Orange Knowledge Programme: Making Agriculture Work for Food and Nutrition Security 2021 Programme

Deadline: 4-Jan-21

The Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation (WCDI), part of Wageningen University & Research, is seeking applications for the “Making Agriculture Work for Food and Nutrition Security 2021” under Orange Knowledge Programme. It starts from 17 May 2021 until 25 June 2021.

The world-wide increase of food availability, through well designed agricultural policies and programmes, has not automatically lead to better nourished populations. This course explores the nutrition-sensitivity of agricultural policies and programmes and focuses on which nutrition-sensitive agricultural pathways lead to food and nutrition security.

This six week course will address the role of agriculture in the provision of nutritious food to consumers, and how to achieve the desired individual, national and global nutrition impact, even considering the present COVID-19 pandemic. In the course, the latest (scientific) evidences, agricultural pathways of farm households, the dietary gaps and policies to stimulate the agricultural production of nutritious foods are discussed.

After this assessment, the participants will work in groups to apply the knowledge and the participants experience through different tools to practice and discuss how to make agricultural projects nutrition-sensitive. Special attention will be given to gender and youth issues. In the last week discussions and practice are focussed on how to demonstrate the results of nutrition-sensitive agricultural project.

Food systems, a thematic approach

The course addresses issues through the food system approach with state of the art concepts, tools and background information. Issues dealt with are, amongst others:

• Insight into the broader (international) food and nutrition policy framework and the stakeholders involved;
• Identifying the local nutrition issues, which are to be solved with agricultural programs and policies;
• Pathways, key concepts and approaches to link value chain development to food and nutrition security;
• Addressing economic variables (e.g. work capacity, productivity) through identification and strengthening of linkages between value chains and nutritional impact;
• Design effective intervention strategies to reach Bottom of the Pyramid consumers (Including a focus on project cycle management);
• An introduction to monitoring and evaluation, including selection of key indicators essential for organisational learning agenda’s

What will you learn?

Upon completion of the course you will:

• Understand the definitions of nutrition sensitive agriculture, food security, nutrition security, value chains and food systems and their interconnectedness;
• Be able to apply agriculture-to-nutrition pathways framework to ensure that agricultural development programs and policies contribute to the desired nutrition outcomes;
• Be able to design and adjust implementation of agricultural development programs and policies to enhance the impact on nutrition;
• Understand and apply monitoring and evaluation and impact assessment principle to nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs and policies.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants should have a BSc or equivalent in the field of agriculture, food and nutrition security, health, or a related field, and have at least three years of professional experience in governmental or local non-governmental organisation as a policy or planning officer, or a managing or co-ordinating position in one of the field related to the course.
• Proficiency in English is required.

Application Procedure

1. Register for the course of your interest by clicking the ‘apply’ button on the webpage of this course. A registration form will open;
2. Fill in the required fields of the registration form. Please note to write your date of birth without a zero (e.g. 1-5-1980 instead of 01-05-1980);
3. Before you submit, check your details on the final page of the registration form;
4. After submitting, you will receive a confirmation email. Make sure to directly click on the link in the email to confirm your registration. Without your confirmation, your registration cannot be processed;
5. If you apply as an OKP or MSP-scholarship candidate, you will receive a registration letter for the scholarship at the beginning of the scholarship cycle;
6. If you apply as a self-funded participant: they will forward your request for acceptance to the course leader. This can take some time as it depends on the coordinators’ schedule (1-3 weeks);
7. If you’re accepted into the course programme, they’ll send you an admission letter by e-mail;
8. You receive all required travel documents from us after you are selected for the scholarship (OKP/MSP-scholarship candidates) or when they’ve received your payment (self-funded participant).

For more information, visit https://www.wur.nl/en/Research-Results/Research-Institutes/centre-for-development-innovation/online-learning/show/Making-Agriculture-Work-for-Food-and-Nutrition-Security.htm