Towards Zero Hunger in Nepal - A Strategic Review of Food Security & Nutrition 2018.

This Strategic Review consists of three components: a desk review, producing of thematic reports and national and subnational consultations. The objective is to inform the government on how best to achieve SDG2 by 2030 in the context of transformative sustainable development by outlining the FSN landscape, the policy and programmatic environment, and best practices for a cohesive action plan. The Strategic Review serves both as a research exercise designed to give a consolidated picture of the FSN challenges in Nepal and as a mechanism for supporting the government in setting priorities and finding gaps in policies and programmes currently implemented to achieve SDG2. In turn, the Review will allow all stakeholders to anchor their policies and programmes for achieving zero hunger in support of a clear set of government priorities based on the country’s needs. The Strategic Review provides a set of high-level recommendations related to legislation, policies, and programmes, institutional arrangements and enabling environments. Following this, a set of recommendations across the SDG2 targets are proposed. Finally, a draft action plan is presented as Annex which provides a road map for how to achieve the recommendations laid out in the report (pag. 2).
The Strategic Review is a study to understand the current status and idea of way forward to address the food insecurity and under-nutrition in Nepal. The recommendation of the report emphasises on improved coordination in the planning, policy and its implementation among the stakeholders in agriculture and nutrition sector. This is in line with our recognition of the strong link between poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. In order to address these issues to achieve the outcomes of Sustainable Development Goal 2, government, development partners and stakeholders should work together, ensuring the agricultural food production, availability of diverse food, and its proper utilisation (pag. ii). Out-migration of young workforce, feminisation of agriculture, difficult geography and poor infrastructure, poverty, significant urbanisation and a nutrition transition paired with shifting diets, and climate change and devastating natural disasters are threats to achieving food security and nutrition (FSN) for the country (pag. 1).
Of the several issues and challenges to raise agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, the following issues and challenges are key to achieving SDG target 2.3 in the context of Nepal. These issues and challenges have remained with Nepal for decades, of which the country has not been able to respond effectively despite country’s awareness and commitment to address them (pag. 26). Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, help maintain ecosystems, strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding, and other disasters, and progressively improve land and soil quality. Develop a strong database management system in relation to climate change through increased coordination with the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology that ensures timely data sharing to undertake smart, adaptive, and disaster responsive planning and implementation (pags. 52 and 53).
Social protection and gender empowerment should be mainstreamed across all SDG2 planning to ensure that no one is left behind and that vulnerable, resource-poor households are prioritised (pag. 7).
There is no dearth of FSN policies in Nepal. However, policy coherence and implementation present a challenge. It will be important for Nepal to integrate the economic, social, environmental, and governance dimensions of sustainable development at all stages of domestic and international policy making for FSN in the country (pag 7). Successful food and nutrition governance will depend on the capacity of various actors to effectively provide a spectrum of services necessary in national agriculture, food security, and nutrition programmes. It is clear that the government understands the dearth of capacity in the country, and many amongst NGOs and within the donor communities are working to help build the capacity that is necessary for the scale up of FSN activities (pag. 13).