WEBINAR: Pacific Community Food Production Initiatives for Improving Nutrition

The aim of this project is to strengthen the capacity of the Pacific island governments, farmer and private-sector organisations and subregional institutions to develop innovative strategies and programmes that can increase poor rural people’s access to nutritious and healthy food and to mobilise the funds needed to deliver these.

The project aims at improving local food supply, income and nutrition outcomes by building value-chain-specific public-private partnerships (value-chain coordination/agricultural innovation platforms) and effective linkages between knowledge institutes, government and industry to drive innovation and attract investments. To achieve this, the project employs a three-pronged approach: • Analyse – Build the evidence base • Act – Build capacity for change • Advocate – Share practices and lobby for policy change and development impact at scale. Local communities and public and private actors will participate and drive the setting of the agenda for an innovative agricultural sector that will contribute to better nutrition, higher incomes and a sustainable agri-food system.

Webinars

The University of the South Pacific, the University of Cambridge, the University of Exeter and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation are hosting two webinar sessions on 'Evaluating the Role of Community Food Production Initiatives for Improving Nutrition in Pacific Island States' Presentations provide an overview of the disease burden of malnutrition in Pacific Island States and explore the role of community-based food production initiatives in addressing this challenge.

Particularily experiences in developing methods and tools to evaluate local initiatives in small island developing states and examples of two community-based seed funding Innov4AgPacific interventions in Fiji and the Solomon Islands, designed to improve the supply and consumption of local nutrient dense foods are shared.

Presentations provided an overview of the disease burden of malnutrition in Pacific Island States and explore the role of community-based food production initiatives in addressing this challenge. Particularily experiences in developing methods and tools to evaluate local initiatives in small island developing states and examples of two community-based seed funding Innov4AgPacific interventions in Fiji and the Solomon Islands, designed to improve the supply and consumption of local nutrient dense foods are shared. 

Presentations of webinar 1, Wednesday 19.02.2020: 

1. Building the Evidence Base: Linking Diet Quality, Nutrition and Health in Pacific Island States - Nigel Unwin, Universities of Cambridge and Exeter, UK 
2. Investigating the links between sources of food and diet quality: The Community Food and Health Project Approach - Emily Haynes, University of Exeter, UK

Presentations of webinar 2, Wednesday 26.02.2020: 

1. Lessons from Innov4AgPacific Community-based Interventions - Viliamu Iese, University of the South Pacific, Fiji 
2. Policy Implications for Improving Nutrition Outcomes in Pacific Island States, Morgan Wairiu, University of the South Pacific, Fiji