The Dominica Food and Nutrition Council (DFNC) on Wednesday, December 14 2011, convened a stakeholder validation workshop to review and endorse the National Food and Nutrition Security Policy and Plan of Action for the Commonwealth of Dominica.
The policy framework for food and nutrition security addresses the factors affecting food security in Dominica. The stakeholders discussed the issues and agreed on the nature and scope of policy actions proposed to be taken at national level in order to address the factors constraining the attainment of food and nutrition security.
The workshop objectives were to:
– Validate the contents of the draft policy document: identify gaps, omissions and flaws in the draft document, and amendments to be made.
– Agree on implementation modalities and mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation.
– Agree on key policy actions and programmes (and their order of priority) for implementation in the short term to move Dominica towards improved and sustainable food security.
The National Food and Nutrition Security Policy and Plan of Action for Dominica is being developed with the support of the Ministry of Health, the Inter American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (lICA), the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
In addition, the Food and Nutrition Security Policy hinges upon other initiatives or polices. For example, the Strategic Plan for Health 2010-2015, the National Policy for the Agriculture Environment System, and the Agriculture and Food Safety policy.
In his remarks, the Honourable Minister for Health, Julius Timothy, said that the validation of National Food and Nutrition Security Policy is an important step in the right direction because the best and most important policy or program will not work if it is disjointed from other efforts at all levels, or if the roles and responsibilities are not communicated.
He said further, “A coherent strategy and harmonized efforts are essential since the right to food has multi-sectoral implications and concerns a variety of sectors.”
The Health Minister applauded the various stakeholders in their efforts at developing a Food and Nutrition Policy and Action Plan for Dominica.
The Dominica Food and Nutrition Council (DFNC) was established by the Food and Nutrition Council Act (1981).
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