FAO-WFP Joint Strategy on Information Systems
for Food and Nutrition Security
Strategy timeframe: 2012-17
REVISED DRAFT June 22, 2011
Version: 22 June 2011
Table of Contents
Acronyms .................................................................................................................................... ii
Executive Summary..................................................................................................................... iii
A. Background ............................................................................................................................. 1
Rationale and Purpose of the Joint FAO-WFP Strategy on ISFNS ....................................................... 1
Emerging Food and Nutrition Security Issues..................................................................................... 2
Roles of FAO and WFP in Supporting Global ISFNS Work .................................................................. 3
B. Comparative Advantages of FAO and WFP ................................................................................ 4
FAO’s Comparative Advantages ......................................................................................................... 4
WFP’s Comparative Advantages ......................................................................................................... 5
C. Vision Statement and Guiding Principles ................................................................................... 6
D. Joint Strategy Framework for Information Systems for Food and Nutrition Security .................. 8
E. ISFNS Pillars ............................................................................................................................. 9
Capacity development to support information systems on in food and nutrition security of
member countries .............................................................................................................................. 9
Standards, methods and tools for information systems on food and nutrition security ................. 11
Monitoring and In-country food security and nutrition assessments .............................................. 13
Statistics, information and analysis on food security and nutrition................................................. 15
F. Considerations for Implementation......................................................................................... 16
National Ownership .......................................................................................................................... 16
Mechanisms for Collaboration ......................................................................................................... 17
Partnerships ...................................................................................................................................... 17
Funding ............................................................................................................................................. 18
G. Communication and Advocacy ................................................................................................. 18
Advocacy and Awareness Raising ..................................................................................................... 20
Appendix ................................................................................................................................... 21
FAO-WFP Joint Strategy on ISFNS ............................................................................................... 21
Strategic Issues and Challenges .................................................................................................... 4
Pillar on Monitoring and In-Country Assessments ......................................................................... 5
 Handbook for Defining and Setting up a Food Security Information and Early
Warning System (FSIEWS). .................................................................................................... 7
Strategic Issues and Challenges: ................................................................................................... 9
Expected Results .......................................................................................................................... 9
FAO- WFP Joint Strategy on Information Systems on Food and Nutrition Security
Revised Draft June 22, 2011
i
Acronyms
AGN
AMIS
CAADP
CFS
CFSAM
CFSVA
EFSA
EMPRES
ESA
ESS
FAO
FSIN
FSMS
IFAD
IFPRI
IPC
ISFNS
ISFS
MDG
NEPAD
ODXF
OEK
TCE
UNDP
UNDAF
UNICEF
USAID/FEWSNET
VAM
WFP
WHO
FAO’s Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division
Agricultural Markets Information System
Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme
Committee on World Food Security
Crop and Food Security Assessment Missions
Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessments
Emergency Food Security Assessments
FAO’s Emergency Prevention System for Trans-boundary Animal and
Plant Pests and Diseases
FAO’s Agricultural Development Economics Division
FAO’s Statistics Division
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Food Security Information Network
Food Security Monitoring Systems
International Fund for Agricultural Development
International Food Policy Research Institute
Integrated Food Security Phase Classification
Information Systems for Food and Nutrition Security
Information Systems for Food Security
Millennium Development Goal
The New Partnership for Africa’s Development
WFP’s Food Security Analysis Service
FAO’s Office of Knowledge Exchange, Research and Extension
FAO’s Emergency Division
United Nations Development Program
United Nations Development Assistance Framework
United Nations Children’s Fund
United States Agency for International Development / Famine Early
Warning System Network
WFP’s Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping
World Food Programme
World Health Organization
FAO- WFP Joint Strategy on Information Systems on Food and Nutrition Security
Revised Draft June 22, 2011
ii
Executive Summary
1. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP)
have collaboratively developed this Joint Strategy on Information Systems for Food and
Nutrition Security (ISFNS). The Joint Strategy provides a clear statement of intent on how the
organizations will effectively support member states, and work with the global community of
development partners concerned with achieving a sustainable reduction in poverty, hunger and
malnutrition. This will be achieved through strengthening – in both in the development and
emergency contexts – the collection, management, analysis, dissemination, and use of data and
information relevant for the design and implementation of policies and programme to achieve
food and nutrition security.
2. In 2010, FAO and WFP developed individual corporate strategies to guide their work in ISFNS.
These strategies were prompted in part by the findings and recommendations of the “Joint
Thematic Evaluation of Information Systems for Food Security” (ISFS) of FAO and WFP (2009).1
The evaluation called on both agencies to strengthen their leadership in ISFS; promote ISFS that
respond to specific needs of decision makers; promote long-lasting, national multi-stakeholder
partnerships; and develop and apply an ISFS communication and advocacy strategy. The
evaluation also recommended that WFP and FAO develop a joint strategy with operational plans
for complementary and shared ISFS support.
3. This Joint Strategy is directly aligned with WFP’s and FAO’s organizational work and takes
advantage of their established leadership roles on the global food security stage at regional and
country levels, while also explicitly covering nutrition security objectives. Its aim is to facilitate
unified and coordinated as action, supportive and complementary to the efforts of member
states and of development partners.
4. The FAO-WFP Joint Strategy on ISFNS has the following characteristics:
1

It reflects a commitment to the “twin-track” approach to hunger reduction, which aims at
strengthening the productivity and incomes of the poor, food insecure and malnourished
through medium to long term investment, while also ensuring immediate access to food and
creating social safety nets for the food insecure and malnourished (SOFI 2005).

It responds to growing demand for in-depth analysis of structural and emerging factors
underlying acute and chronic food insecurity and malnutrition; age and gender disparities in
food security status, infringements of the right to food, the food security impact of market
volatility and food trade rules, inequitable access to resources and markets, and the effects
of sudden-onset events, as well as climate change on household food security.

It supports country and regional processes, has a user-driven orientation, and built-in
feedback mechanisms to monitor the demand of clients and decision makers for ISFNS
products and services, including capacity development.

Four complementary pillars, each of which articulate the roles of FAO and WFP in addressing
challenges for more accurate, timely, and reliable food security and nutrition information at
all levels (globally, regionally and nationally), while setting a course for future actions.
WFP/FAO. 2009. Joint Thematic Evaluation of FAO and WFP Support to Information Systems for Food Security. Final
Report. October 2009. http://www.fao.org/pbe/pbee/common/ecg/371/en/Microsoft_Word__ISFS_acl_16.12_vs_reduced_Final.pdf
FAO- WFP Joint Strategy on Information Systems on Food and Nutrition Security
Revised Draft June 22, 2011
iii

In defining roles and activities, the strategy considers the synergies between FAO and WFP
and the comparative advantages of each organization relative to one another and to other
actors concerned with achieving food and nutrition security for all.
ISFNS Pillars
5. Given the breadth of work carried out by both organizations, member states and development
partners, the following four “pillars” of the Joint Strategy represent key domains of FAO and
WFP work that complement each other, while also responding to the distinct areas of demand
expressed by major interest groups.

Capacity development to support information systems on food and nutrition security of
member countries

Standards, methods, and tools for information systems on food and nutrition security

