FIRST-FAO and EU Policy Guidance Notes

Food and Nutrition Security Impact, Resilience, Sustainability and Transformation (FIRST) represents a strategic partnership between FAO and the EU, whereby the EU is making a significant investment of nearly €8 billion in over 60 countries during the 2014–2020 period to improve food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture (FNSSA).

Current FIRST priority countries include:

Africa: Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Uganda, ECOWAS (sub-regional organization based in Nigeria);
Asia and the Pacific: Afghanistan, Cambodia, Fiji, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Pakistan, Solomon islands, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu;
Europe and Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan;
Latin America and the Caribbean: Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Suriname;
Near East: West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Through FIRST FAO adds value to the investment made by the EU, governments and other partners to have more direct and tangible impact.

It provides policy assistance and capacity development support through a network of policy officers (currently 30 policy officers) based at the ministries or national institutions.
FAO and EU collaborate closely in steering planning and implementation of FIRST both at country level through the FAO Representations and EU Delegations and at global level through FAO headquarters and DEVCO, Rural Development, Food Security and Nutrition Unit (C1).
FIRST is active in 32 countries , one territory and the subregional organization of ECOWAS for provision of policy assistance support.

The Policy Guidance Notes are key documents for the provision of policy assistance support to the member countries, as they guide the decision makers, policy officers, and the national stakeholders in their work on sharpening the focus of a particular sector or policy domain on food security and nutrition.

The notes will further support the integration of food security and nutrition objectives into sectoral policies, and will promote a better understanding of how sectoral policies could affect the food security and nutrition situation.

The series includes an overall introductory note on policy coherence, and sector specific notes on Fisheries, Forestry, Livestock, Climate Change, Social Protection, Gender Equality, Land Tenure, and Political Economy Analysis.