The country's plot to boost food security is thickening with Government adopting a Food and Nutrition Security Information System that generates critical data to influence both policy-making and programme implementation.
Speaking at the ongoing 52nd Session of the Committee on World Food Security hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome this Monday, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Deputy Minister Vangelis Haritatos said the system was designed to produce critical information that assist in policy-making and programme implementation.
"This system not only collects and analyses information on food availability, accessibility and utilisation but also assesses the nutritional status of the population," said Dep Min Haritatos.
By leveraging this data, policymakers are able to make informed decisions that address food security challenges and enhance nutrition outcomes.
"Timely, scientific and credible data is critical in informing policy formulation, allowing countries to respond to food and nutrition challenges," observed Dep Min Haritatos.
He added that evidence generated through the information system's annual livelihoods assessments enabled Government to estimate the population that was likely to be food insecure, identify their geographic distribution and assess the severity of their food insecurity as a result of the El Nino-induced drought.
"Policy recommendations emanating from these assessments culminate in the development and implementation of targeted and context-specific interventions such as the current drought mitigation strategies by decision-makers," he said.
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Government's declaration of a state of disaster facilitated the development of a comprehensive, multi-sectoral and all-encompassing response.
"The importation of supplementary grains and the enhancement of the strategic grain reserve was facilitated by a strong information system to bolster food security," said Dep Min Haritatos.
Following the declaration of the state of disaster, Government managed to drill additional boreholes to provide more water for people, livestock and wildlife focusing on 1 620 drought mitigation centres.
"This effort will complement the village business units (VBU) programme, which seeks to establish one business in each of the country's 35 000 villages across the country," said Dep Min Haritatos.
The country continues to invest in strengthening multi-level, multi-sectoral governance structures to operationalise a collaborated and coordinated response to food and nutrition challenges.
"In order to ensure that nutrition remained at the centre of all response efforts, nutrition clusters were strengthened for the implementation of nutrition specific interventions," Dep Min Haritatos further explained.
Significant efforts were also made towards strengthening nutrition-sensitive programming athwart sectors through the creation of linkages across and within sectors.
"We recognise the importance of a collaborative and coordinated multi-sectoral response to effectively address these challenges," said Dep Min Haritatos.