Monitoring and in-country food security and nutrition assessments

Statistics, information and analysis on food and nutrition security
6. Capacity development to support information systems on food and nutrition security of
member countries. This pillar responds to the demand of member countries for support to
strengthen their own ISFNS. It builds on the principles of national ownership of ISFNS, demanddriven information and analysis, long-term commitment to ISFNS by partners, and cross-sectoral
approaches to ISFNS. It calls for FAO and WFP to support the capacity development of member
countries and regions in the generation, analysis, and management of high-quality food security
and nutrition data collection, management and analysis methods through a spectrum of
activities, including communication and advocacy.
7. WFP and FAO will collaboratively carry out systematic assessments of stakeholder capacity in the
collection, analyses, and dissemination of food security and nutrition statistics at country and
regional levels. Both organizations will also work with the nascent multi-stakeholder Food
Security Information Network (FSIN), which has established in-country capacity development of
ISFS as one of its main objectives.
8. FAO and WFP complement each other in several ways under this pillar. Both organizations have
longstanding engagements with different government institutions and development partners,
including at the regional level. The depth and breadth of institutional linkages and technical
presence of both agencies at country level create an advantaged position for responding to
capacity development requests. FAO expertise covers a wide array of technical areas and is thus
well-suited to take the lead in establishing multi-disciplinary relationships with academic and
research institutions, while also being experienced in particular in longer term capacity
development efforts. WFP’s proven experience in working with a wide range of implementing
partners, in having developed standardised food security assessment methods and analytical
products, and in strengthening capacity in support of an efficient response to food emergencies,
complements FAO’s short, medium and longer-term efforts in strengthening rural livelihoods.
To catalyze investments into capacity development for ISFNS and to help create an enabling
environment for reinvigorating regional and national ISFNS, FAO and WFP will bring together
their complementary strengths in close consultation with member country counterparts.
9. Monitoring and in-country food security and nutrition assessments. Commitments to enhanced
national participation in and ownership of ISFNS assessment processes, improved coordination
of joint assessments, and their increased relevance to decision-making are highlighted in this
FAO- WFP Joint Strategy on Information Systems on Food and Nutrition Security
Revised Draft June 22, 2011
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pillar. FAO and WFP will each increase efforts in joint assessments and monitoring, while
building on existing comparative advantages (i.e. food security, nutrition and livelihoodsoriented assessments, and global analysis of food and nutrition security across all dimensions for
FAO; and short term food access and vulnerability concerns for WFP). Additionally, the
organizations will increase efforts to work within existing systems. Emergency food security
assessments will be coordinated across technical units of both organizations to avoid duplication
and streamline resources. Effective execution of work under this pillar entails clear
communication on the types of information to be collected by the two organizations so that
elements of each can be woven into one cohesive assessment.
10. Statistics, information and analyses on food and nutrition security: Under this pillar, the Joint
Strategy will provide a number of global public goods and services, including: (i) datasets and
statistics on food security and nutrition made available in the public domain for use by a wide
audience; (ii) integrated and harmonised food security and nutrition analyses through joint
publications; and (iii) other means of joint communication and advocacy on issues of concern to
food and nutrition security at all levels. An overarching goal is to achieve consistency, coherence,
and integration, and to maximize efficiency by avoiding duplication.
11. The roles of FAO and WFP in global public goods and services for access and use by a range of
decision-makers at all levels are exercised in close relationship with one another. Assessments
and analysis provided by WFP are commonly oriented to the national and sub-national levels.
FAO provides analyses, statistics and methods at national, regional and global levels and acts as
a repository of data and statistics in the food and agricultural sectors (land, water, forestry,
fisheries, markets and trade, supply/utilization accounts, country food balance sheets) and
provides early warning and meta-analyses of food security and nutrition trends across regions or
over time. The Joint Strategy commits both organizations to increasing the synthesis of data
collection and analyses conducted separately in order to create a timely ‘seamless data stream’
across historical, short-term, and long-term food security and nutrition analyses.
12. Significant advantages in the harmonisation of global public goods and services include more
effective analysis of food security trends, cross-country, and cross-regional analyses, and metaanalysis. Due to FAO’s long-standing experience with statistics and analysis on food, agriculture,
food security and nutrition, it will play a significant role in the implementation of the Statistics,
Information and Analysis pillar, while working more purposefully with WFP staff at country level
in generating data and information for food security analysis . FAO and WFP will structure an
array of products around three poles of convergence: (i) data and statistics made available in the
public domain; (ii) integrated food security and nutrition analysis and publications, and (iii)
improved access to these products through user-friendly web pages.
13. Standards, methods and tools for information systems on food and nutrition security. This
pillar envisions complementary contributions from FAO, WFP, and other development partners
based on their respective areas of expertise, and reinforces existing roles of both FAO and WFP.
14. FAO has a strong comparative advantage in setting standards for food security and nutrition2
indicators, measurements and analysis, and provides a neutral forum for discussion of ISFNS
technical and policy issues. The strategy calls for these activities to continue with a more
deliberate focus on: (i) research to advance better practice more quickly; (ii) identifying
information needs on emerging issues affecting food security and nutrition; (iii) strengthening
food access and consumption data; and iv) improved measurement of gender and social
inequities. Under this pillar, FAO, in direct collaboration with WFP, will facilitate an ISFNS
2
In the case of nutrition indicators, WHO and UNICEF are recognized leaders within the UN community, with FAO
delivering estimates of undernourishment, while FAO and WFP have both conducted methodological work on the
measurement of dietary diversity.
FAO- WFP Joint Strategy on Information Systems on Food and Nutrition Security
Revised Draft June 22, 2011
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community of practice and play a pivotal role in the establishment of a global Food Security
Information Network (FSIN).
15. WFP’s strengths are present in the organization’s existing role in providing standardized
methods and tools for food security assessment and vulnerability analysis at the global, regional,
and national levels, while frequently working in direct collaboration with FAO and other partners
in this domain. The pillar calls for increased dissemination of proven assessment and analytical
approaches, as well as clear guidance on how to use them. The pillar also calls for a deliberate
focus on the development, testing, and refinement of new analytical methods, frameworks for
response analysis, and decision-making instruments that support the twin-track approach to
hunger reduction. WFP will develop and disseminate normative guidance for household-level
food security and nutrition assessments and analysis, as well as analysis related to disaster risk
reduction and management.
Implementation
16. Implementation Plans for work conducted by WFP, FAO and jointly by FAO and WFP are an
integral part of this Joint Strategy. The implementation plans place great emphasis on the
principle of national ownership, while identifying mechanisms for collaboration, improved
communication, and the building of partnerships. The mechanism for collaboration developed
in countries and regions will systematically and purposefully include governments in planning
and decision-making with respect to all pillars of the Joint Strategy, and in developing country
and regional capacity to implement ISFNS. The Joint Strategy will be managed by a senior-level
Steering Committee with co-chairs representing WFP and FAO, and be comprised of
organizational representatives for each of the four pillars. The Steering Committee shall meet for
coordination, planning, and information sharing, and will liaise with global and regional-level
bodies concerned with food and nutrition security, including the Committee on World Food
Security (CFS) to ensure that both organizations continuously adjust their priorities to current
and emerging needs.
17. A detailed interagency communication plan will support the strategy, establishing systems and
protocols for horizontal and vertical information sharing. The Joint Strategy will support each
agency’s external communication initiatives to create a space for dialogue with users of food
and nutrition security information products, and make a concerted effort to share
communication about the agencies’ joint work. In terms of partnerships, areas for coordinated
action exist within each of the four pillars of the Joint Strategy. Key stakeholders include the
World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, UNHCR, USAID/FEWSNET, United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA), Save the Children-UK, Oxfam, CARE, World Bank, the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the World Resources Institute, the Joint
Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC) and the United States Geological Survey
(USGS). WFP and FAO will also work in concerted fashion in their respective leadership roles in
CFS and the UN clusters on Food Security and Nutrition.
FAO- WFP Joint Strategy on Information Systems on Food and Nutrition Security
Revised Draft June 22, 2011
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A. Background
Rationale and Purpose of the Joint FAO-WFP Strategy on ISFNS
18. This document sets out the strategic framework through which the United Nations’ Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) seek to reorient investment
toward long-term sustainability of Information Systems for Food and Nutrition Security (ISFNS)
developed and maintained by national and regional institutions, while also strengthening and
harmonizing FAO and WFP’s own capacities in providing high quality information on the global
food security and nutrition situation. The Joint Strategy on ISFNS is fully aligned with the individual
Corporate Strategies on ISFNS developed by FAO and WFP through close mutual consultation.
19. The ISFNS strategy documents were prompted in part by the findings and recommendations of the
Joint Thematic Evaluation of Information Systems for Food Security (ISFS) of FAO and WFP (2009).3
The evaluation called for both agencies to strengthen their leadership in ISFS; promote ISFS that
respond to specific needs of decision makers; promote long-lasting, national multi-stakeholder
partnerships; and develop and apply an ISFS communication and advocacy strategy. The
evaluation also recommended that WFP and FAO develop a joint strategy with operational plans
for complementary and shared ISFS support, based on their identified comparative advantages.
20. Specific objectives of the Joint Strategy on ISFNS are to more effectively channel support to
member states and the global community, sharpen organizational response to known and
emerging threats to food security, renew commitments to provide timely and reliable demanddriven products and services, and improve internal and external communication channels.
21. The Joint Strategy supports the strategic plans and organizational mandates of WFP and FAO,
which recognize that ISFNS are essential to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
specifically to eradicate hunger. It provides a roadmap for WFP’s and FAO’s tandem work along
four complementary ‘pillars’: capacity development; monitoring and in-country assessments;
statistics and analysis for global use; and underlying standards, methods and tools. It also reflects a
commitment to the twin-track approach to hunger reduction supported by FAO, WFP and the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)4, which seeks to address acute hunger
resulting from rapid-onset shocks, as well as chronic hunger.
22. The FAO-WFP Joint Strategy on ISFNS embraces the definition of food security endorsed by the
1996 World Food Summit: “Food security exists when all people at all times have physical and
economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets dietary needs and food
preferences for an active and healthy life.” Food must be available in sufficient quantity and
quality and it must be accessible to households and individuals, regardless of age, sex and
ethnicity. An adequate dietary intake must be properly utilised through the provision of clean
water, adequate sanitation and health care to reach a state of nutritional wellbeing where all
physiological needs are met. In addition, food access must be stable in the face of sudden shocks
or cyclical events. While FAO and WFP focus on food security pathways to good nutrition, the
Joint Strategy recognizes the mandates of other UN agencies (UNICEF, WHO) regarding nutrition
outcomes, as well as the analytical work of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI),
and will clarify and strengthen partnerships with these agencies to address all aspects of food and
nutrition security.
3
WFP/FAO. 2009. Joint Thematic Evaluation of FAO and WFP Support to Information Systems for Food Security. Final
Report. October 2009. http://www.fao.org/pbe/pbee/common/ecg/371/en/Microsoft_Word__ISFS_acl_16.12_vs_reduced_Final.pdf
4 FAO. 2003. Anti-Hunger Programme: a twin-track approach to hunger reduction: priorities for national and international
action. http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/j0563e/j0563e00.htm
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Emerging Food and Nutrition Security Issues
23. According to FAO and WFP, progress toward hunger reduction targets established under the first
MDG has been much slower than needed to achieve them5. According to the latest FAO estimate,
over 925 million individuals are undernourished worldwide6. Globally, it is increasingly recognized
that more in-depth analysis of factors underlying chronic food insecurity and malnutrition is
needed. At the same time, natural and man-made crises that impact in particular on the most
vulnerable are increasing in frequency and severity. Certain contextual factors influencing food and
nutrition security are therefore growing in importance relative to the design of timely, effective
food security approaches, responses, instruments, and information systems. The Joint Strategy is in
part a response to this need. Emerging issues include7:

Climate Change: Climate change can exacerbate food and nutrition insecurity via a number of
mechanisms, e.g. by increasing variability and uncertainty in food production, human and animal
disease burdens, and risks to livelihoods and lives from extreme weather events, often resulting in
disruptions to rural and urban supply chains and global food markets. The implications for ISFNS
include the need to incorporate sensitive variables associated with climate change into food
security analysis, and to strengthen early warning systems.

Volatility in Agricultural Commodity Markets: Food prices in most low-income food-deficit
countries remain above the pre-crisis level of early 20088 and international food prices continue to
increase. Many countries face large food import bills and growing uncertainty about future price
developments. This calls for collaborative efforts among a range of stakeholders to enhance the
quality, timeliness and reliability of food market outlook information at all levels, and to regularly
assess the effects of this volatility on vulnerable populations.

Urban Malnutrition: In the developing world, urban food insecurity and malnutrition are fastgrowing problems, particularly for the 1 billion people who live in precarious, under-served
informal settlements and slums. Urban populations tend to be more heterogeneous and face
different food security and nutrition-related challenges (e.g. a high burden of disease, high
transaction/transport costs, reliance on pre-prepared foods) compared to most rural populations.
ISFNS must take into account this context and the interactions between rural and urban food
insecurity.

Trans-boundary Threats: Food chain emergencies are increasingly due to trans-boundary plant
pests (e.g. locusts, wheat rust), animal diseases (e.g., highly pathogenic influenza/H5N1) and food
safety threats (e.g., dioxins). These have an impact on human health, food security, livelihoods, and
local, national, and global economies.9

Biofuel – Food Trade-off: Energy security issues and climate change concerns have increased the
demand for agricultural crops for biofuel production. There is considerable concern that the
resulting reallocation of land and resources will increase price volatility of food commodities and
compromise the global stockpile of food for consumption.10

