Geneva, Switzerland – UNITAR and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) continue to expand its collaboration by launching its first online course on Trade, Food Security and Nutrition for officials from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). This course will be fully delivered in Spanish and based on the flagship course developed by FAO which has been benefitted by hundreds of officials globally.
This course is designed to assist representatives from government and related authorities, who are directly involved in the formulation and implementation of agricultural policies and programmes in the region. These may include officials from Ministries of Agriculture, Livestock; Ministries of Trade, Commerce, Industry; Ministries of Finance, Economy; and Food Safety, Sanitary, Phytosanitary, Veterinary and other authorities.
This Spanish edition of the course has the valuable regional collaboration of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) and the Executive Secretariat of the Central American Agricultural Council (SECAC).
ENSURING THAT THE EXPANSION OF AGRICULTURAL TRADE WORKS FOR (AND NOT AGAINST) THE ERADICATION OF HUNGER
The relationship between trade and food security is receiving increasing attention on both the trade and development agendas, with trade being recognized as one of the means to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This course addresses the links between trade and food security, which are very complex and have been the subject of intense debate at the national and global levels.
The challenge is how to ensure that the expansion of agricultural trade works for and not against the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. This challenge has been at the forefront of governments negotiating for changes to current international agricultural trade agreements that are necessary to ensure that trade results in greater food security.
The growing need for trade experts to support the trade-related development agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean has posed a major challenge. National and regional institutions must develop the technical capacity and resources to determine trade priorities and constraints at the national, subregional, and regional levels; empirically assess the implications of their multiple memberships for trade, food security and nutrition; formulate appropriate mitigation policies and strategies; or negotiate trade agreements that boost the benefits of trade and specialization.
Therefore, this course seeks to strengthen capacities in Latin America and the Caribbean to develop and implement evidence-based trade policies, and to formulate and negotiate trade agreements, taking into account both their needs for economic growth and structural transformation, as well as their food security and nutrition concerns.
REGISTER TODAY, DEADLINE IS 2 SEPTEMBER 2022. LIMITED SLOTS ARE AVAILABLE
This course is offered free of charge as part of FAO’s support to Member countries and will be organized in three units and conducted in Spanish language over a period of four weeks. This course will be delivered online via UNITAR’s e-learning platform and will take place from September 12 to October 7, 2022.
Limited slots are available and will be subject to a selection process conducted by FAO, UNITAR and its regional partners, taking into account in particular, the geographical distribution and gender balance. Priority will be given to policy makers and practitioners who develop agricultural and trade policy, as well as experts in the field of food security who are involved in the discussion and formulation of policies in this area.
A UNITAR-FAO Certificate of Completion will be issued to participants who successfully complete all course-related assignments and assessments.
