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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Relate Food Security Policies (FSPs) to a framework for action to combat hunger and alleviate food insecurity in a country;

• Explain FSPs as link between food security information and actions aimed at improving the food security situation; and

• Describe the sequence of steps to be performed in the process of FSP formulation and implementation.

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

INTRODUCTION

Who are the major stakeholders involved in the

process?

Which are the steps of the policy formulation and

implementation process?

What are the activities to be performed in the various

steps?

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS

Non-Governmental Organizations

UN and donor agenciesCivil Society Organizations

Government Departments and Organizations

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

THE CYCLE OF POLICY FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

MONITORING & EVALUATON of policy implementation, outcomes & impacts on FS

Adjustments in policy implementation

Feedback

Feedback

POLICYIMPLEMENTATION

• Actors and their roles• Regulations & procedures• Programmes & projects

POLICY FORMULATION

• Diagnosis• Objectives• Stakeholders• Selection of measures & instruments

Initiation of policy process Awareness of policy makers of policy issues to be addressed

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

THE CYCLE OF POLICY FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

At all stages, the process of policy formulation and implementation depends on close interaction with the generation, analysis and presentation of relevant food security information, e.g.:

•Data and info on acute critical problems of food insecurity.

•Food security data and info.

•Continuous monitoring of FS data and info during policy implementation.

•If the M & E reveals diversions of the data, the information is fed back into the policy cycle.

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

THE CYCLE OF POLICY FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

STEP 4 - Monitoring and Evaluation

STEP 3 - Policy Implementation

STEP 2 - Policy Formulation

STEP 1 - Initiation of policy process

The subsequent steps of the policy formulation and implementation process.

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

There are a variety of reasons for governments to take the initiative for developing food security policies, e.g.:

INITIATION OF THE PROCESS OF PREPARING FSPs

Awareness of a precarious food security situation.

Pressure on the government.

Needs to change the conditions affecting the food security situation.

Pursuit of food security objectives as part of the national programme.

Initiation of policy process

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

POLICY FORMULATION

Policy formulation is an iterative process, comprising various sub-steps and involving all relevant stakeholders.

The final outcome of this phase is/are policy document/s, setting-out the FS objectives, priorities, and an outline of the policy measures to be taken to achieve the objectives.

Stakeholders participation ensures that the policy is realistic, feasible, widely accepted and supported, and that can be effectively implemented.

Policy Formulation

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

POLICY FORMULATION

The cross-sectoral nature of FS and FSPs comprises aspects of:

•food availability;

•access to food;

•stability; and

•utilization.

Because of the cross-sectoral nature of FS and FSPs, an high number of stakeholders from different sectors is involved in policy formulation and implementation.

Policy Formulation

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

POLICY FORMULATION

There are two options for preparing FSP document(s), and each of these options has advantages and disadvantages:

Option Advantages Disadvantages

Integration of FSP concerns into overall and sectoral policies

Ensures integration of food security concerns in other relevant sector policies.

Risk of conceptual ambiguities and inconsistencies in the pursuance of food security objectives in the different sectors.

Preparation of a specific Food Security Policy document

Policy document provides consistent framework of FS objectives and policy measures.

Sector ministriesfeel less committed to make their contribution to policy formulation and implementation.

Policy Formulation

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

POLICY FORMULATION SUB-PHASES

PHASE 4 Validation

PHASE 3 Policy drafting

PHASE 2 Diagnosis of the

food security situation

PHASE 1 Establishment of a task

force for FSP formulation

Policy Formulation

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

POLICY FORMULATION SUB-PHASES

PHASE 1- Establishment of a task force for FSP formulation

The task force should be composed of representatives of key stakeholders

It may be advisable to form sub-teams for food security formulation to deal with specific food security issues.

Representatives of the ministries mandated with these issues need to be represented in the sub-teams.

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

POLICY FORMULATION SUB-PHASES

PHASE 2- Diagnosis of the food security situation

During the diagnostic phase, the following tasks are to be performed:

•Collecting and analysing relevant FS data and information;

•Reviewing existing policies;

•Stocktaking of existing initiatives;

•Consulting relevant governmental organizations and NGOs.