Gender Issues: In many developing countries, women have less access than men to assets,
resources and services, which negatively impacts agricultural growth, food security and economic
development.11 It is imperative that women’s multiple roles in agriculture and development
5 FAO/WFP.
2009. The State of Food Insecurity in the World: Economic Crises – impacts and lessons learned. Rome.
FAO/WFP. 2010. The State of Food Insecurity in the World: Addressing Food Insecurity in Protracted Crisis. Rome.
7 The list is intended to be indicative, rather than exhaustive.
8 FAO/WFP.2010. The State of Food Insecurity in the World: Addressing Food Insecurity in Protracted Crises. Rome.
9 FAO Director General’s Bulletin. Food Chain Crisis Management Framework (FCC). July 2010.
10 FAO/WFP. 2008. The State of Food Insecurity in the World. 2008. High Food Prices and Food Insecurity-threats and
opportunities. Rome.
11 FAO/WFP. 20011. The State of Food and Agriculture 2010-2011: Women in Agriculture. Rome.
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processes are taken into account at programme and policy levels to ensure gender equity and food
and nutrition security.
Roles of FAO and WFP in Supporting Global ISFNS Work
24. The roles of WFP and FAO in supporting worldwide ISFNS work are based on a collaborative
relationship, which this strategy aims to formalize and strengthen. Food security assessments,
vulnerability analyses and food security and market monitoring reports on household-level food
insecurity and malnutrition provided by WFP are normally carried out at the national and subnational levels. FAO provides analyses, statistics and methods at national, regional and global
levels and acts as a repository of basic data and statistics in the food and agricultural sectors
(land, water, forestry, fisheries, livestock, crops, markets and trade), while also producing
country-level supply/utilization accounts and food balance sheets. FAO furthermore provides
early warning and meta analysis of food security and nutrition trends over time at country,
regional and global levels. The Joint Strategy commits both organisations to increasing the
synthesis of data collection, management and analysis conducted separately with the objective
of creating a ‘seamless data stream’ across historical, short-term, and medium-long term food
security and nutrition analysis. Integrating macro- and micro-level data allows both organizations
to generate food and nutrition security information products useful to assist regional, national,
and sub-national decision makers in responding to chronic and transitory situations. Such
products and services are increasingly considered global public goods (e.g. “The State of Food
Insecurity in the World," an annual report published jointly by FAO and WFP since 2009).12
25. The ISFNS Joint Strategy places high priority on ensuring complementarity with the policies and
practices of key partners. Particularly timely for the development of the Joint Strategy are FAO’s
and WFP’s roles in the global architecture that strongly position them to strengthen ISFNS based
on demand and on-the-ground needs. FAO and WFP are co-chairs of the UN Inter-Agency
Standing Committee (IASC) Global Food Security Cluster, as well as fellow members of the
Nutrition Cluster. Membership in these clusters facilitates networking and partnership (in
particular in the humanitarian context) with member states, UN agencies, and other food
security stakeholders, as well as continued collaboration on emergency and longer-term countrylevel needs assessments, vulnerability analyses, and common food security indicators for
interagency assessments.
26. Following recent reforms, FAO, WFP and IFAD now jointly support the Secretariat of the
Committee on World Food Security (CFS), which aims to be the foremost comprehensive
international and intergovernmental platform dealing with food security and nutrition. In the
humanitarian context, FAO and WFP participate jointly in the forums of the Inter-Agency
Standing Committee (IASC), are co-leaders the Global Food Security Cluster and participate in the
UN Inter-Agency Needs Assessment Task Force. Both agencies are also prepared to assume
foreseen leadership roles, together with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI),
in the proposed ISFS Food Security Information Network (FSIN). The FSIN will serve a key function
in the implementation of the Joint Strategy. All three agencies are expected to serve on the FSIN
Advisory Board and Technical Working Group. These forums provide a platform to encourage
member countries to adopt long-term, sustainable approaches to national and regional ISFNS
capacity development and to advocate for long-term donor commitment. Additionally, the
forums provide an environment for information exchange related to emerging issues threatening
food and nutrition security. The large representation of member countries on these forums is
also advantageous for setting standards and encouraging compliance with those standards.
12
WFP/FAO. 2009. Joint Thematic Evaluation of FAO and WFP Support to Information Systems for Food Security. Final
Report. October 2009.
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B. Comparative Advantages of FAO and WFP
27. The Joint Strategy aims to maximize FAO’s and WFP’s comparative advantages in implementing
the pillars by recognizing their relative strengths in terms of organizational scope, experience,
expertise, structure, and positioning, and by defining how to leverage their strengths in a
complementary way. In work areas that are in pilot or development stages, the strategy aims to
set general criteria or parameters for deciding how each organization will be involved.
FAO’s Comparative Advantages
28. Membership and representation. FAO has a wide scope of national representation based on
organizational membership of 191 countries13 and a multi-disciplinary, multi-lingual workforce.
29. Statistics, information, and analysis. FAO has a unique position grounded in its organizational
mandate and longstanding experience in the collection, analysis, interpretation and
dissemination of information on nutrition, food and agriculture and their inter-linkages. Key
activities include global monitoring (climate, prices, markets, national food security), forecasting
and projections, analysis of areas most vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition, and global
perspective studies.
30. FAO houses and maintains a large body of historical statistical datasets in these areas. The data
are considered neutral, and member countries are encouraged to contribute their own statistics
in order to update the databases. The datasets are used by experts worldwide to analyse trends
in food and nutrition security. Additional indication of FAO’s capacity in statistics is its being
recognized as the custodian of one of the two hunger indicators used to monitor the first MDG.14
31. Experience in a range of contexts. FAO’s work covers the continuum of food security contexts.
Traditionally it has focused on long-term development efforts in the food and agriculture sectors,
while conducting food security information, early warning and analysis work from a food
supply/demand analysis and markets and trade perspective, including analysis of household food
security. In the emergency and recovery context, FAO has focused on broad-based food security
and livelihoods analysis, specialised emergency assessments for the rural sector and
development of the response analysis framework, support to national and regional food security
information systems, given its mandate in responding to crises with interventions [FAO pls
specify re your mandate. FAO has developed jointly with WHO and other organizations various
global early warning systems on transboundary plant pests and diseases, food safety, fisheries
and forestry that provide ancillary information to food security analysis.
32. Staff expertise. FAO staff have experience across diverse technical disciplines covering
development, emergency and rehabilitation contexts as well as data management, information,
analysis and policy.
33. Capacity development. FAO has also played a role in developing government capacity in the use
of different methods for the collection, analysis and dissemination of data and statistics on food
and nutrition security. FAO has a wide and sustained country presence in development,
emergency and rehabilitation programmes.
13
14
FAO also has one member organization, the European Community, and one associate member, The Faroe Islands.
The indicator is an estimate of undernourishment based on food balance sheets.
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WFP’s Comparative Advantages
34. In-country Assessments. WFP is a recognized leader in supporting countries to conduct
household- and community level food security assessments and baseline surveys, which are
increasingly viewed as global public goods. Each year, WFP leads or participates in over 100 food
security and nutrition assessments, market studies, vulnerability baseline studies and food
security monitoring to inform emergency responses as well as longer-term food assistance
programming.
35. Leadership in response. WFP has a long history of effectively providing food assistance and
strong operational credibility with donors – especially in terms of logistics capabilities, targeting,
and rapid response. This expertise gives WFP a comparative advantage for strengthening
government agencies’ capacities in disaster risk reduction; disaster risk management; monitoring
systems, and response analysis.
36. Field presence. WFP’s extensive and deep field presence in 73 of the world’s most food-insecure
and disaster prone countries, including its national and sub-national focus, allow the Programme
to directly implement ISFNS activities, particularly in response to crisis. This enables WFP to
identify areas within countries where further advocacy, prioritization, and targeting of
investments are needed. Country presence also positions WFP to directly support the data
collection, processing and analysis capacities of national counterparts and to contribute technical
expertise to national universities aimed at building a future generation of food security
expertsThis complements FAO’s primarily HQ’s based technical capacity.
37. Institutional linkages. The depth and breadth of its institutional linkages with many national
government ministries (e.g., agriculture, education, health, labour, gender and nutrition)
position WFP well to advocate for enhanced food and nutrition security. In particular, at the
country level WFP has formed strong partnerships with Disaster Management and Social Welfare
Depts.
38. VAM technical expertise. WFP’s network of dedicated VAM officers - the largest of its kind in the
world - is well-placed to provide operational and normative leadership on the collection and
analysis of food and nutrition security information in emergencies, and on the generation of realtime information products. Extensive experience in designing and conducting household and
community food security surveys, quantitative and qualitative analysis, Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis have built WFP’s expertise in livelihoods and all aspects of
household food security: availability, access, utilization, and stability. WFP’s record of providing
“on-the-job” and face-to-face classroom training of partners, combined with the assessment
guidance and skills development courses produced for implementing EFSAs, CFSVAs, FSMS and
market analyses, represent an important asset for national capacity development. WFP’s large
network of analysts operating in different geographical and crisis contexts places the
organization in a strong position to pilot new methods, instruments and tools.
39. Nutrition security. WFP’s VAM unit has an advantage in the analysis of food-related causes of
malnutrition in emergencies.. VAM’s focus on household and community food security analysis
provides an opportunity to better link macro-level developments (production, imports, policies,
macro-economic framework, etc.) and nutrition outcomes at the individual level.
40. WFP has made a recent commitment to increase the nutritional impact of all its programs.15 This
will provide impetus for strengthened causal analysis to better understand the links between
food security, health and nutrition. The focus on nutrition will also support global and countrylevel advocacy and promote policies for proven food components of nutrition interventions.
15
WFP. 2010. Nutrition Improvement Approach. Rome.
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41. Technology. WFP uses mobile technology (PDAs and mobile phones) for data collection and
transmission in EFSA, CFSVA and FSMS activities. The use of integrated GPS ensures exact georeferencing of the collected data for spatial analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Together with remote sensing data, the food security dataset is used to provide advance analysis
of the impact of natural disasters on vulnerability and to produce a first-order estimate of
drought affected populations for financial planning and risk management. A recent corporate
initiative calls for real-time online mapping and reporting of food security data and alerts, leading
to better data transmission standards and automated data analysis. The use of technology
places WFP in a distinctive position for rapid, efficient data collection and real-time information
exchanges for use in decision-making processes.
C. Vision Statement and Guiding Principles
FAO-WFP Joint ISFNS Strategy
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.
42. The Joint Strategy aims to strengthen worldwide statistics, information and knowledge to inform
decisions and action that will result in reduced levels of poverty, hunger and malnutrition in line
with the World Food Summit and Millennium Development Goals. In this regard, it establishes
ISFNS as a cornerstone of FAO’s and WFP’s overall organisational goals:

A reduction of the absolute number of people suffering from hunger, progressively ensuring
a world in which all people at all times have sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets
their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life;

The elimination of poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all,
with increased food production, enhanced rural development and sustainable livelihoods;

Sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, including land, water, air,
climate and genetic resources, for the benefit of present and future generations.16

Responding to and preventing acute hunger and malnutrition in post-disaster, post-conflict,
or transition situations by saving lives, protecting and rebuilding livelihoods; and investing in
disaster preparedness and mitigation measures.
16
FAO. 2008. Report of the conference committee on follow-up to the independent evaluation of FAO (CoC-IEE) immediate
plan of action. Thirty-fifth (Special) Session. 18-22 November 2008. Rome.
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43. Guiding principles that complement the framework and support effective implementation of the
strategy are shown below. The same principles apply to the separate FAO and WFP Corporate
Strategies.
Guiding Principles for the FAO-WFP Joint ISFNS Strategy
The Joint Strategy:
1) Is aligned with the MDGs, the Paris Declaration and the work of the reformed Committee on
World Food Security;
2) Takes into account all relevant dimensions of food and nutrition security;
3) Covers the spectrum of development, emergency and recovery, acknowledging their interlinkages;
4) Addresses emerging issues that threaten food and nutrition security;
5) Ensures systematic consideration of gender dimensions;
6) Ensures that products and services are responsive to demand in an adequate and timely
manner;
7) Promotes sustainability through national ownership;
8) Applies and develops innovative methods and tools, drawing on modern information
technology; and
9) Fosters inter-agency collaboration and partnerships at global, regional, national and local levels.
44. Additionally the Joint Strategy is guided by principles of cooperation relative to ISFNS:

WFP and FAO agree on their areas of leadership and expertise relative to each other and on
their roles and responsibilities in implementing each pillar, ie (TBD). WFP and FAO agree to
expand collaboration on joint products. The Joint Strategy builds on WFP’s and FAO’s
comparative advantages, while also strengthening synergies between the two organizations.

WFP and FAO will expand their relationship with other food security actors to support
national and regional institutions through the FSIN.

WFP and FAO agree on the roles and responsibilities defined for each organization with
respect to each pillar.

Information products, tools, and assessments will have a ‘public good’ orientation to the
extent practical.

WFP and FAO will work cooperatively to improve the accessibility of information to internal
and external users, such as through a food and nutrition security joint Internet portal.

WFP and FAO will promote and facilitate national ownership of all aspects of ISFNS.
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D. Joint Strategy Framework for Information Systems for Food and Nutrition Security
45. FAO and WFP have adopted the ISFNS framework (Figure 1) to guide the enhancement of food
and nutrition security information products and services. The conceptual framework provides
detail on the specific outcomes, actors, and functions supported by the Joint Strategy. It is
expected that the ISFNS strategy will contribute to the achievement of the following outcomes: 17

high-quality food security and nutrition data, information, and analysis are used for
monitoring progress toward international and national development goals, policy
formulation, and decision-making related to the full range of food and nutrition security
programming;
timely and reliable food and nutrition security information is used in disaster risk reduction
and management, programming and planning; and
well-designed and better-targeted programmes to improve food and nutrition security.


