Engaging stakeholders and key decision-makers into FSN policy processes at country level

Prof. Alexander Makeev,e-learning and knowledge management department,

Eurasian Center for Food Security

http://ecfs.msu.ru

ECFS was founded as a response of the Russian Federation to the L’Aquila Food Security Initiative

The focus area – CA Countries and South Caucasus The activities include conducting and supporting research in land

management and agricultural economy, education (including e-learning), and expertise

Eurasian Food Security Network

• Cross-sectoral linkages between Eurasian, Russian and International research and educational institutions, including:– Collaborative web portal as a base for information support for Network community– e-consultations on acute topics of Food security in the Eurasian region– Framework for collecting and presenting of best practices in sustainable agriculture– Knowledge sharing (bulletins, expert analyses, GIS)– Academic and LLL courses, programs and training seminars to increase the level of

professionals (politicians, academia, extensionists) – Support to Eurasian Soil Partnership– Support to extension services in application of SLM practices

• Information support to Russian Government agricultural initiatives (BRICS, G20, etc.)

A dynamic community of specialists and practitioners that will link Russian, Eurasian and international research and educational institutions, and encourage knowledge-sharing on the latest data, research findings, and best practices.

Target Audiences• Types of audiences:

– Academia– Policy makers– General public– Extension services– President’s office of the Russian Federation

• The focus area– 4 countries: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia, – Russian government (BRICS & G20 meetings).

• Audience needs include:– Practical solutions and support in decision making on food security– Research at the regional, national, and sub-national levels in the related to food security areas

of economics and land and water resources– Best practices in food security at the regional, national, and sub-national levels– Increasing capacities through training focused on improving the skillset of researchers and

decision makers

Competitive landscape:Although a lot of multi- and bilateral agencies operate in the region, they are focused on

individual mainly infrastructure related projects and do not have a holistic comprehensive approach to food security in the Region

Education and research are hardly supportedSome local agencies have fairly comprehensive data sets and local context knowledge

Access to external content providers:Lots of useful research exists from the Soviet Union legacy times within individual organizations.

Partners & potential synergies:FAO, CGIAR (ICARDA & IFPRI), World Bank, GFAR, Moscow State University, local Universities and

Agriculture Institutes, Ministries of Agriculture in Russia and target countries, the Russian Academy of Sciences.

LanguageRussian is the main language for cross-country communications. Great need for services in Russian.

ENVIRONMENT

E-learning center - http://edu.ecfs.msu.ru• E-learning platform compatible with MSU and international

standards and in partnership with regional and international organizations.

• LLL courses on soil and water and agro-food management and SLM practices, including based-on-demand courses

• Training seminars for various stakeholders (politicians, academia, extension services)

• Two Master’s Programs on Food security, focused on audience in the Eurasian region:• Land and water resource management for Food Security• Agrifood management

Eurasian Soil PartnershipEASP

Branded web page

Focus on CAC

countries (Armenia,

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,

Uzbekistan)First e-consultation:

Towards a Eurasian Soil Partnership for food security and sustainable development

Second e-consultation:Food Security issues in the Eurasian region: major challenges and G8/G20 initiatives in

relation with the regional situation

Joint ECFS/FSN E-consultations on FSN platform - 2013

Food Security issues in the Eurasian region: major challenges and G8/G20 initiatives

• Open for six weeks (22.05.2013 - 28.06.2013)

• 47 comments by experts from 11 countries (Armenia, Georgia, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, USA, Uzbekistan)

• 1400 visits to the page from 76 countries

Affiliation of participants

Towards a Eurasian Soil Partnership for food security and sustainable development

• Open for three weeks (26.08.2013 - 15.09.2013)

• 68 comments by experts from 11 countries (India, Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Nepal, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan)

• 1200 visits to the page from 95 countries

Affiliation of participants

Number of visits

During the two online consultations the website received over 3000 visits from 114 countries

The online consultations reached out to:• 5000 FSN Forum members • 800 experts from CIS countries• relevant platforms and communication channels

https://collaboration.worldbank.org/groups/russia-ecfs

Topic 1: What are some of the key socio-economic drivers of land degradation in Eurasia? What are the direct and indirect economic and social impacts of land degradation? How do people respond at various scales and in different contexts to land degradation?

Topic 2: What tools are available to adequately respond to land degradation and guide sustainable land use decisions? What are some good practice examples of sustainable land management approaches in the Eurasian region?

Topic 3: What are the roles of policies and which institutions enhance decision making and governance for sustainability of land systems?

International Conference on

Eurasian Food Security Network and Eurasian Soil Partnership

(February 29 – March 2, 2016 Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic)