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New Delhi, September 26, 2024: A meeting of the Country Programme Advisory Committee (CPAC) to review the implementation of the Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2023-2027 with representatives of the United Nations World Food Programme (UN WFP) and members from concerned Ministries and Departments was held here chaired by Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) Secretary Dr Devesh Chaturvedi.
To coordinate and review the progress on initiatives under Country Strategic Plan, a Country Programme Advisory Committee has been constituted under the chairperson of Dr. Devesh Chaturvedi and Joint Secretaries of concerned Ministries and NITI Aayog as its members.
This was the first meeting of CPAC under CSP 2023-27 to review and discuss the progress and accomplishments of the ongoing Country Strategic Plan (CSP).
The committee meets at least annually.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and the United Nations World Food Programme to address the national priorities in food security and nutrition through capacity building and technical support.
Under the MoU, the CSP 2023-27 addresses four strategic outcomes which includes more effective and efficient national food-based social protection systems; increasing consumption of diverse, nutritious, and fortified foods; enhancing the social and financial mobility of women; and strengthening the adaptive capacity to build climate-resilient livelihoods and food systems.
The Country Director of WFP Elizabeth Faure informed the committee about the status of various targeted outcomes of the CSP. WFP informed about various ongoing initiatives which include transforming agriculture and enhancing food security for smallholder farmers in states like Assam, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh; nationwide efforts for mainstreaming millets; building resilience in fishing communities through the ‘Secure Fishing’ App; initiative for optimizing the Public Distribution System (PDS); Annapurti initiative provides grain ATMs; school nutri-gardens; and rice fortification etc.
Dr Devesh Chaturvedi highlighted that the department and WFP have maintained a long-standing partnership, driven by shared goal of achieving food and nutrition security. He suggested the officers to identify the scalable interventions and initiatives and prepare mechanism for including the same in ongoing programmes of ministries and departments.
Chaturvedi further advised WFP to organise a one-day workshop to present and discuss the important initiatives and pilots exclusively in the Agriculture Sector with officers of the department. He also emphasised that while accessing the nutritional outcomes of the programmes we should also look at the standards on nutrition applicable for Indian population.
Along with ongoing fortified varieties of different cereals, existing local varieties of red and black rice and millet, which are nutritious, should also be popularised. He also advised exploring the possibilities of bringing the Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO) into different initiatives.
The meeting was also attended by officers and representatives from the Ministries or Departments of Food & Public Distribution, Women and Child Development, Rural Development, Environment, Forestry and Climate Change, School Education & Literacy, External Affairs, National Disaster Management Authority, India Meteorological Department and Earth Sciences.
