Addressing Household Food Security in the Context of Changing Climate and Environment

The course is designed to provide a general understanding on emerging trends and issues to sustain household food security and nutrition amidst the challenge of climate variations and its associated risks. Participants will be engaged in discussions with development professionals, community-based organizations and other practitioners of well-proven and emerging technologies, practices and approaches to increase the resilience of rural communities against climate risks. Participants will also be introduced to participatory approaches through field exposure visits to rural areas where community-based adaptation is practiced.The course addresses the challenges that small holders are expecting to face in meeting their food and livelihood needs especially the challenges posed by climate change. A range of approaches to address these challenges will be discussed including climate smart agriculture approaches in a range of ecosystems (forest, upland, rained lowlands and coastal),

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants shall have:

• Gained basic understanding of the concepts, principles and relevant approaches to sustaining household food security and nutrition;
• Increased their awareness on the risks and vulnerabilities posed by climate change and its impacts to food security;
• Gained better appreciation of participatory approaches to managing food security risks and vulnerabilities; and
• Identified innovative approaches for improving their respective food security initiatives.

Intended Audience 

• Local and International NGO staff;
• Government and extension personnel;
• Researchers; and
• Faculty members engaged in food security programs and projects.

What's Included

There will be classroom lectures, discussions and field-based learning. Conceptual topics will be discussed inside lecture hall while topics on community-based approaches and practices will be done on-site. It will also feature a roving workshop approach to introduce participants to the differential strategies for building community resilience based on site-specific food security challenges of climate risks. Among the expected ecosystem-specific climate responses that will be featured in roving the workshop are low-external input practices in rice-based agro-ecosystems; agroforestry and community forestry in forested lands; and coastal protection in coastal and/or fresh-water ecosystems. The training course will adopt adult learning methodologies that features sharing of knowledge and experiences by participants.

Module 1 Understanding the Concept of Food Security and Climate Change

This module provides an overall understanding of the interconnectedness of global issues such as food security, climate change and disaster. It defines food security concepts and explores the challenges posed by climate change. This is done by a discussion of the basic science of climate change and an in-depth analysis of its impacts to natural and human systems. A specific focus of the module will be on the impacts of climate change to agricultural systems, where the most-at-risk are located. An in-depth discussion on social and institutional issues will highlight the important role that institutions play in food security including the importance of collective action and property rights in addressing issues of food insecurity.

Module 2 Managing Challenges in Food Security

This module is a two-part activity. The first part discusses the conceptual frameworks for understanding the interplay of local environment and food security considerations such as local socio-cultural, gender and institutional contexts in human nutrition and overall development. An overview of ecosystems and landscape based approaches to food security and livelihood is also provided. The second part is characterized by field visits to key ecosystems and communities to observe and analyze various food security considerations using participatory approaches. Guided discussions are conducted after every visit to surface learnings and observations.

Module 3 Strengthening and Sustaining Food Security Projects

This module provides participants an overview of participatory approaches that are useful in enhancing and up-scaling food security and nutrition projects in consideration of climate change challenges. Participants will be encouraged to share experiences using specific participatory tools.

Module 4 Action Planning

Participants will prepare an action plan identifying food security programs/activities based on their national or community's food security context in strengthening people's resilience to cope with threats to food security. Climate change adaptation and mitigation measures will be integrated into the action plan.

How to Register

Please request an application form from dulce.dominguez@iirr.org.

Fees

The training fee of 1,800USD covers:

• course fee;
• meals and coffee breaks;
• double occupancy accommodation;
• course-related materials;
• field and agency visits, and;
• airport transfers.

Single room occupancy is available upon request and at extra cost. Fees do not include international airfare, laundry and incidental expenses. Applicants are encouraged to secure financial support from their organizations or donor agencies. IIRR reserves the right to cancel the course one month before the course starts if the required quorum is not met. This will be conveyed immediately to the applicants. Course fees will be refunded in full.