Have your say: How to achieve food security in Central Asia?

You are invited to participate in an online consultation on “Network and Partnerships in the area of Food Security” now in progress and concluding on 7 February 2016. This discussion will serve as a preparatory stage for the upcoming International Conference on “Eurasian Food Security Network and Eurasian Soil Partnership”, a contribution to the Regional Consultation phase of the GCARD3 process.

Sponsored by the Eurasian Center for Food Security (ECFS) and the World Bank, the objective of this online consultation is to bring together food policy experts and other stakeholders including representatives of Civil Society Organizations, NGOs, Farmers, Women and Youth associations from Eurasian region to identify Food Security and soil issues and facilitate discussions on how to tackle them, improving collaboration and cooperation in the Eurasian region.

The e-consultation will cover two topics: Building the Eurasian Food security network and Sustainable Soil Management. The first topic will focus on Food Security Networks and Partnerships in the Eurasian region – by taking stock of existing collaborative mechanisms and research for development programs on food security. The second topic will focus on the Eurasian Soil Partnership and will discuss issues, barriers and catalysts for successful collaboration on Sustainable Soil management.

This will facilitate the exchange of ideas and formulation of preliminary action plans among participants of the conference and the broader food security community. The outcomes of this e-consultation will be summarized and presented at the International Conference on “Eurasian Food Security Network and Eurasian Soil Partnership” to be held in Bishkek, February 29-March 2, 2016. The outcomes will inform the future work of ECFS, as well as the process of capturing regional and national issues, challenges and priorities to be addressed in Central Asia and the Caucasus for ensuring regional food security in the context of the preparation of the third Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD3) co-organized by GFAR and the CGIAR.

Please join the online consultation to provide feedback on the following topics, in English or Russian:

• Topic 1: Building the Eurasian Food security network
• Topic 2: Barriers to Sustainable Soil Management in Eurasia and possible ways for overcoming them

This dialogue is developed in full partnership with the Central Asia & Caucasus Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (CACAARI). CACAARI has also developed an electronic survey in parallel which will serve as background for the preparation of the Bishkek Conference. The results of this important survey will be summarized by the CACAARI Secretariat for presentation and discussion at the Conference.