From 27 February to 3 March, over twenty trainers and technical assistance providers from various capacity-building organizations in Africa and Asia-Pacific participated in a workshop for training of trainers on the improved methodology to compile Food Balance Sheets (FBS).
The methodology and the Global Strategy guidelines on this topic are currently being finalized as a joint effort between the Global Office’s research component and FAO’s Statistics Division.
This workshop was a great opportunity to:
- Clarify how the compilation of FBS contributes to the Food Security’s Framework and some Sustainable Development Goals;
- Increase the knowledge and skills of the FBS experts involved in capacity-building activities for the compilation of FBS using the new methodology, and collect additional feedback on the recommended approaches;
- Inform the participants on the various uses of FBS, particularly, for data cross-checking and policy decisions;
- Discuss the best strategies in assisting countries in compiling their food balance sheets;
- Confirm the desired functionalities of the new FBS compilation tool which will be proposed to the countries in the coming months;
- Improve the quality of the training material developed for national and regional workshops.
Ultimately, the training or trainers will improve the quality and the coherence of the FBS capacity-building activities delivered across the regions. Regional workshops and targeted technical assistance activities at the country level are already planned for the first half of 2017.