Food security refers to a situation where food production and distribution systems ensure a sustained food supply in sufficient quantities and quality at the national level, which is accessible to all members of the population. Globally, there has been a paradigm shift in the concept of food security, hence there is now greater emphasis on productivity, availability, health and nutritional goals in defining food and nutrition security. From FAO point of view, the most commonly used definition is as follows:

"Food Security, at the individual, household, national, regional and global level is achieved when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”

Food security continues to be a major concern for developing countries as the global community strives to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Thus there is a need to ensure that practitioners and policy makers in the relevant sectors identify and appreciate the inter and intra-sectoral linkages between agriculture, nutrition, health and trade as they relate to improving the food security of the region. Dialogue and exchange of information among key stakeholders in agriculture, trade, health and nutrition is critical to the improvement of Pacific food and nutrition security, including the implementation of food and nutrition plans and programmes.

There has been renewed attention and commitment to food and nutrition security in developing countries in general and in ACP countries in particular. In the Pacific region the ongoing implementation of the Regional Programme for Food Security (RPFS) now being implemented by FAO and the Development of Sustainable Agriculture in the pacific (DSAP) implemented by EU have also heightened interest in the subject.

In preparing for its upcoming strategic period 2006-2010, the CTA considers food and nutrition security as a key topic of interest to the ACP countries. In keeping with its mandate, CTA thus aims to contribute to enchancing the understanding of the information needs of stakeholders involved in achieving food and nutrition security, and also identifying the role of information and communication in improving food and nutrition security.

A CTA Seminar in November 2004, held in Maputo Mozambique, examined the role of information and communication tools in food and nutrition security in Africa and the regional seminar held in Belize in March 2005 put more emphasis for the Caribbean region.

In this regard, the hosting of a conference to focus attention on the information needs required to facilitate food and nutrition security in the Pacific is timely and welcome. It will provide an opportunity for the region to identify as well as examine its concept of food and nutrition security and the status of implementation of food and nutrition plans. It will also facilitate a forum for dialogue between stakeholders in trade, agriculture, health and nutrition with a view to supporting the improved food and nutrition security in the Pacific region.

Concept note (235 kb)
by André Vugayabagabo