FAO-WFP Joint Strategy on
Information Systems
for Food and Nutrition Security
TOPS Meeting May 9, 2011
Rationale and Purpose
of the Joint Strategy on ISFNS (1)
Mutual need to:
• Respond to Joint Evaluation of FAO/WFP (2009)
• Sharpen response to known and emerging
threats to food security
• Provide timely and reliable demand-driven
products and services
• Improve internal and external communication
channels
2
Rationale and Purpose
of the Joint Strategy on ISFNS (2)
Purposes:
• Provide roadmap for joint work on four “pillars”
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Capacity development
Assessment
Standards
Statistics/analysis
• Advance the twin-track approach
• Prioritize capacity development needs
• Contribute to both agencies’ work under UNDAF
3
Known and emerging threats to
food security
• Climate change
• Volatility in Agricultural Commodity
Markets
• Urban Malnutrition
• Trans-boundary Threats
• Biofuel – Food Trade-off
• Gender Issues
4
Vision statement
“FAO and WFP will work together to promote
informed food and nutrition security decisions by
strengthening national and regional capacity to
undertake comprehensive, credible, relevant and
timely assessments and analysis and being a
global reference for food and nutrition security
standards, statistics and information.”
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Guiding Principles
Joint Strategy on ISFNS: Guiding Principles
1) Aligned with MDGs, Paris Declaration, CFS
2) Addresses availability, access, utilization, stability
3) Covers emergency, recovery, and development
4) Addresses emerging issues
5 ) Products and services consider gender
6) Demand-driven and timely response
7) Sustainability through national ownership
8) Applies and develops innovative methods and tools
9) Fosters inter-agency collaboration and partnership
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Strategic Pillars
 Capacity development in food and nutrition
security data collection and information analysis
methods
 In-country assessments to address food insecurity
and malnutrition
 Standards, methods, and tools for information
systems on food and nutrition security
 Statistics and analysis on food and nutrition
security
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Capacity development in food and nutrition
security data collection
and information analysis methods
 Assessment of stakeholder capacities and constraints
 Identification of partners
 Regional and country support
 WFP:
-rapid assessment
-HH livelihood assessment
-cross-border trade
-emergency response
-long-term vulnerability assessment
-local market analysis
 FAO:
-agricultural statistics
-global price monitoring
-remote sensing
-cross-border data: pests, pathogens, livestock
 Policy dialogue
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In-country assessments to address food
insecurity and malnutrition
 Organized around geographic and functional levels
 WFP:
• trend
analysis related to markets, livelihoods, and food and
nutrition security at HH and community levels
• work w/ government bureaus of statistics to integrate the food
consumption score in Living Standards Measurement
 FAO:
-long-term development
-crop monitoring
-contingency planning
-food crisis prevention
-disaster risk management
-post-emergency reconstruction
 Continued collaboration on emergency needs assess.
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Standards, methods, and tools for information
systems on food and nutrition security
 FAO lead:
• ISFNS community of practice
• global ISFNS network
• identification of FNS indicators and measurements
 WFP lead:
• thresholds for food security indicators
• guidance on Food Consumption Score, Coping Strategies Index
• emergency assessment standards (HH level; DRR)
 Continued collaboration: CFSAM, response analysis,
IPC
 Opportunities: gender, markets, nutrition, disaster risk
reduction/management, urban FS, climate change
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Statistics and analysis on food and nutrition security
 Wide spectrum of statistics and analyses generated by
both organizations
 Objectives:
• Harmonisation of global public goods. Organize by:
o Data and statistics
o Food security monitoring, analysis, and early warning; and
o Policy analysis and perspective studies
• Seamless data stream
• Timely dissemination; accessibility
• Responsive to users
 FAO has lead role
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National Government Ownership
• Locus of collaboration = country and regional
• Government priorities, needs and capacities
define the areas where FAO and WFP must
work together
• Systematic and purposeful inclusion of
governments in planning and decision making
with respect to all pillars
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Collaboration Mechanism
• Steering Committee: 10 members
• WFP and FAO = co-chairs
– Heads of VAM and ESA
– Steering committee incorporated into their functions
• WFP and FAO have one representative for each
pillar
– Two-year term
• Quarterly meetings
• Steering Committee = liaison to CFS, et al.
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Communication Protocol
• Steering Committee establishes systems and
protocols for horizontal and vertical information
sharing
• Internet-based solutions
External communications
• Joint strategy supports individual strategies
• Joint mechanism for communications regarding
shared work
• Shared Internet-based platform: one-stop shop
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Partnerships
Key Partners
CFS (core members)
UN Food Security Cluster (co-chairs)
UN Nutrition Cluster (members)
UNHCR
USAID/
FEWSNET
USDA
SC-UK
Oxfam
CARE
World Bank
UNDP
IFAD
IFPRI
World Resources Institute
Institutions with remote sensing capabilities (JRC, USGS)
regional and local partners
academic/research institutions
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Decisions to be Taken
1)
2)
3)
4)
Reach agreement on all components
Presentation to respective boards
Establish Steering Committee
Operational Plan
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Regional and country levels
Partners
5) Communication protocol
6) Funding
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