Annual Action Programme for the food and nutrition security & sustainable agriculture

5 November 2015. The Annual Action Programme for the food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture component of the Global Public Goods and Challenges thematic programme  2015 to be financed under the EC Development Cooperation Instrument was adopted last August and is now published.

It provides more than € 228 million to the following programmes: 

1. Land Governance Programme
   This programme supports the responsible governance of land tenure by promoting the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the context of national food security (VGGT). The programme is countrybased, responding to needs in 8 countries (Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Sudan, Uganda, Pakistan, Brazil and Colombia). In addition support will be provided to the International Land Coalition because of the importance of civil society to land governance and to the Land Matrix Initiative, recognising the need for information and data on land deals. Monitoring of progress of the in-country projects and exploring lessons learned for the further promotion of the VGGT will be ensured by FAO. 
2. Inclusive and Sustainable Value Chains and Food Fortification
   This multi-country programme focuses on 60 countries with food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture as a focal sector in cooperation with the EU and with high levels of undernutrition. It supports the development of inclusive, sustainable agriculture based value chains and the strengthening of evidence and access to fortified food. The programme will be implemented through a mix of modalities including technical assistance, call for proposals and blending
3. The National Information Platforms for Nutrition (NIPN)
   This multi-country programme is currently setting-up of Information Platforms in Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Burundi, Niger, Kenya and Laos. The programme will be extended to more countries as soon as financial resources are available and interest is expressed by countries. This action aims to improve partner country capacity for collecting and using nutrition information.  The primary goal of this EU partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is to join forces to implement the NIPN in order to improve accountability and governance on nutrition. They will provide $500,000 dollars for the initiative. The UK's Department for International Development will also support the initiative with £6.4 million.
4. Pro-Resilience Action (PRO-ACT-2015)
   This programme covers interventions in West Africa, Syria, Nigeria, Burundi, Gambia, Sudan, DPR Korea, Cape Verde, responding to major post-food crises, promoting structural and resilient actions, and building capacity of public institutions and private organisations to respond to food crises. The direct focus of these actions is on long-term solutions to food crises. The programme will be implemented using a variety of modalities.