The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are jointly proposing this virtual course entitled "Trade, Food Security and Nutrition" (TFSN) for the Caribbean region, which combines online content that can be self-managed by each student, complemented by live webinars on broad conceptual frameworks and approaches to understanding.

The relationship between trade and food security is receiving increasing attention on both the trade and sustainable development agendas. This course addresses the linkages between trade and food security, which are highly complex and have been the subject of intense debate at national and global levels.

The challenge is how to ensure that the expansion of agricultural trade works in favor of eradicating hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.

   

Course Information Sheet:

Course Name:

Trade, Food Security and Nutrition (TFSN) - special edition for CARICOM

Course type:

Free online subject to a selection process and minimum requirements

Total duration of the course:

16 chronological hours to be taken in 4 weeks (4 to 5 hours per week).

Course modality and methodology:

The strategy used in this virtual course to share knowledge and exchange experiences, with approximately 80% asynchronous activities and 20% synchronous in nature. It is estimated that the time required for learning can vary between 4 to 5 hours per week, and it is advisable to hold 90-minute sessions 3 times per week.

The methodology selected for this virtual course contains three types of activities:

• Self-learning modules, with asynchronous modality:

Includes Three online learning modules. These modules are developed through self-learning, and are structured in lessons for sequential exploration, i.e., once a topic has been completely reviewed, it is possible to access the next one. They will be delivered entirely online, combining self-paced teaching.

• Webinars:

Two webinar sessions and a forum for interaction among participants. The objective of these sessions is to strengthen the exchange of experiences. The webinars will include keynote presentations from experts from FAO, CARICOM Secretariat and other partner institutions.

A discussion board will be open to share experiences and reflections among participants during the 4 weeks of the course.

Duration of the course:

From June 28 to July 26, 2023.

Audience:

• Government officials and public servants responsible for the formulation and implementation of agricultural and trade policies and programs.
• Representatives of the private sector and academia.

A selection process will be carried out for participants, who will be contacted by FAO Training.

Objectives:

• Assess the challenges and opportunities placed by greater openness to trade for food security and nutrition.
• Describe different types of trade policy measures, their role in promoting food security and nutrition, and considerations for trade policy design and implementation.
• Discuss the key global policy and regulatory frameworks governing trade, food security and nutrition, including the WTO Agreement on Agriculture and Agenda 2030.

Contents:

Activity	Contents	Duration / Date and hour
Lesson 1- Introduction to trade, food safety and nutrition.	Lesson 1.1 – Defining and Measuring Trade, Food Security and Nutrition Lesson 1.2 – Impacts of Trade on Food Security and Nutrition	Lessons from June 28 to July 04, 2023
Webinar 1	Food systems, food security and nutrition.	Thursday, July 06 at ,9:00 a.m. Belize, 10:00 a.m. Central Time-Jamaica, 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time-Guyana-Chile
Lesson 2 - Trade Policy Supportive of Food Security	Lesson 2.1 - Trade Policy Measures and Agricultural Development. Lesson 2.2 - Design and Implementation of Trade Policy Measures	Lessons from July 05 to July 12, 2023
Lesson 3 - Governance of Trade, Food Security and Nutrition.	Lesson 3.1 – Introduction to the Multilateral Trading System Lesson 3.2 Policy Space in the Multilateral Trading System Lesson 3.3 – Towards Improved Governance for Trade, Food Security and Nutrition	Lessons from July 13 to July 20, 2023
Webinar 2	Trade facilitation and its role for food security.	Wednesday, July 19 at 9:00 a.m. Belize, 10:00 a.m. Central Time-Jamaica, 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time-Guyana-Chile

Evaluation and approvalrequirements:

To approve the virtual course an evaluation must be completed at the end of the course and students must participate in the webinars and reflection forums. The final evaluation of the course requires a 60% of achievement.

The evaluation will be measured according to the following percentage scale:

• Approve: 60 to 100 points
• Failed: 0 to 59 points

Hardware requirements:

The equipment on which the participant takes the course must have the following minimum technical specifications for its correct completion:

• Computer or electronic device with internet connection.
• The quality and speed of navigation and downloading of documents will depend exclusively on the bandwidth of the connection.
• RAM memory greater than 1GB.
• Free space in hard disk, superior to: 500 MB.
• Processor of 600 MHz or higher.

Software Requirements:

• The latest version of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari or Opera web browser, with JavaScript enabled.
• Screen resolution of at least 1024x768 pixels (width by height).
• PDF document reader.

Additional Requirements:

• Office automation skills (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), fluent email and web browsing.
• Availability of at least 5 to 6 hours per week for reading, activities and evaluations. The course schedule is at the participant's choice. You may enter the classroom at any time you wish. You should only consider entering the classroom at least three times a week for readings and activities.
• The course schedule is at the participant's choice. You may enter the classroom at any time you wish. You should only consider logging in at least three times per week for readings and completion of activities.

Language:

The course will be taught entirely in English.

Course code:

TFSN062023

Certification:

A single certification is obtained for the approval of the course based on the criteria already described.

You will be able to automatically download the certificate issued by FAO-RLC from the course platform.

Please remember to save your certificate, as it cannot be downloaded again once the course is finished.

Better to which it belongs:

All betters

FAO Regional Initiative with which it articulates:

• Regional Initiative 1: Sustainable agrifood systems
• Regional Initiative 2: Prosperous and inclusive rural societies

Clusters to which the course is integrated:

Cluster 2: (International trade)

Supervising Officer:

Pablo Rabczuk - FAO
Milagro Matus - CARICOM Secretariat

Contact:

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]