FAO To Establish Food Security, Nutrition Information System At NFSR Ministry, Says Syed Fakhar Imam

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam Tuesday said that Foid and Agriculture Organization (FAO) would establish Food Security and Nutrition Information System (FSNIS) at Ministry of National Food Security and Research (NFSR).

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Aug, 2020 ) :Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam Tuesday said that Foid and Agriculture Organization (FAO) would establish Food Security and Nutrition Information System (FSNIS) at Ministry of National Food Security and Research (NFSR).

The minster said this during a meeting with the delegation of FAO, said a news release issued here by the Ministry for NFSR.

The minister said the agriculture data from 1997 till date would be available electronically due to the new system.

He stressed the need to upgrade the seed technology in the country. The FAO delegation briefed the minister about the Hand-in-Hand Initiative (HiHi).

This initiative represents a bold step to eradicate poverty and end hunger and all forms of malnutrition by accelerating agricultural transformation and sustainable rural development.

The Initiative would contribute in attainment of all other Sustainable Development Goals. Hand-in-Hand is designed to work in countries that have multiple donors and existing coordination mechanisms, as well as in those that lack broad or strong donor support.

In the first case, which is the situation in most developing countries, the FAO would offer its multidimensional GIS data platform to host countries and the existing international partners to identify critical areas of policy intervention and public investment to unlock the potential for ending poverty and hunger.

The goal is to complement existing information and bolster existing coordination mechanisms. In countries that lack strong donor support, Hand-in-Hand will identify new donors and give them access to the GIS data platform.

Central to Hand-in-Hand is the use of data and modeling to target investments. Poverty maps are widely-used tools to guide rural development policies, and maps of agro-ecological zones have helped prioritize agricultural investments.

But Hand-in-Hand is the first of its kind that combines poverty, market, agro-ecological and farm-level information to identify agricultural areas where there is potential for farmers to achieve their potential income and move out of poverty.

The topography platform can also estimate returns of investments and match resources with needs.

In addition, FAO will provide all the policy tools it has to bring solutions to areas where there are significant opportunities for farmers to increase their income; for areas where agriculture in its current conditions is not a feasible solution, it will bring alternative solutions that could stimulate non-farm incomes and attract investments.

In case of HiHi, Pakistan comes under food crisis and highly populated country.