The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) recently hosted the “Regional training workshop on strategic planning and policy development in food security” in Abu Dhabi in collaboration with the Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS).
The training workshop was attended by representatives of 27 countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The workshop’s key objective is to train concerned government officials of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states in developing strategies and legal frameworks for food security.
“Hosting the workshop reflects ADAFSA’s keenness on promoting food security system in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. This also comes in line with the National Food Security Strategy 2051, which aims to establish the UAE’s position as a world-leading hub in innovation-driven food security, make the UAE the world’s best in the Global Food Security Index by 2051 and among the top 10 countries by 2021,” Saeed Al Bahri Al Ameri, Director-General of ADAFSA, said in a speech at the opening of the workshop.
He added that the topics addressed in this regional workshop and best practices related to policy-making and strategic planning in food security are very important for the authority to achieve global leadership in food security and ensure that all people have access to safe, nutritious and adequate food all times.
Al Ameri called on attendees from Islamic member countries to benefit from the workshop and exchange experiences and knowledge to develop integrated approaches to meet challenges in food security today and into the future.
The training workshop was attended by group legislators, strategy developers, policy analysts, and programme planners to share the best food security policy-making and planning practices.
The workshop reviewed the OIC member states’ experience and international good practices in food security governance. Participants are familiarised with the existing legislation and strategies of particular countries, whether OIC or non-OIC member countries, by providing the hard copy of these documents.
Furthermore, the workshop aimed to build the capacities of participants in basics and practices of developing strategies, improving legislation, and creating government inter-sectoral mechanism for food security. The training also raised participants’ awareness about essential aspects of addressing cross-sectoral issues that impact the state of food security, including agriculture development, private sector empowerment, involvement of third parties, innovations, climate resilience, and others.
ADAFSA has developed an integrated food security and agricultural data platform. This platform aims to inform evidence-based food policy decision-making, ensure prompt response to food security risks and emergencies through alerts, provide accurate and timely food security information, and monitor local, regional and global food security situations through a data dashboard.
Source: Emirates News Agency