Figure
FAO-WFP
Joint
Strategy
Framework for ISFNS
Figure 1:
1: Joint
Strategy
ISFNS
Framework
High level goals:
Two-way communication (between users and producers of FS information)
(Impact)
Expected Outcomes
Key actors
(demand for/ users of
FS info products &
services)
Key Strategic
Pillars
(FAO and WFP’s
mandate in ISFNS –
what & how?)
Functions of ISFNS
(why info needed?)
(purpose)
Underlying
Food & Nutrition
Security Concerns
17
 Reduce number of hungry and progressive realization of food and nutrition security
 Poverty elimination and socio-economic progress
 Sustainable management and utilization of natural resources
 High quality data/statistics & info on F/N security is used for trend analysis and
projections
 Timely and reliable F/N security information is used in disaster risk management
 Well-designed and better-targeted programmes and policies for F/N security
 Member states (including countries and Regional Economic Organizations)
 Partners in development and emergency management: UN and donor agencies &
institutions, investment banks, international NGOs
 Civil society/NGOs and private sector (including farmers, traders, consumers)
 Academic and research institutions
 Capacity development in F/N security data collection and information analysis
methods
 In-country assessments to address food insecurity and malnutrition
 Standards, methods, and tools
 Statistical analysis on food and nutrition security (global public goods)






Situation analysis; context & baseline analyses, vulnerability and resilience analysis
Food and nutrition security monitoring
Early warning, emergency preparedness planning & mitigation
Emergency response analysis, needs assessments, rehabilitation
Policy and programme formulation, implementation, evaluation
Advocacy, prioritization and targeting of investments


Persistent high levels of chronic hunger and malnutrition
Lack of investment to address chronic and acute food insecurity and malnutrition in
a sustainable manner
Increasing occurrence of natural and man-made disasters

FAO 2010. Synthesis/Summary Document. Conceptual and Analytical Framework Work Stream.
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E. ISFNS Pillars
46. The FAO -WFP Joint ISFNS Strategy is built on four inter-related pillars that support improved
utilization of food and nutrition security information products and services. The activities and
products described under each pillar interact to support the strategy’s main objectives. The four
pillars are:

Capacity development to support information systems on food and nutrition security of
member countries

Monitoring and In-country food security and nutrition assessments

Statistics, information and analysis on food security and nutrition

Standards, methods, and tools for information systems on food and nutrition security
Capacity development to support information systems on in food and nutrition
security of member countries
Vision: Countries have the capacity to undertake comprehensive, relevant, comparable, timely
and reliable food security analysis, including capacity in the collection, management and
analysis of data and statistics for improved decision-making in food and nutrition security.
47. The Joint Strategy promotes national ownership of ISFNS and long-term commitment to their
maintenance. The support provided under this pillar focuses on the development of national and
regional ISFNS that can be integrated into national and regional policy frameworks. A spectrum
of capacity development activities and approaches is necessary to create a sustainable critical
mass of expertise within local institutions and institutional networks.18 A balance will be sought
between activities to support decision making for humanitarian response and for longer-term
development.
48. Critical to the prioritization of ISFNS capacity development efforts are systematic assessments of
stakeholder capacities and constraints in the collection, analysis, and dissemination of food and
nutrition statistics at the country level. Assessments must take into account the dual role played
by targeted participants as users of food and nutrition security information and as producers of
information that contributes to regional and global ISFNS. WFP and FAO will work collaboratively
to assess capacity development needs based on both expressed and latent demand. The
international community’s needs for information could also be used as a means to help increase
demand for stronger and more sustainable national information systems, and hence for
corresponding capacity development. The assessment exercise may classify or stratify countries
by common needs, as a means to prioritize and organize capacity development efforts.
49. While strengthening basic statistics and food security analysis skills are main areas of focus, the
full technical and functional skill sets for implementing ISFNS will be considered for capacity
development areas. This includes technical capacities in implementing surveys, emergency food
and nutrition security assessments, inter-agency assessments; quantitative analysis; market
analysis; vulnerability analysis; response analysis; database management; and the use of new
technologies. It also includes skills in writing, presentation, facilitation, coordination,
communication, and consensus building for policy formation.
18
EC/FAO. 2009. EC/FAO Joint Evaluation of Food Security Information for Action Programme. Volume I. Final Independent
Evaluation Report. Prepared for the European Commission, EuropeAid Co-operation Office, and FAO. April 2009.
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50. Capacity development activities shall be designed to build effective ISFNS institutions at regional
and country levels, resulting in linkages between food security information and analysis on the
one hand and local decision making and policy development on the other.19 Activities shall
address government structures such as by working through government institutions that collect
statistics, and linking WFP and FAO surveys and assessments to national systems to increase
compatibility and comparability of information. Capacity development activities should be longterm (rather than project based), allowing for a developmental learning process and an
incremental transfer of accountabilities.
51. The implementation plan for this pillar must employ a country-specific approach based on
identified demand and on country/regional context. In particular, options need to be identified
on how to effectively build capacity in difficult circumstances such as in emergency contexts,
with fragile or weak governments, or in situations where there is no government buy-in to the
process.
52. Carrying out capacity development activities requires that FAO and WFP set up a management
structure to plan and coordinate activities, in the interest of jointly assisting governments in a
seamless way. This will be done with other partners through the FSIN, which will clarify to
governments which agencies can best meet their needsCapacity development programs will
draw on the complementary strengths of each agency. While both agencies will contribute to
some degree to all capacity development efforts, WFP will focus on rapid assessment and
emergency response, vulnerability assessment and monitoring, household livelihood assessment,
cross-border trade as it relates to food, and local market and price analysis. FAO will focus on
agricultural statistics, global price monitoring, cross-border data on pests, pathogens, and
livestock, and remote sensing. FAO and WFP will work closely to integrate their efforts in certain
areas, such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). They will also synergize
efforts to strengthen the capacity of national stakeholders to apply technology such as Personal
Digital Assistants, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and mobile phone technology to food
and nutrition security issues.
53. The management structure must also address how to handle capacity development at the
regional level, and consider the long-term commitment this requires. Both WFP and FAO are well
placed to address regional needs given the depth and breadth of WFP’s institutional linkages and
FAO’s long-term and current engagement with government ministries. Some regional bodies are
more prepared to directly strengthen capacities within their member countries, while in other
regions technical experts will be needed to provide direct technical assistance to country-level
stakeholders.
54. Partnership with local academic and research institutions are important elements of the Joint
Strategy. In line with the proposed Food Security Information Network (FSIN), this pillar posits
the creation of regional Centres of Excellence within selected universities and research institutes
to provide training and technical support on specific thematic issues, both to fulfil current needs
and to prepare a future generation of food security experts. FAO is well-suited to establish multidisciplinary relationships with academic and research institutions given its holistic array of
technical expertise (e.g., agriculture, nutrition, trade and markets, statistics, natural resources,
fisheries, forestry, and information technology); WFP will complement FAO’s efforts by providing
methods and tools to guide utilization and analysis of ISFNS products.
55. Activities under this pillar go beyond the provision of technical support to advocacy for continued
and sustained assistance to ISFNS. To catalyze investment flows into capacity development and
to help create an enabling environment for regional and national ISFNS, FAO and WFP will
19
Stacy, Roy A. 2010. Issues and Options Associated with a Coordinated International Approach to ISFNS Institution
Building. DRAFT.
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undertake policy dialogue with member country counterparts. FAO brings strength to advocacy
via its long-term in-country engagement, and through fora and technical committees which
convene regularly. These relationships and fora provide a platform for member countries to
discuss sustainable approaches to ISFNS capacity development and to advocate for long-term
donor commitment. Similarly, the magnitude and diversity of WFP’s national and sub-national
networks, and WFP’s operational credibility with donors, give WFP unique status for engaging
with multi-level stakeholders to support continued ISFNS assistance.
56. Planning for external capacity development requires a review of internal capacity, and a plan for
addressing these needs as well. The implementation plan for this pillar should thus define the
resources for specific capacity areas, and how gaps will be filled - including internal resources
and partners, and looking also to increasing “south-to-south” cooperation as a strategy to
improve country and regional capacity.
Standards, methods and tools for information systems on food and nutrition security
Vision: Common standards exist for measuring, through an agreed set of indicators, the
number and location of people who are food insecure, with FAO and WFP taking joint
leadership in organizing a stakeholders group to set standards in food security analysis.
57. This pillar reflects FAO and WFP’s commitment to provide normative guidance in the form of
standards, methods, and tools for food security and nutrition data collection, analysis and use at
global, regional, and national levels. It represents the organizations’ shared intentions to increase
dissemination of proven assessment and analytical products that address food and nutrition
security, provide guidance regarding utilization and analysis, and continue to develop and refine
ISFNS standards, methods, and tools.
58. The work under this pillar is characterized by the neutrality of the forum, relevance and
importance of topics discussed, consideration of gender and emerging issues, and an emphasis
on collection and sharing of better practices. The spectrum of activities includes:




providing a neutral forum for discussion of food and nutrition security technical and
policy issues (indicators, standards, methods);
setting standards for statistics and indicators (agreement on definition, units, commodity
groups, appropriate uses of data, data quality issues);
normative guidance on data collection and analysis (indicators, tools, methods); and
mechanisms for identifying better practices in food and nutrition security assessments
59. FAO’s and WFP’s areas of work on food security standards, methods and tools complement each
other in that FAO has a comparative strength in longer terms analyses and related methods and
tools , while WFP has an advantage in assessing food access and needs in emergencies, as well as
assessment for programming purposes. WFP also has a stronger presence at the country level.
Examples of current collaborative work under this pillar include the CFSAM and IPC guidelines.
60. WFP will focus on guidance on the Food Consumption Score and Coping Strategies Index. It will
continue to apply defined standards in emergency assessment (e.g., those reflected in the EFSA),
as well as to develop, test and refine new analytical methods and frameworks for response
analysis, as well as decision-making instruments and tools that support the “twin-track”
approach. WFP will also provide guidelines for methods of analysis.
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61. This pillar includes a shift to a more demand-driven approach to normative work, which should
encourage donor investment in products collaboratively identified as the most useful and
appropriate. Normative work will respond to country and regional information needs related to
emerging issues affecting food security and nutrition, as well as research demands identified by
the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).
62. A central component of this pillar is the establishment of a global ISFNS network for discussing
and reaching consensus on indicators, methods and tools, which shall be established with the
proposed ISFS Development Network. This effort will involve close collaboration with FAO, WFP,
IFPRI and other partners based on respective areas of expertise. The decision-making process of
the network will be legitimized by the consensus of its members. The network will also take the
lead in improving coordination of normative activities among global players by facilitating a
community of practice in ISFNS work.
63. Priority areas for the network include standards, tools and methods for in-country analysis by
governments, and also for nutrition in particular. The former will require interaction with the
Capacity Development pillar as norms are developed; the latter calls for partnership with UNICEF
and other agencies with relevant expertise. Areas for particular focus in nutrition include factors
affecting utilization such as water, sanitation, health, food safety, firewood, and cooking
methods. Additional attention is needed on food consumption indicators (e.g. harmonizing and
standardizing food consumption score and dietary diversity index) and how this information can
better inform WFP and FAO response.
64. Additional work under this pillar includes production of joint guidelines for EFSAs, with the
purpose of ensuring information capture pursuant to the different needs of WFP and FAO while
avoiding duplication of effort. Other opportunities for innovative and collaborative normative
work include preparation of a catalogue of terms; standards, methods and tools for response
analysis; and guidelines on: nutrition surveillance, urban food security indicators, climate change
monitoring, food security monitoring systems, gender, markets, and disaster risk reduction and
management.
65. FAO and WFP will continue current collaborative work on methods and guidance for joint
assessments such as Crop and Food Security Assessment Missions (CFSAMs), response analysis,
and the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)
66. FAO in collaboration with WFP will further consolidate and improve methods and tools for
hunger statistics. This will include such efforts as the revision and updating of standards and
methods for the measurement of national food availability for the Food Balance Sheets;
improvement of the methods and standards to measure food deprivation/hunger using
household acquisition and household surveys and revision of the FAO methodology for the
measurement of country-level food deprivation.
67. The agencies joint work on normative guidance is closely linked to the Capacity Development
pillar. The agencies will share leadership in this area, each specializing in guidelines for methods
of data collection and analysis that correspond to its respective strengths. WFP will develop
normative guidance for household-level emergency assessment and analysis, as well as analysis
related to disaster risk reduction and management. FAO will complement these efforts by
providing standard methods and tools for data collection and analysis relevant to food security
monitoring (e.g., agricultural production and commodity prices).
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Monitoring and In-country food security and nutrition assessments
Vision: Assessments to inform food and nutrition security policies and programs are
credible, relevant, reliable, timely and transparent, and support monitoring and evaluation
of responses to food insecurity.
68. WFP and FAO have well-respected reputations among member states and institutional partners
for conducting reliable and politically neutral assessments of food security at the regional and
national levels. Unbiased and transparent contributions to ISFNS rely on continued engagement
in joint assessments and analysis with member states, UN agencies, and INGOs. Achieving the
vision of assessment defined in this pillar will require a variety of coordinated and interlinked
actions.
69. WFP’s and FAO’s main collaborative assessments are the Crop and Food Security Assessment
Missions (CFSAM), although many of assessments led by WFP include FAO when it is present in
the country. The organizations also participate in interagency assessments such as OCHAcoordinated multi-sectoral Needs Assessments, Post Disaster Needs Assessments, Post Conflict
Needs Assessments, Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis exercises (EMMAs) and the multistakeholder Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) exercises. Nearly all assessments
undertaken by WFP or FAO are done with partners, including government counterparts. WFP’s
focus in on regular household- and community level emergency and vulnerability baseline
assessments including CFSVA, Emergency Food Security Assessments (EFSA), Food Security
Monitoring Systems (FSMS), market assessments and Joint Assessment Missions (JAM – with
UNHCR). For FAO, these include GIEWS monitoring, livelihoods assessment, fisheries and transboundary disease assessments, and sector assessments or appraisals for programming purposes.
70. A fundamental commitment under this pillar is to ensure that assessment and monitoring
activties undertaken separately play to each organization’s comparative advantages, are
coordinated such as to avoid overlap and duplication. Areas of overlap that must be streamlined
are assessments undertaken by FAO emergency operations and the WFP Vulnerability Analysis
and Mapping (VAM) network, particularly livelihood assessments and monitoring. Where
feasible, this will involve joint design of assessments to maximize complementarity. FAO will
thus increase its efforts in areas where it has a comparative advantage such as longer-term
development, (?) crop monitoring. For WFP this includes analysis to augment macro-level
assessment, such as trend analysis related to markets, livelihoods, and food and nutrition
security at the household and community levels.
71. Effective execution of this Pillar entails clear communication on planned assessments and
monitoring missions. Information to be collected by the two organizations can be woven into
one cohesive assessment and/or monitoring system (for example, FAO’s agricultural data and
WFP’s data on household nutrition and food access). : There must be early consultation on
emerging issues in order to delineate individual versus shared engagement.
72. Additional bases for streamlining, consolidating, and improving coordination of activities under
this pillar are cost effectiveness, and the needs and response requirements of stakeholders20 especially in regard to the relevance of assessments to decision-making for programming and
policy formulation.
73. Other ways that the two agencies’ work will seek to improve complementarity are by creating
better linkages between emergency and development assessments (linking social protection and
livelihood), and by linking emergency assessments to baselines and monitoring activities.
20
Examples already exist such as UNHCR/WFP Joint Assessment Missions, UNICEF/WFP Nutrition Surveys, FAO/WFP Crop
Food Security Assessment Mission and the IPC.
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74. Work under the Assessment pillar will be harmonized with the work of the Standards and
Methods pillar in order to promote the incorporation of standardised, robust indicators of
household food consumption, dietary diversity, and nutritional status into assessment
instruments. Development of consultative processes and tools for achieving consensus on
appropriate response options to food security and nutrition will span this pillar and the
Standards and Methods pillar.
75. Improved coordination of joint assessments is another focus area under this pillar. The Joint
Strategy will seek to improve inter-agency communication when WFP and FAO have different
entry points within the government, e.g., WFP may work with the government disaster response
agency, while FAO works with the Ministry of Agriculture or Statistics. The Joint Strategy commits
WFP and FAO to timely information sharing regarding each organization’s plans and interactions
with government partners regarding assessments.
76. Another aspect of the assessment function under the Joint Strategy is the organization of
assessments by geographic and functional levels. Focusing on geographic distinctions enables
better coordination through regional and national offices, promotes national ownership of
assessment processes, and facilitates demand-driven choices about assessment tools and
methods. A review of and focus on the functional aspect of each assessment (baseline, impact,
early warning, emergency, etc.) will help to harmonise the current set of assessments and
consolidate responsibility between organizations.
77. The enhancement of national capacity, participation and ownership is another important
component of the Assessments pillar. This will require coordination with the Capacity
Development pillar to continue strengthening the abilities of national and sub-national
government partners to undertake assessments. It also entails working within and building on
existing national structures and mechanisms. For example, WFP may work directly with
government bureaus of statistics to integrate the food consumption score or other measures of
diet diversity in government-led Living Standards Measurement Surveys. At the same time, it
must be recognized that government ownership may not be ideal for all situations: there is much
value in external assessments done by WFP and FAO because of their impartiality. Hence the
nature of government’s role in different assessments must be determined in each case. An
additional question to consider when working toward national ownership is how to proceed in
cases of weak government or poor governance; again, this must be evaluated in each specific
context.
78. Clear and timely dissemination of assessment products and recommendations to decision
makers, and their presentation as public goods, are further essential elements of this pillar. This
calls for rigorous integration of work under the Assessment pillar with undertakings outlined in
the Statistics and Analysis pillar.
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Statistics, information and analysis on food security and nutrition
Vision: FAO and WFP are the global references for comprehensive, relevant, comparable,
timely and reliable statistics and analysis on food security and nutrition.
79. Accurate statistics are essential for evidence-based monitoring and analysis of factors that
threaten food and nutrition security. Under this pillar the Joint Strategy commits to providing a
collection of global public goods: regional, national, and sub-national statistics and analysis on
food and nutrition security for use in country-led ISFNS. Close coordination of this pillar with the
other three is essential given the central roleof capacity development, assessments, and
standards to accurate data and analyses.
80. Collectively, FAO and WFP generate a wide spectrum of statistics and analyses related to food
and nutrition security. Joint efforts include the State of Food Insecurity Report (SOFI),
Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA) studies,), Integrated Food
Security Phase Classification (IPC), Food Security Monitoring Systems (FSMS), and Emergency
Food Security Assessments (EFSA).). In addition, most country-level activities are undertaken
jointly along a spectrumof collaboration. On an individual basis, FAO provides statistical
databases and analyses on agricultural production and commodity markets, global perspective
studies, short-term forecasts and medium-term projections on food supply and demand, early
warning analyses, food balance sheets and nutrition surveys, basic domestic food price
information and international reference publications. WFP presents findings through market
analyses, price impact analyses, disaster risk analyses, and risk profiles of geographic areas and
vulnerable groups, among others. WFP also commits to food security analyses that are
operationally driven: analyses will meet the analytical requirements such as for Purchase for
Progress (P4P), cash and voucher transfer programs, monitoring and evaluation, school feeding,
procurement, etc.
81. The roles of FAO and WFP in global public goods for use in ISFNS are complementary and
interdependent. Complementarity derives from the agencies’ different orientations: WFP’s
statistics and analysis are oriented to the national and sub-national levels, while FAO acts as a
repository of macro-level statistics and provides meta-analyses of food and nutrition security
trends across regions or over time. For example, WFP’s Comprehensive Food Security and
Vulnerability Analyses (CSFVAs) provide tables on food security indicators in approximately ten
countries/areas; WFP is incorporating all CFSVAs dating back to 2006 into FAOSTAT. WFP uses
FAOSTAT as well as FAO’s remote sensing and agro-meteorological products. The FAO Global
Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) database uses sub-national market price
statistics provided by WFP.
82. Achieving the vision of the Statistics and Analysis pillar entails commitments by both
organizations that will ultimately increase the value-added of food and nutrition information
products for both short- and long-term programming. First, is to harmonise global public goods in
order to achieve consistency, coherence, and integration, and minimize data duplication. This
requires completing the exercise of identifying joint, complementary and future products for
both agencies, and determining what information is relevant (to be maintained) versus
unneeded (to be discontinued), and where gaps exist. The organizations should define a
minimum set of analytical products and decide, going forward, which should be produced by
FAO, which by WFP and which jointly. The exercise also requires placing current and future
products in the context of other producers of similar statistics and analysis (e.g., USGS, IFPRI,
ERS, JRC, etc.), and coordinating with those sources. Further steps in harmonising global public
goods are reaching agreement on 20-30 indicators to form the basis for a common database for
use by both agencies, and formalizing standard definitions of the indicators and the data
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collection methods for each. This exercise and related decision making links closely with the
Standards, Methods and Tools pillar.
83. Second, is to increase the synthesis of data collection and analyses conducted separately in order
to create a “seamless data stream” of food security analyses across historical, short-term, and
