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Promoting the use of CSOs' evidence in policies for food security:
an action research project in southern Africa
This project has been developed by the Southern African Regional
Poverty Network, the Overseas Development Institute, and the SADC
Food and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network and validated
and refined in collaboration with southern African CSOs working
on food security at a one day workshop held in South Africa in May
2005.
The project aims to improve the targeting of regional policies
in southern Africa to the food security needs of poor and vulnerable
people, through:
- Promoting the contribution of CSOs to the debate within southern
Africa on policies affecting food security;
- Promoting the voice of southern Africa CSOs in the international
debate on policies affecting food security;
- Disseminating within southern Africa relevant evidence and policy
lessons from CSOs elsewhere in the world.
Strengthening the food security of poor and vulnerable people is
an issue attracting increasing regional and international attention,
but progress has been slow. Prevalence rates of underweight children
have been falling in most regions of the world, but too slowly to
achieve the 2015 target, and in some regions the proportion of hungry
people continues to grow. There is increasing evidence that in southern
Africa, this has been as much the result of weaknesses in policy
processes as failures in food production and utilisation technologies.
Better policies for increasing food availability, strengthening
effective access to food, and improving food utilisation are now
recognised as a priority. A number of countries (for example, Lesotho,
Malawi and Mozambique) are conducting comprehensive reviews of national
food and nutrition security policies, to which CSOs have actively
contributed by providing evidence of the failures of past policies
at grass-roots level and communities' current policy priorities.
Action at regional level is particularly important to address cross-border
constraints to food security, namely: customs controls; import and
export tariffs, duties and bans; phytosanitary and other regulations
affecting the movement of grain and seed; labour policies affecting
the movement of people in search of work; regional early warning
and disaster preparedness.
Discussions at this project's inaugural meeting revealed that CSOs
are keen to use their evidence to influence regional policy, which
has a critical impact on food security across southern Africa, but
not enough is known about the context, evidence and links in regional
policy processes for food security in southern Africa for them to
do so effectively. The project is intended to engage with a range
of development partners at national and regional level in southern
Africa to:
- promote the contribution of civil society organisations to the
debate within southern Africa on food security policy;
- promote the voice of Southern Africa civil society organisations
in the international debate on food security policy;
- publicise within the region and internationally the policy and
practice lessons learnt;
- disseminate within the region relevant evidence and policy lessons
from civil society organisations elsewhere in the world.
The project proposes to use action research in various settings
in southern Africa to develop understanding around:
- Lessons about how CSOs use evidence to influence policy
- Lessons about how CSOs relate to their downstream and upstream
partners
- Lessons about food security policy priorities for poor and vulnerable
people in southern Africa.
Activities and deadlines will be as follows:
1. Planning (Jan - May 2005)
- Prepare and circulate draft project concept paper (10 pp) (by
May 2005)
- Inaugural project meeting with CSOs interested in collaborating,
and other key stakeholders, to discuss and agree joint project
concept (May 2005)
2. Regional activities (June - August 2005)
- Research current policy processes at regional and prepare a
regional paper for discussion at country-level (June 2005)
- One-day country meetings in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe
for national CSOs and other key national stakeholders interested
in shaping the regional food security policy agenda to discuss
constraints and opportunities, and to identify key drivers (July
2005)
- High profile regional workshop in Botswana to coincide with
SADC Triennial Summit (August 2005)
- Preparation and circulation of Project Alerts (on-going June
2005 onwards)
3. Stage 3 Pilot influencing activities (September 2005 - March
2006)
- Project stakeholders will disseminate a range of different types
of information products in different fora (national, regional,
international). (September 2005 - March 2006)
- After Action Review meeting of project partners and lessons
learnt report (April 2006)
- Dissemination of final Project Alert on policy and practice
lessons learnt (April 2006)
Outputs will include:
- Enhanced understanding of policy processes relating to food
security regionally and internationally amongst CSOs and other
development partners in southern Africa
- Lessons about the role of CSOs in using evidence to contribute
to pro-poor policy processes disseminated internationally
- The voice of southern Africa poor people promoted in the international
debate on food security policy
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