Midrand, South Africa, 21 February 2013- Key developmental stakeholders will soon meet in the Tanzanian town of Dar es Salaam, to discuss concrete actions needed to facilitate nutrition security through improved agricultural practices in Africa.

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) through its flagship programme the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), in collaboration with the Tanzanian Government, will hold discussions with representatives from Regional Economic Communities (REC’s), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other development partners, at a special workshop on the East and Central Africa Regional CAADP Nutrition Programme, from February 25 to March 1, 2013. 

The Workshop will be held amid concern that several countries that committed to accomplishing the Millennium Development Goal set to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger (MDG1) are still not on track to doing so, and poverty targets have made little or no progress. The urgency for increased momentum to achieving this and other MGD Goals has intensified, as the 2015 deadline approaches.

Under the theme ‘’ Building capacity to mainstream Nutrition in National Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plans in Africa’ the meeting will bring together a range of  participants from 18 countries, versed in Nutritional issues, including CAADP Country Focal Points, and delegates from Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Education, Finance, Civil Society and the Private Sector. The  common objective will be to address the challenges of malnutrition and exploring how best to coordinate efforts to effectively deliver nutrition services where they are most needed.

The overall goal of the Workshop will be to ensure that nutrition interventions are planned, budgeted for and implemented as part of National Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plans. The meeting will also be also part of a wider capacity-development process designed to assist countries in enhancing the nutritional impact of national agriculture and food security investment plans.

According to Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki NEPAD’s Chief Executive Officer, the major constraints in the promotion of nutrition-sensitive agriculture,  include low political commitment, lack in understanding within the agricultural sector of the role the industry plays in nutrition, and too few food security programmes having nutrition improvement as an explicit objective and component

“To this end countries are urged to develop action plans in order to  strengthen coordination among appropriate sectors and stakeholders in aligning on-going and new nutrition programs with current or planned agriculture programs’’ says Dr Mayaki.

The Workshop is organized within the context of food supply and the fight against hunger.  Under CAADP Pillar 3, the key objective is to achieve MDG1 through agriculture- led growth aimed at  increasing the supply of affordable nutritious and safe food, improving incomes of the poor while ensuring overall dietary diversity.

At the end, participants will be expected to produce recommendations and action plans for strengthening capacities across various institutions which deal with agricultural issues.

These include sectors such as health and social protection, agriculture, education, trade and industry as well as finance and economic development planning The other expected key outcome will be a plan on how to promote advocacy activities to ensure better visibility of nutritional aspects in projects and programmes.

Particular attention will be given to coordination, as nutrition is multi-sectoral by nature. HIV and AIDS, and Gender issues will be taken into account, considering their interlinks to nutritional issues. The workshop is the second of its kind after the first hosted in Dakar, Senegal for the West Africa region in November 2011.