to 10:00 GMT.



Please register here:

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GN8h2jmvTNKYKrMrxnjVrg

The panel is jointly hosted and organized by AVANTI and EvalForward.

AVANTI is an IFAD funded initiative supporting national governments to assess and build RBM capacities in order to better measure SDGs in up to 20 countries globally. It is implemented by Helvetas and Itad.

EvalForward is a community of practice on evaluation for Food Security, Agriculture and Rural Development, supported by the evaluation offices of FAO, IFAD and WFP.



Panellists

AVANTI & EvalForward are collaborating to share their joint experience and specific learning by an pool of expert panellists consisting of:

• Angela Dannson (Director, Policy Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Department, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana)
• Elias A.K. Segla (Evaluation Specialist, Presidency, Republic of Benin, Bureau of Public Policy Evaluation and Government Action Analysis)
• Ian Goldman (Advisor on Evaluation and Evidence Systems, CLEAR Anglophone Africa) 

 

Hosting team

• Riff Fullan: e-Panel Facilitator and Knowledge Component Lead for AVANTI
• Ethel Sibanda: Chat Moderator and AG-Scan methodology Lead, AVANTI
• Cesar Robles: e-Panel Technical Coordinator and Communications Lead, AVANTI
• Renata Mirulla: Facilitator, EvalForward

 

Questions to be addressed in the e-Panel

Some of the questions under discussion include:

• What is the importance of leadership in mainstreaming RBM in agriculture-related ministries and other institutions?
• What factors are most influential in enabling or hindering leadership’s contribution to improved RBM in the agriculture sector?
• What concrete actions can key stakeholders take to create an enabling environment for effective leadership in the pursuit of SDGs?

For more information please contact: [email protected] 

Evaluation criteria: what's new and what changes for agriculture and food security?



12 February 2020

15:00 - 16:00 Central Europe Time



Speaker: Megan G. Kennedy-Chouane, Senior Policy Analyst, OECD

Facilitator: Rachel Sauvinet Bedouin, Senior Evaluation Officer, FAO

The evaluation criteria first set out by the OECD Development Assistance Committee in 1991 have recently been revised. In this webinar, you will learn about the new definitions, the significance of the changes and the new coherence criteria. Examples from evaluations of projects and programmes in agriculture, food security and nutrition will be discussed. There will be time to have your questions answered and share ideas on how the revised criteria can improve the practice of evaluation.

This webinar is organised by the EvalForward Community of Practice www.evalforward.org 

If interested in participating please contact [email protected]