During this phase, a first round of FSP formulation workshops should be conducted at central and decentralized levels.

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

POLICY FORMULATION SUB-PHASES

PHASE 3- Policy drafting

In this phase a first draft of the FSP document(s) will be produced by the task force.

The document needs to set out the objectives to be achieved, and to address all relevant food security issues related to access, availability, stability and utilization where action is required.

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

PHASE 4 - Validation

The first draft policy document it will be circulated to all relevant stakeholders for review and comments.

A second-round stakeholder workshop for discussing the first draft policy document(s) should be conducted.

On the basis of the feed back on the first draft, the task force will prepare a revised second draft policy document.

This second draft will be presented to the high-level policy decision makers (Prime Minister, Cabinet, Parliament) who will have to endorse the FSP.

POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

On the basis of the measures and priorities defined in the document, a Strategic Plan of Action for implementing the policy measures will have to be formulated.

1. Regulatory type - Rules, regulations and procedures to be set by public authorities and applied in policy implementation.

2. Programme type - Policy measures which are implemented through programme and project type approaches by government or non-governmental actors.

Policy Implementation

Types of Policy measures:

POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

Sometimes there is a combination of the regulatory and programme types of policy measures.

• When minimum subsistence levels are established as a legal right of each citizen, there must be a programme to put this right into practice.

• If, in order to keep food prices low, food price and/or consumer subsidy regulations are introduced, there needs to be a programme to put these regulations in to practice.

• A programme for sustainable resource management may only be effective if a land reform or new land use regulations are enacted.

Policy Implementation

Examples of combination of regulatory and programme measures

POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

Policy Implementation Example for the structure and contents of the project outlines:

Item Contents

Title Subject of policy measure (with reference to policy measure)

Subjects and strategy of intervention

Brief description of planned intervention

Objectives Specific food security objectives to be achieved, planned results

Target group(s) Direct and ultimate beneficiaries

IndicatorsIndicators for measuring project/ programme progress and achievements

Institutional responsibilities

Actors involved in implementation and their roles

Time frameOverall planned project / programme duration, phases of implementation

Costs Investment and operational costs.

FundingPlanned / confirmed / envisaged / possible sources of funding, co-financing arrangements

Assumptions and risks

Including preconditions for successful project / programme implementation yet to be established (e.g. necessary studies to be conducted, laws and regulations to be released, human capacity building)

POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E)

The (M & E) system serves various important functions:•To provide the government and other stakeholders

with up-to-date information on the state of implementation of the FSP.

•To assess whether the implementation of the policy is on track towards attaining the planned objectives.

•To identify any flaws in the design or implementation of the policy that need to be corrected to ensure effective policy implementation.

•To make proposals for respective policy adjustments.

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E)

The establishment of an M & E System for the FSP should be guided by the following principles:

• M & E should be performed at all levels of policy implementation and by the different stakeholders.

• Monitoring activities by different organizations need to be harmonized.

• Monitoring should be performed at all levels of policy implementation.

• A central M & E unit is responsible for the compilation and analysis of the M & E results of all food security-related interventions.

• At certain time intervals, comprehensive evaluations of the progress in implementation and achievements of the FSP will need to be conducted.

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Food Security Policies – Formulation and ImplementationPolicy Formulation and Implementation

SUMMARY

The policy formulation and implementation process involves a high number of stakeholders (all governmental and NGOs institutions, organizations and groups that are affected by a policy or that play a role during policy formulation, implementation or monitoring).

The policy formulation and implementation process comprises four typical and interlinked steps:

1. Initiation of policy process;2. Policy Formulation;3. Policy Implementation; and4. Policy Monitoring & Evaluation.

Ideally the Policy Formulation step is structured in the following four sub-phases:1. Establishment of a task force for food security policy

formulation;2. Diagnosis of the food security situation;3. Policy drafting; and4. Policy validation.