long-term timeframes.
84. Third, WFP and FAO must ensure that their ISFNS products contribute to a strategic, coherent set
of global public goods that meets user needs in both humanitarian and development contexts.
There must be regular dialogue with users to better understand information needs, ensure
awareness of the availability and value of food and nutrition security statistics and analyses, and
understand in-country competence in and utilization of the products generated. These objectives
will be served by improving access of government and partner agencies to global public goods as
both a source and a user of information; the public good element also implies that national data
must exist and be shared, unless there is a gap in country capacities (invoking a link to the
Capacity Development pillar). Client surveys and other feedback mechanisms may help to ensure
that products are consistent with changing needs and integrated into a harmonised system.
85. Fourth, the agencies must increase the timely dissemination of information products.
86. Finally, WFP and FAO must develop a resourcing strategy for producing statistics and food
security and nutrition analysis products. For example, they may use the UN Food Security Cluster
and the EC Food Security Thematic Programme to “demand” food and nutrition security
products.
87. The collective actions under this pillar advance the vision of strengthening FAO and WFP as
global sources of food and nutrition security information and analysis. One of the principles for
leading the way in global ISFNS is to become a clearinghouse for food and nutrition security
statistics, information and analytical products. To this end, additional future activities include
creating a joint FNS portal where these products are made available. The joint nature of a future
food and nutrition security platform would also serve as a check and balance on the accuracy and
transparency of the statistics and analytical products presented.
88. FAO will play a significant role in the implementation of the Statistics, Information and Analysis
pillar. FAO already houses, maintains and updates a large body of historical statistical datasets
related to agriculture, food security and nutrition, and these data are considered neutral. The
databases are updated using statistics contributed by member countries. FAO will structure the
final array of global products around three areas of convergence: i) data and statistics; ii) food
security monitoring, analysis, and early warning; and iii) policy analysis and perspective studies.
Information products created by WFP and jointly will feed into this inventory.
F. Considerations for Implementation
National Ownership
89. The country and regional levels are the locus of collaboration for the Joint Strategy: this is where
the linkage needs to work in operational terms – not only between FAO and WFP, but with
regional and national-level partner institutions. The priorities, needs and capacities of national
governments and regional inter-governmental institutions define the key areas where FAO and
WFP must work together. The mechanism for collaboration developed in countries and regions
must therefore systematically and purposefully include governments and local development
partners in planning and decision making with respect to all pillars of the Joint Strategy, and in
developing country and regional capacity to implement ISFNS.
16
22 June 2011
Mechanisms for Collaboration
90. The Joint Strategy will be managed by a Steering Committee with two chairs, one representing
WFP and another representing FAO, as designated by the organizations. It is recommended that
these are the Director of Programmes in WFP (supervising WFP’s Food Security Analysis Service)
and the Assistant Director General of FAO’s Economic and Social Development Department (ES)
as the chair of FAO’s internal Steering Committee on ISFNS (or a Director designated by the ADG
to act on his behalf). Each chair will ensure that one technical staff member from his or her
organization will represent each of the four pillars, thus creating a 10-member committee.
Chairmanship shall become an integral part of the respective position’s scope of work; the
individuals who assume chairmanship shall remain in this role until they leave the position. In
contrast, the term of each pillar representative shall be two years, after which staff will be
rotated out. Protocol may be introduced to enable staggering the rotation in order to preserve
continuity of committee members and initiatives.
91. The Steering Committee shall meet once quarterly for coordination, planning and informationsharing. The chairs may call additional meetings if necessary, and create ad hoc working groups.
Pillar representatives for each agency are to be considered the liaisons for work in their pillars in
their respective agencies and maintain regular contact outside the quarterly meetings.
92. The Steering Committee shall liaise with global bodies concerned with food and nutrition security
initiatives, particularly the CFS, which could provide further guidance on joint FAO-WFP ISFNS
activities.
93. The Steering Committee’s primary task in the initial period is to define how the Joint Strategy will
be operationalised at regional and country levels, identifying priority activities for the first stage
of implementation and how partners will be involved.
Partnerships
94. Effective partnerships are key to meeting the long-standing demand for effective ISFNS services
at the national and regional levels, as well as to attracting donors.21 As co-chairs of the UN-IASC
Food Security Cluster and members of the Nutrition Cluster, as core members of the CFS, and as
agencies whose food and nutrition security information products and assessments are
substantially interdependent, it is incumbent upon WFP and FAO to work synergistically with
each other and with fellow actors in food and nutrition security at all levels.
95. The FSIN shall serve as the main vehicle through which partnerships will be built. Recommended
partners for the Joint Strategy include, but are not limited to, UNHCR, USAID/FEWSNET, USDA,
Save the Children-UK, Oxfam, CARE, World Bank, UNDP, IFAD, IFPRI, World Resources Institute,
and institutions with remote sensing capabilities such as the Joint Research Centre of the
European Commission and the United States Geological Survey. In terms of coordination with
fellow UN agencies, the Joint Strategy will follow the UN “Delivering as One” approach.
96. Areas for coordinated action by partners exist within each of the four pillars of the Joint Strategy.
FAO and WFP will work jointly with governments to identify capacity development needs at
regional and national levels, and to engage partners at the local level to ensure relevance and
strengthen sustainability. The implementation plan for the Joint Strategy will clarify the roles of
21
FAO. 2010a. ES Department Strategy on Information Systems for Food Security (ISFS) and other Relevant Inter-Divisional
Work. Period. A Concept Note. February 2010.
17
22 June 2011
ongoing interagency work on humanitarian needs assessments22 and primarily with UNICEF but
also with WHO on nutrition and WASH activities. It will also clarify how to best work with UNICEF
on incorporating nutrition into assessments, taking into account UNICEF’s focus on individual
nutrition and use of anthropometric measurements, versus WFP’s focus on household and
community food security analysis.. The implementation plan should also spell out how to deal
with nutrition as it cross-cuts the UN clusters on WASH, Nutrition and Food Security. FAO and
WFP will work through CFS to advance the joint pillar on standards. Finally, in terms of statistics,
the two organizations will work closely with governments to ensure high quality, relevant
statistics that feed into each other’s food and nutrition security products.
Funding
97. The Steering Committee must develop a mechanism for seeking joint funding of the strategy. The
funding strategy must take into account donor constraints and possible fatigue as well as donor
interest in providing seed money for other initiatives, e.g., cash and vouchers. FAO and WFP are
already engaged in various jointly-funded activities that serve as useful models for such
collaboration such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), crop and food
security assessment missions, and response analysis.
G.
Communication and Advocacy
98. Communication among stakeholders, partners and donors is critical for reinforcing institutional
buy-in, transparency, and progress in the development of global ISFNS.23 It is also important to
carry out ISFNS communications in accordance with humanitarian and development principles
including neutrality, impartiality, and transparency.24 To operationalise these principles, the Joint
Strategy needs protocols and tools for both interagency and external communications within and
across global, regional and national levels.
99. In regard to interagency communication, a detailed communication plan will support the Joint
Strategy, establishing systems and protocols for horizontal and vertical information sharing on
the work under each pillar. This may involve the initiative and oversight of the Joint Strategy
Steering Committee members responsible for each pillar at their respective agencies. Internetbased solutions may be implemented in order to improve communication around shared tasks
and functions.
The communication strategy for ISFNS is based on WFP’s25 and FAO’s26 corporate
Communication Strategies, which define how the agency communicate their mission, work, and
results in alleviating global hunger, and how they tailor messaging and activities to respond to a
variety of situations. It reflects a commitment to accountability to beneficiaries, host
100.
22
such as with OCHA and UNDP on Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessments
23
FAO. 2009. Global IPC Partnership Final Evaluation. Integrated Food Security Phase Classification: Technical and
institutional support for the development of a global multi-agency approach to food security classification.
24 Humanitarian Principles. 2004. (WFP/EB.A/2004/5-C); Note on Humanitarian Access and its Implications for WFP
(WFP/EB.1/2006/5-B)
25 WFP Communications Strategy. 2008. (WFP/EB.A/2008/5-B)
26
REFERENCE NEEDED
18
22 June 2011
governments, and donors. All ISFNS communications will be carried out in accordance with
humanitarian principles including neutrality, impartiality, and transparency.27
101.
Communication of findings and recommendations is a critical element in an effective
information system. Thus, the continued enhancement of ISFNS hinges on strengthening FAO’s,
WFP’s and partners’ communication capacities. To be effective for decision-making, FNS
information must be relevant, of high quality, and made available to stakeholders in the most
user-friendly way: it must be timely, readable, and easily accessible. Communication objectives
link closely with the statistics and analysis pillar, and with partnerships and fundraising.
102.
Investment in information accessibility is paramount for WFP and FAO to respond to a broad
variety of decision-making processes, each with its own scope and timeline. Thus, in line with
principles outlined in the two agencies Communication Strategies, WFP and FAO commit to
identifying channels and tailoring messages to best meet the needs of key local and international
stakeholders by basing them on their interests, priorities, and capacity to use different FNS
information products. For example, WFP and FAO may collaborate on a shared Internet-based
platform that would serve as a ‘one-stop shop’ for the organizations’ collective menu of food and
nutrition products and services; this platform would be a venue for the dissemination of
statistics, analysis, and normative guidance.
103.
To strengthen communication mechanisms for external users and provide a venue for the
dissemination of statistics, analysis, and normative guidance, in cooperation with government
and interagency partners, WFP will focus efforts on the development of internet-based
information sharing solutions at global, regional and national levels. WFP will publish its
collective output of FNS information products online to support their use as global public goods
and to make them available to as large an audience as possible.
104.
The information function is not merely about reporting, but about face-to-face interaction
such as bilateral, informal contacts with technical counterparts throughout the analytical
process, before presentation of results to decision makers. Therefore, both internal and external
communication practices will involve ongoing, dynamic interaction.
105.
To ensure the delivery of timely, reliable, evidence-based food security information, WFP will
institute a phased communication approach: protocols will be developed for releasing key
information at an early stage, before the finalization of full technical reports. This includes
creating a systematic method for creating and disseminating Executive Briefs and coordinating
them with other communication actions.
106.
Turning to internal functions of communications, the development and implementation of
the ISFNS strategy contributes to strengthened communication between field staff including
country directors, programme managers, VAM representatives, nutrition specialists, M&E and
finance staff, and staff directly involved in program implementation. Improved communication
between these actors will reduce the amount of time required to integrate and utilize findings
from vulnerability and situation analyses into program implementation.
27
Humanitarian Principles. 2004. (WFP/EB.A/2004/5-C); Note on Humanitarian Access and its Implications for WFP
(WFP/EB.1/2006/5-B)
19
22 June 2011
Advocacy and Awareness Raising
107.
Awareness-raising and advocacy are key functions of the ISFNS strategy and are directly
linked to the cross-cutting components of partnership, communication, and funding.
108.
WFP and FAO commit to developing proposals to mobilize resources to ensure the smooth
functioning of ISFNS. Timely, reliable, evidence-based FNS information will underpin the
development of FNS advocacy campaigns, with clear identification of objectives, targets,
messaging, fora and opportunities for advocacy in close partnership with other UN agencies, and
UN Country Teams. WFP and FAO will systemize the use of FNS information for advocacy
activities through policy briefs and more standardized presentations for targeted decision
makers at global, regional, and national levels. Both hard copy and electronic materials must be
utilized in partner relationships.
109.
FAO and WFP will play a stronger role in advocating for member states, UN agencies, and
other stakeholders to address food insecurity and malnutrition more holistically. Their
membership in the UN clusters on ISFNS, Food Security, and Nutrition will be one means of doing
this. Additionally, WFP’s broad network of institutional linkages with different sectoral and crosssectoral national government structures – ranging from agriculture to disaster risk management,
education, health, gender, labour, and social welfare – allows WFP and FAO to play a key role in
helping to bring together different sectors to address food insecurity and malnutrition in a
coordinated fashion.
20
22 June 2011
Appendix
FAO-WFP Joint Strategy on ISFNS
Information Systems for Food and Nutrition Security
ISFNS Strategy Implementation Plans
Appendix A:
Joint FAO-WFP Implementation Plan
Appendix B:
WFP Implementation Plan
Appendix C:
FAO Implementation Plan
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22 June 2011
Appendix A
Joint FAO/WFP IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
PILLAR 1: Capacity Development to support ISFNS of Member Countries
Strategic Issues and Challenges
The Joint Thematic Evaluation of FAO and WFP Support to Information Systems for Food
Security (2009) noted that the organizations’ ISFNS capacity development (CD) activities
were not sufficiently strategic or based on needs assessments, and were overly focused on
individual capacities and one-off training activities rather than support to institutional
contexts or post-training follow-up. It recommended that FAO and WFP should promote
ISFNS which responds to identified needs and promote long-lasting national multistakeholder ISFS partnerships (Recommendations 3 and 4, respectively), based on
conducting systematic capacity needs assessments (CNAs) and developing a joint set of CNA
guidelines. These recommendations call for a coordinated approach to ISFNS CD of
