DoAFW Signs MoU with UNWFP to Address National Priorities in Food Security, Nutrition

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and the United Nations World Food Programme for the effective implementation of the Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2023-27 and to address the national priorities in food security and nutrition through capacity building and technical support.

Under the MoU, the CSP 2023-27 addresses four strategic outcomes: (i) more effective and efficient national food-based social protection systems; (ii) increasing consumption of diverse, nutritious, and fortified foods; (iii) enhancing the social and financial mobility of women; and (iv) strengthening the adaptive capacity to build climate-resilient livelihoods and food systems.

The MoU was signed at a meeting of the Country Programme Advisory Committee (CPAC) chaired by Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), Dr Devesh Chaturvedi in New Delhi. Representatives of the United Nations World Food Programme (UN WFP) and members from concerned Ministries/Departments were present, according to an official press release.

To coordinate and review the progress on initiatives under Country Strategic Plan, a Country Programme Advisory Committee has been constituted under the chairperson of Dr Chaturvedi. Joint secretaries of ministries concerned and NITI Aayog are its members.

This was the first meeting of CPAC under CSP 2023-27 to review and discuss the progress and accomplishments of the ongoing Country Strategic Plan (CSP). Country Director of WFP Elizabeth Faure informed the committee about the status of various targeted outcomes of the CSP. 

Dr Chaturvedi highlighted that the department and WFP have maintained a long-standing partnership, driven by a shared goal of achieving food and nutrition security and suggested that officers should identify the scalable interventions and initiatives and prepare mechanism for including the same in ongoing programmes of ministries/departments.

He advised WFP to organise a one-day workshop to present and discuss the important initiatives and pilots exclusively in the Agriculture Sector with officers of the department and emphasised that while assessing the nutritional outcomes of the programmes we should also look at the standards on nutrition applicable for Indian population. Along with ongoing fortified varieties of different cereals, existing local varieties of red and black rice and millet, which are nutritious, should also be popularised. He also advised exploring the possibilities of bringing the Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO) into different initiatives.

The meeting was also attended by officers and representatives from Department of Food & Public Distribution, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change, Department School Education & Literacy, Ministry of External Affairs, National Disaster Management Authority, India Meteorological Department and Ministry of Earth Sciences.