National Strategic Review of Food Security and Nutrition Towards Zero Hunger
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Date
2017-01
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Publisher
World Food Programme (WFP)
Abstract
The achievements of past food and nutrition policies, strategies, and programmes of Sri Lanka emanate from two main sources. Firstly, as this Review shows, the entire food and nutrition process is encapsulated in the macro economy and the polity which house it, which at the same time also constrains it. If the recommendations of this Review are to be adopted, the State will have to be adopted by the Polity as one of the top policy priorities and for a stipulated, extended time period, without being compromised due to other emerging, competing priorities.
Secondly, as is clear by now, large numbers of different government agencies and institutions have been involved in enforcing food and nutrition policies and implementing the programmes under them, which has resulted in serious problems of coordination and collaboration. In addition, due to the sheer number of entities, there are poorly defined operational boundaries, leading to conflicts and confusion and the overlapping of authority, which has often resulted in implementation failure.
In any attempts to reach the SDG2 in Sri Lanka, this fundamental problem of coordination and inter‐agency friction has to be eliminated, starting at the highest levels. If the number of agencies and institutions cannot be reduced, the overall food security and nutrition initiative of Sri Lanka should essentially be placed under the command of a capable personality at the highest level of authority, possessing passion and commitment to stay the course. Needless to say, the National Agricultural Policy and Action Plan (2016‐2020) and the National Nutrition Secretariat’s planning activities, the Multi‐Sector Action Plan for Nutrition, and other plans and programmes in individual ministries related to SDG2 in Sri Lanka need to be managed under a single institutional umbrella.
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Keywords
Agriculture; Food Security; Nutrition; Poverty; Sustainable Development Goals, Zero‐ hunger