countries in synergy with key partners for sustainable systems in order to address with
greater impact the major challenge: weak national systems to generate, analyze and share
FNS related information and statistics and insufficient country ownership and capacity to
address national needs and priorities. They also suggest the need for a database to
systematically capture existing capacities and materials to improve CD support to countries.
Objective/Goal
FAO and WFP will work together to address these challenges, particularly through the
proposed Food Security Information Network (FSIN) initiative. The joint work will aim at the
following goal: Capacities of Member Countries’ to implement ISFNS are strengthened and
institutionalized.
Results
The country needs assessment for ISFNS capacity development will be the starting point for
identifying gaps and proposing support based on the combined expertise, standards,
methods and tools of the two organizations. The work will be piloted in selected countries
and be expanded gradually over the next 6 years. The following results are expected:
Result 1. ISFNS Capacity Development needs, gaps and key partners identified in target countries
Result 2: Strengthened capacities of national partners’ staff to support ISFNS data collection,
processing and analysis in target countries.
Result 3: Improved access to data on FAO and WFP Capacity Development expertise, tools and methods
in various domains of ISFNS.
NB: Capacity development activities are an integral component of all other Pillars, therefore key results
related to specific methods or ISFNS products are not included under this Pillar.
1
22 June 2011
Joint FAO-WFP PILLAR 1: Capacity Development to support ISFNS of Member Countries
GOOD AND SERVICES
(lower level result)
TIME FRAME
FAO/WFP
DIVISION/SERVICE
LOCATION
(Regions/Countries)
ESTIMATED RESOURCE
REQUIREMENTS AND
GAPS
KEY PARTNERS
LINKAGES
WITH OTHER
PILLARS &
COMMENTS
Result 1: ISFNS Capacity Development needs, gaps and key partners identified in target countries
1) IFSNS Capacity Needs Assessments
(a) Pilot IFSNS Needs Assessments in 47 countries to identify CD gaps,
opportunities and resource needs (b)
Roll out to 20+ more countries in years
3 to 6.
2) Standardized IFSNS Capacity Needs
Assessment methodology guide and
tools
2 years 2012-13
ESS/EST/ESA/ESW/TC
S/AGN/OEKC/
6 years
2014-17
ODXF and ODXH
End 2013
ESS/EST/ESA/ESW/TC
S/AGN/OEKC/
TBC based on country
selection criteria (e.g.
FAO/WFP presence,
government buy-in, funding
opportunities)
$560,000 for 2012-13 (7
countries) not funded.
Rome HQ in consultation
with regional and country
offices
$210,000/ not funded.
WFP: $50,000/10% funded
FAO: $40,000 funded.
WFP: $200,000/ 50%
funded
Collaborate with
other institutions
carrying out
relevant CD
IFPRI (within FSIN)
PILLAR 4 (FSIN)
ODXF
Result2: Strengthened capacities of national partners’ staff to support ISFNS data collection, processing and analysis in target countries
3) Selected CD activities based on
agreed division of labour according to
FAO/WFP comparative advantages and
in synergy with activities of other
partners.
ESS/EST/ESA/ESW/TC
S/AGN /OEKC
TBC based on results of CD
Needs Assessments
$1,074,000 for 2012-13 (7
countries) not funded.
IFPRI,
NEPAD/CAADP
Links with all
pillars
ODXF
Result 3: Improved access to data on FAO and WFP Capacity Development expertise, tools and methods in various domains of ISFNS
4) Common repository of existing
learning materials, tools, methods,
expertise and guidance to support
delivery of CD for ISFNS.
5) Selected CD activities in line with
FAO/WFP comparative advantage and
in synergy with other partners
6) Develop a joint ISFNS expertise
database
End 2012
ESS/EST/ESA/ESW/TC
S/AGN /OEKC
WFP: $100,000/25%
funded
FAO: $350,000/100%
funded (Trust Fund)
ACAPS, Africa Lead,
FEWSNET, IFPRI,
regional academic
inst., UNICEF
FSIN
TBC based on results of CD
Needs Assessments
$1,074,000 for 2012-13
(7 countries) not funded
IFPRI,
NEPAD/CAADP
Links with all
pillars
Rome/Italy with WFP RB
and CO
FAO: $50,000/not funded.
WFP: $50,000/25% funded
ACAPS, NRC
ODXF
2 years
ESS/EST/ESA/ESW/TC
S/AGN /OEKC
ODXF
ESS/EST/ESA/ESW/TC
S/AGN/TCE and OEKC
WFP/ODXF
FAO- WFP Joint Strategy on Information Systems on Food and Nutrition Security
Revised Draft June 15, 2011
1
22 June 2011
Appendix A
Joint FAO/WFP IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
PILLAR 2: Standards, Methods and Tools for Information Systems on
Food and Nutrition Security
Strategic Issues and Challenges
The aim of this pillar is to provide normative guidance for food security and nutrition data collection,
analysis and use. Relating specifically to Pillar II, FAO has comparative advantage in setting
standards for food security indicators, measurement and analysis and provides a neutral forum
where technical and policy issues of ISFNS can be discussed. WFP complements FAO’s strengths, by
possessing comparative advantage in the areas of in country assessments, field presence generally
and more specifically VAM technical expertise. The work under this pillar will be strongly aligned
with research demands identified within the reformed Committee on World Food Security (CFS),
along with national and regional level information needs related to emerging issues effecting food
security and nutrition, which may require new indicators, data collection methods and tools. Key
identified challenges are:
1. Lack of harmonization and standardization of tools and analyses: currently there is a lack of
harmonization and standardization between approaches, tools and analyses used for ISFNS
related work resulting in wasted resources. Accordingly there is a need for better
coordination among global players in setting standards for indicators and approaches.
2. Need to ensure a demand-driven approach to normative work: A major challenge in the
past with normative work related to ISFNS has been its supply driven nature and the ad-hoc,
often uncoordinated nature of both research and responses. This pillar will incorporate a
shift to a more demand-driven approach and will provide normative guidance at country
level.
3. Increase work in areas which have been previously overlooked: For example, a strategic
issue, and past challenge, is furthering the emphasis and related work on food access and
consumption data which is vital to ensure an accurate measurement of the number of
people who are food insecure.
Vision
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.
Objective/Goal
To strengthen the role of FAO and WFP in setting standards for food security and related statistics,
including age- and gender-specific data where relevant, and improving and harmonizing methods for
food and nutrition security analysis.
FAO- WFP Joint Strategy on Information Systems on Food and Nutrition Security
Revised Draft June 15, 2011
1
22 June 2011
Expected Results
Specific expected results for the next four years for the implementation plan are:
1) Methods and tools for hunger statistics are further consolidated and improved
2)
Method and tools for food and nutrition security monitoring and assessment at household levels
are further consolidated and improved
3) Methods and tools needed to improve the analysis of food and nutrition security related emerging
issues are developed and promoted.
Implementation and Coordination Mechanisms
The implementation and coordination mechanism that will ensure that FAO/WFP Corporate Strategy for
ISFNS for Pillar 2: standards, methods and tools will consist of three tiers including;
a) WFP/FAO task leaders for each of the envisaged activity who will ensure a proper and timely
implementation of the different activities
b) WFP/FAO Pillar leaders who will ensure that the different activities implementation is consistent
with the pillars over vision and expected results
c) The Food Security Information Network (FSIN) that WFP and FAO jointly with IFPRI are currently
constituting, will provide strategic direction and help to prioritize stakeholders demand for what
concerns the process of methods and tools development and standardization.
Funding will come from FAO and WFP as well as from other sources, to be identified at a later date.
FAO- WFP Joint Strategy on Information Systems on Food and Nutrition Security
Revised Draft June 15, 2011
2
22 June 2011
Joint FAO-WFP PILLAR 2: Standards, Methods and Tools for Information Systems on Food and Nutrition Security
GOODS AND SERVICES
(lower level result)
TIME FRAME
(2, 4, 6 years
or ‘ongoing’)
FAO/WFP
DIVISION/SERVICE
LOCATION
(Regions/Countries)
ESTIMATED
RESOURCE
REQUIREMENTS
KEY PARTNERS
RP and TF
(GCP/INT/130/EC)
IFAD
(External to FAO-WFP)
LINKAGES WITH
OTHER PILLARS/
COMMENTS
Result 1: Methods and tools for hunger statistics are further consolidated and improved
1) Development of methodologies and tools
for deriving sex-disaggregated data from
country available data.
6 years
FAO (ESS)
WFP (ODXF)
HQ
Result 2: Methods and tools for food and nutrition security monitoring and assessment at household level are consolidated and improved
2) Standardize methods for measurement of
food and nutrition insecurity (e.g. dietary
diversity and food consumption scores)
Ongoing
FAO (AGN)
WFP (ODXF)
HQ with RB and CO
EB
(GCP/INT/130/EC)
and other programmes
RP and TF
3)Refine “Impacts of Shocks on Household
Income and Food Consumption Simulation
Model”
2 years
FAO (EST)
WFP (ODXF)
HQ and selected country
offices and relevant
ministries
4)Enhance analysis of the severity of food
insecurity (IPC)
Ongoing
FAO (TCE/ESA) WFP
(ODXF)
HQ and Regional Offices in
Africa, Asia, and Central
America. Collaborating with
TCE, EST, AGN, ESW
Extra-budgetary
Irish project just
ended, WFP financing
expertise and refining
the methodology
TF (GCP/INT/130/EC)
UNICEF
IFPRI
JRC
Possible collaboration with
IFAD
WFP
Joint activity;
Statistics, and
Analysis
Communications
8 agency partnership.
Partnership agreement with
IPC core partners and regional
organizations to be established
Also relevant to Pillar
III
Also relevant to Pillar
IV, monitoring and
in-country
assessments
Result 3: Methods and tools needed to improve the analysis of food and nutrition security related emerging issues
5) Develop market analysis
methods/guidance on impacts, value chain,
labour markets and livestock and harmonize
basic food prices tool to strengthen market
analysis and policy monitoring
Ongoing/4-6
years
FAO (EST)
WFP (ODXF)
6) Produce guidance and best practice on use
of assessment data for response analysis
Ongoing
FAO (TCE)
WFP (ODXF)
7) Develop an analytical framework to link
climate variability and change to HH food
security status along with joint work of
MOSAICC and “climate smart” model
Ongoing/4 years
FAO (NRC/ESA)
WFP (ODXF)
FAO HQ as well as selected
Regional and Country offices
WFP HQ with RB and CO
FAO HQ and country offices
(e.g. Somalia)
WFP HQ + RB / CO
FAO HQ
WFP HQ
FAO- WFP Joint Strategy on Information Systems on Food and Nutrition Security
Revised Draft June 15, 2011
IFPRI
Other market related
organizations
Joint activity:
Statistics and
Analysis
Communications
Requires Extrabudgetary support;
TF
(GCP/INT/130/EC)
$1.2 million
IFAD
3
Draft 22 June 2011
Appendix A
Joint FAO/WFP IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
PILLAR 3: Monitoring and In-Country Assessments
Strategic Issues and Challenges
The complexity of multiple threats to food and nutrition security and the growing number of
food emergencies make monitoring, early warning and assessments a critical component of
ISFNS. Both FAO and WFP are challenged to keep abreast of a continuously changing global
food situation and to monitor the many risks that make countries vulnerable to a sudden
deterioration in their food security situation. In addition to the traditional challenges there are
also emerging threats that present new information needs, such as drastic changes in
worldwide chronic food insecurity, extreme weather events and climate change, transboundary plant and animal pests and disease, and increased volatility in agricultural and related
commodity markets. These trends may combine and have enormous impact on countries and
regions. The capacity to monitor these threats has to be strengthened within each agency as
well as jointly through common objectives. There is a need for holistic monitoring and
integrated analysis for a more comprehensive understanding of and response to food
insecurity. It is also necessary to provide improved outputs and services, such as better
classification of countries and people in crisis requiring external assistance, enhanced price
monitoring, methods for crop yield forecasts, market information systems, among others.
Assessments, which are valuable in raising awareness of impending food crises, also require
strengthening through FAO – WFP joint actions. There are numerous assessment
methodologies and guidance material, and there have been some improvements in assessment
tools and functions in both agencies, but these do not always translate into coordinated,
integrated or higher-quality field assessments. In an important way the challenge is to
streamline this assessment capacity in a manner that makes the best use of each agency’s
comparative advantage while adding value through joint efforts and products such as a joint
assessment framework incorporating food security, nutrition and livelihoods. This Pillar strives
to address the above challenges by building further on the existing capacity in monitoring, early
warning and assessment of both agencies to better support member states. It includes the
achievement of three key joint results:
1. Improved monitoring of traditional and emerging threats to food & nutrition security
2. Greater integration and harmonization of monitoring, analysis and early warning
3. Improving the quality, credibility and independence of assessments.
These results will produce a set of common goods and services, as outlined in the following
table.
4
Draft 22 June 2011
Pillar on Monitoring and In-Country Assessments
Pillar 3: Result 1:
Improved monitoring of traditional and emerging threats to food & nutrition security
GOODS AND SERVICES (lower level
TIME FRAME
result)
1) Expanded and enhanced national and
sub-national price monitoring (geographic
and time series dbase), add more food
items (such as livestock) and improve
analysis of impact on the poor.
2) Better classification of countries and
people in crisis requiring external assistance
for food.
3) Improved model to measure the
impact of shocks on food and nutrition
security
Pillar 3: Result 2:
LEAD DIVFOCAL POINT
LOCATION
ESTIMATED
RESOURCE
REQUIREMENTS
KEY PARTNERS
LINKAGES WITH
OTHER PILLARS
(External mainly)
4
EST / VAM
HQ and Country
offices
FewsNet
Pillar 3, 4
2
EST / VAM
HQ and Country
offices
OCHA, IASC
Pillar 3, 4
EST / VAM
HQ
World Bank, GFDRR, IFPRI,
OECD
Pillar 3, 4
2
Greater integration and harmonization of monitoring, analysis and early warning
GOODS AND SERVICES (lower level
TIME FRAME
result)
1) A common platform to streamline
monitoring reports, briefs, and/or warnings
including joint products at the global
regional and national level.
2) Roll-out of IPC in a greater number of
countries.
LEAD DIVFOCAL POINT
LOCATION
4
EST / VAM
HQ, Regional and
Country Offices
4
EST / VAM
HQ, Regional and
Country Offices
ESTIMATED
RESOURCE
REQUIREMENTS
KEY PARTNERS
LINKAGES WITH
OTHER PILLARS
(External mainly)
FewsNet, JRC, GMFS, IRI
Pillar 1, 2, 3
WFP, FewsNet, Oxfam,
CARE, Save the Children
All Pillars
5
Draft 22 June 2011
Pillar 3: Result 3:
Improving the quality, credibility and independence of assessments.
GOODS AND SERVICES
1) A joint assessment framework
incorporating food security, nutrition and
livelihoods, integrating existing
methodologies, to better inform short-term
and long-term decision making.
2) Integrated assessment for food
security, nutrition, agriculture, forestry
livelihoods etc. through joint support to
interagency processes (NATF, EMMA,
PDNA, PCNA, etc.
3) Coordinated and joint assessments
(food security, agriculture, nutrition) at the
country level through the Global food
security cluster.
4) Options identified for institutionalized
assessments
TIME FRAME
LEAD DIVFOCAL POINT
LOCATION
ESTIMATED
RESOURCE
REQUIREMENTS
KEY PARTNERS
LINKAGES WITH
OTHER PILLARS
(External mainly)
4
TCE / VAM
HQ
- NGOs, Academic
Institutions, IASC
Pillar 2, 3
4
TCE / VAM
HQ
FAO / WFP
Pillar 2, 3
2
TCE / VAM
HQ
Key cluster members and
government
Pillar 1
4
TCE / VAM
HQ
FAO / WFP
6
Draft 22 June 2011
FAO / WFP Core Products and Services
Relevant to Pillar on Monitoring and In-Country Assessments
(DRAFT, to be completed by WFP and FAO)
Monitoring and Early Warning: Analysis and Products

The Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) on
Food and Agriculture.




















Country Briefs
Food Outlook
Crop Prospects and Food Situation
Price Monitoring and Analysis Country Briefs
FAO Food Price Index/Commodity Price Indices
Global Food Price Monitor
National Basic Food Prices – Data and Analysis
GIEWS Workstation
The Crop Calendar
Countries Requiring External Assistance for Food List
Commodity Market Review
Oil crops Monthly Price and Policy Update (MPPU
Economic and Social Perspectives Policy Briefs



Vulnerability Analysis and
Mapping (VAM)
Humanitarian Early Warning
Service (HEWSweb)
Early Warning – Early Action
Report (IASC)
The Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and
Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES).
Rapid Agricultural Disaster Assessment Routine (RADAR) on
agriculture
Global Early Warning and Response System for Major Animal
Diseases (GLEWS).
Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping
Systems Initiative (FIVIMS).
Handbook for Defining and Setting up a Food Security
Information and Early Warning System (FSIEWS).
Global Fire Information Management System (GFIMS).
Early Warning – Early Action Report (IASC).
Monitoring and Early Warning: Databases, Indicators, Satellite Images

















CountrySTAT
Nutrition Country Profiles
Baseline FSN vulnerability and poverty assessment
Geographic Information System (GIS) datasets for monitoring,
assessment and analysis of environmental and socio-economic
factors.
Country Cereal Balance Sheets (CCBS)
Country Balance Sheets for specific commodity groups (XCBS)
Cereal Supply/Demand Balances for Sub-Saharan Africa
Estimated Cereal Import Requirements of LIFDCs
Interpolated Estimated Rainfall for Africa Database
Agricultural Market Access Database (AMAD)
Rice Market Monitor (RMM)
Commodity Markets Monitoring and Outlooks
Briefs on Import Surges
International Agricultural Commodity Prices
Price Tool (National food prices graphical analysis tool)
NDVI (SPOT 4) Satellite Images (dekadal)
Fisheries and Aquaculture Information & Statistics



Food Deficit Countries
NutriNet
Community and Household
Surveys (CHS)
Joint
Joint


The State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI)
The State of Food Insecurity in the
World (SOFI)
7
Draft 22 June 2011
Assessment








Crop and Food Supply Assessment Missions (CFSAMs) Reports /
Alerts
Assessment and Programme Formulation in Agriculture
Emergencies (GAP)
Livelihood Assessment Tool-Kit (LAT)
Livelihood Assessment and Response System (LARS)
Seed System Security Assessments (SSSA)
Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS)
Response Analysis Framework for Food Security Emergencies
(RAF)
Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)






Inter agency assessments
 Food security analysis in the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP)
 IASC Needs Assessment Task Force (NATF)
 The Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA)
 The Post Conflict Needs Assessment (PCNA)



Crop and Food Supply
Assessment Missions (CFSAMs)
Comprehensive Food Security and
Vulnerability Assessments
(CFSVA)
Emergency Food Security
Assessments (EFSA)
Food Security Monitoring Systems
(FSMS)
Vulnerability Analysis and
Mapping (VAM)
Emergency Market Mapping
Assessments (EMMAs)
Market Information for Response
Analysis (MIFRAs)
Price Impact Analysis
Joint Assessment Missions (JAM)
Inter agency assessments
 Food security analysis in the
Consolidated Appeals Process
(CAP)
 IASC Needs Assessment Task
Force (NATF)
 The Post Disaster Needs
Assessment (PDNA)
 The Post Conflict Needs
Assessment (PCNA)
Websites
GIEWS
EMPRES
EMPRES-i website (global animal disease information system)
Locust Watch
Hunger Portal
FIVIMS
IPC
Web Fire Mapper
VAM
VAM SIE GeoNetwork
HEWSweb
EPWeb
8
Draft 22 June 2011
Appendix A
Joint FAO/WFP IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
PILLAR 4: Statistics, information and analyses on Food and Nutrition Security
(Global Public Goods)
Strategic Issues and Challenges:
This Joint FAO/WFP Implementation Plan addresses two major limitations in the generation
and dissemination of statistics, information and analyses on Food and Nutrition Security, as
Global Public Goods (GPG), namely:
 The absence of a mechanism to systematically track product use and to improve
understanding of user needs, including emerging issues;
 The need for an integrated and high quality set of global public goods and services.
Expected Results
1.
FAO/WFP Statistics, information and analyses on Food and Nutrition Security
respond to user requirements and emerging issues and are easily accessible
To rationalize the supply of GPG and facilitate their access, a common FSN website portal
will be established, with links to WFP and FAO own and joint-FSN products, including FSIN.
To ensure products are demand-driven and to help identify emerging issues, a mechanism to
gather user feedback is designed and put in place. More in-depth stakeholder analysis to be
carried out every two years.
2.
FAO/WFP ensure their products and services are coherent with each other
In close collaboration with originating Divisions and Decentralized Offices, an inventory of
existing FNSI products by WFP and FAO will be drawn up and maintained, so as to serve as a
basis for assessing on a regular basis product consistency, overlaps, complementarities and
gaps in the provision of information.
Areas identified for joint collaboration/streamlining in the GPG pillar include:





list of countries in crisis (to ensure coherence between the FAO and WFP lists)
SOFI (both Global and national SOFI)
Food security indicators
Domestic prices
Food Security Information Network (FSIN)
9
Draft 22 June 2011
Joint FAO-WFP PILLAR 4: Statistics, information and Analysis on Food and Nutrition Security
GOODS AND SERVICES
(lower level result)
TIME FRAME
(2, 4, 6 years
or ‘ongoing’)
FAO/WFP
DIVISION/SERVICE
LOCATION
(Regions/Countries)
ESTIMATED
RESOURCE
REQUIREMENTS
KEY PARTNERS
(External to
FAO-WFP)
LINKAGES WITH OTHER
PILLARS/ COMMENTS
Result 1: Statistics, information and analyses on Food and Nutrition Security respond to user requirements and emerging issues and are easily
accessible
1) Stakeholder information needs
analysis and set-up mechanism to keep
track of user-needs (standardised
indicators to assess FNS product access
and use)
2 – 6 years
(Activity will be
conducted on
a biennial
basis)
FAO HQ and
Regional/Country
Offices
2) Joint FAO/WFP communication
strategy to meet stakeholders
requirements at global, regional and
national levels
1 year
development
5 years
implementation
and monitoring
WFP/ODXF
FAO/ES
3) Seamless data streams/-harmonised
data sets for: (i) food security indicators;
(ii) market and price data and (iii)
countries and people in crisis
6 years
Rome/Italy
Global, Regional
and Country
levels
Cost of surveys:
$1800 (Survey
monkey licence for 6
years)
Initial review to be undertaken
by FAO and WFP jointly.
Successive biannual rounds will
be carried out by each
organisation independently.
$300,000
1,2
Result 2: FAO and WFP ensure their ISFNS products and services are coherent with each other and keep food and nutrition security high on the
policy agenda
4) Joint publication of The State of Food
Insecurity in the World (SOFI)
Annual
(6 years)
WFP/ODXF
FAO/ESA
$1,200,000
5) National publications on the State of
Food Security and Nutrition (linked to
global SOFI)
6) Common web-site portal for access to
FAO and WFP food security and nutrition
information and data
3 Years
WFP/ODXF
FAO/ESA
6 years
WFP/ODXF
FAO/ES
Max $250,000 for
development
$25,000 for
maintenance
7) FAO and WFP support to the
establishment and maintenance of the
Food Security Information Network
(FSIN)
2 years
FAO HQ and
Regional/Country
Offices
$....... (RP)
6 countries
IFAD
$3,250,000 (TF)
2
0% funded per year
$.......(TF)
WFP/IFPRI
Pillar 1 (Standards, Methods and
Tools) and Pillar 2 (Capacity
development).
1