There is more than enough food produced in the world to feed everyone, yet 815 million people still go hungry every day. Moreover, global population is projected to rise to around 10 billion by 2050. In order to fight hunger and feed an extra two billion people in 2050, food production will need to increase by 50 percent. In a context where famine caused by conflicts and climate shocks has increased, the commitment of states to tackle these challenges has become all the more urgent. Governments' human and institutional capacities must improve to drive effective and equitable food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture policies. FIRST represents a strategic partnership between the EU and the FAO whereby the FAO is providing support to ensure that EU investments in food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture (FNS&SA) are transformed by partner countries into effective policies and programmes. Such support should then contribute to increasing agricultural growth, enhancing nutrition and food security and to boosting people’s resilience to withstand food crises. Through this support, the EU and FAO are providing assistance to countries in driving their own policies and agendas, where they commit to explicitly incorporate FNS&SA objectives into their national frameworks and budgets, focusing in particular on the improvement of diets and levels of nutrition and on ameliorating the status of women, children, and most vulnerable population groups. The FIRST programme contributes to this by providing policy assistance to partner governments through a network of FNS&SA experts, hosted by partner ministries and/or by regional organisations that have requested the FAO’s support. These experts work directly with country partners to: 1. improve the capacities of national and regional actors in terms of awareness and understanding of critical FNS&SA issues, and in terms of skills to design, review and/or implement FNS&SA actions; 2. facilitate inclusive policy dialogue and coordination among diverse actors around FNS&SA, including through the formation of alliances and partnership; 3. advocate an increase in resource allocation in line with the priorities spelled out in the national policies.

Source: ec.europa.eu