Context
Worldwide, the prevalence of undernourishment has been reduced from around 23.3 per cent in the early 1990s to 12.9 per cent in 2014. However, the absolute number of undernourished individuals has fallen much less over the same time period due to high global population growth. In 2015, 795 million suffered from undernourishment, primarily in developing countries. Furthermore, two billion people, in particular children, are affected by micronutrient deficiencies, known as ‘hidden hunger’. The persistently high number of undernourished or malnourished people is closely linked to poverty and is caused not only by short and medium-term factors but also, and most importantly, by underlying structural problems.
In order to reduce poverty, to increase incomes and to improve the availability and utilisation of food, it is important to promote the agricultural sector with the aim of achieving food security and inclusive, agriculture-based economic development in rural areas. This will create the necessary conditions to enable more people having access to appropriate food. Agricultural policies and concepts in need to address fundamental development constraints, such as low productivity and dysfunctional agricultural and food markets at local and regional level. This is becoming all the more important given the rising demand for food and agricultural raw materials as a result of global population growth and the continuing trend of urbanisation. When designing policies, programmes and instruments, involved stakeholders need to differentiate between various social and economic target groups and take into account dynamics and implications of rural transformation.
Sustainable agricultural development is a vital prerequisite for global food security and improved nutrition, but is not in itself sufficient. Effective food and nutrition security policies require a multi-sectoral approach. Hence, alongside respective agricultural promotion activities, social protection programmes are required that address the specific needs of marginalised population groups, especially women and young children.
In recent years, there has been active debate in development policy circles about the prime importance of food security and agricultural development. This has prompted the international donor community, and in particular the German Federal Government, to make major financial commitments in this area. Moreover, numerous international processes and agreements have been launched, and various strategies for agricultural policy and food security have been further developed. However, the core problem is that these are not sufficiently refined and integrated into national and international development cooperation processes and approaches.
Objective
State-of-the art strategies for agricultural policy and food and nutrition security are integrated in relevant national and international development cooperation processes and approaches.
Approach
The sector project provides advisory services to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) based on the strategies and approaches it has designed and refined, with a view to integrating them in national and international processes. These strategies and approaches take up the German and international expert debate and draw on the lessons learned in the course of the implementation of development cooperation activities. They are disseminated by thematic networks and via capacity development measures to international cooperation programmes, international organisations and partner institutions. To this end, the project is engaged in three closely interrelated fields of activities in agricultural policy and food and nutrition security:
1) advising and positioning of BMZ,
2) developing and refining state-of-the-art strategies and approaches, and
3) promoting learning and innovation.
Project activities are designed to ensure that relevant aspects of agricultural policy and food and nutrition security are fed both into German and international processes such as the G7, G20 and Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement efforts and into schemes at supra-regional level such as the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP). A crucial international process is the German presidency of the G20 in 2017, for which the sector project will be advising BMZ in the context of the G20 Development Working Group. The project is also supporting BMZ on key accountability processes such as the annual Global Nutrition Report (GNR), reports on the implementation of food and nutrition security commitments undertaken jointly by the European Commission and EU Member States, as well as the conceptual development of a renewed accountability framework for the G7 Food Security Working Group following the German presidency of the G7 in 2015.
The project engages in existing regional and international expert networks (especially the GIZ Sector Network Rural Development, Africa), organises thematic events and conferences, and cooperates with national and international research institutes. Within this context, approaches, strategies and case studies are analysed, discussed and critically assessed in professional fora. Selected projects in partner countries apply strategies and approaches to agricultural policy and food and nutrition security; the practical experiences gained serve as a basis for further conceptual development. Here, there is a particular focus on gender-sensitive measures. Successful approaches are subsequently mainstreamed into programme designs. A core concept that is being developed by the project is the design of nutrition-sensitive approaches to agriculture. As part of the activities of the Working Group on Global Food Security jointly led by BMZ and BMEL (German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture), the project is also collaborating with German organisations from civil society, academia, the private and public sector on issues relating to food and nutrition security.
Recipients of financial support include international organisations, non-governmental organisations, research and training institutes. Funding is meant to develop concepts and strategies, to carry out research studies, to organise dialogue events and training and to pilot innovative approaches.
Results
Building on the results achieved by its predeceasing project, this sector project is advising and supporting BMZ on how to contribute and position itself in the areas of agricultural policy and food and nutrition security at political level in national and international processes. In the course of this work, strategies and approaches developed by the sector project are being disseminated and mainstreamed in national and international contexts. Through targeted cooperation, the refined approaches and strategies are also being incorporated into projects in partner countries. They are achieving broad impact at various levels in international decision-making processes through their dissemination by means of training measures and active participation of the sector project in expert networks that bring together a wide range of stakeholders.