FAO works to increase SDG awareness in Armenia

Agriculture is one of the key sectors defining the sustainable development of Armenia. The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia, which is responsible for implementing and monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to food and agriculture, identifies targets, aligns policy planning documents and, together with the Statistical Committee, monitors the progress in achieving SDG targets.

A joint awareness-raising event was held today in Yerevan as a way of working together for greater impact through combining two important FAO initiatives undertaken in Armenia.

The workshop brought together various partners – including representatives from the Republic of Armenia, the Statistical Committee, the National Academy of Sciences, the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office, United Nations agencies, relevant development agencies, civil society organizations, private sector and extension services – to discuss challenges faced in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and to benefit from international and regional strategic approaches and new guidelines to facilitate the advancing of the Sustainable Development Goals.

“The workshop served as a good platform for raising awareness among relevant policy makers – in particular, the Ministry of Agriculture and other state authorities working in the agricultural sector – about the essence and implications of the 2030 Agenda, with a special focus on the key roles and contributions of sustainable agriculture, food security, and nutrition for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Gayane Nasoyan, Assistant FAO Representative in Armenia. “The workshop highlighted the need for effective mechanisms for multi- and cross-sectoral collaboration, inter-ministerial coordination, and governance for sustainable food security. As the global evidence demonstrates, no single sector can address the challenges of poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition on its own.”

The two FAO projects, “Developing Capacity for Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Selected Countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia” and “Support to the Ministry of Agriculture in Sustainable Development Goals implementation and monitoring,” aim at increasing Armenia’s political awareness and commitment to food security, nutrition and social protection. Project goals also include enhancing the capacities of the Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant state authorities on the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs and on meeting the challenges deriving from the nationalization of the 2030 Agenda.

A baseline study has been conducted to assess where the Ministry of Agriculture stands regarding the nationalization and implementation of the SDGs, with special attention to the targets and indicators under the custodianship of FAO and those prioritized by the ministry. The study will be publicly available by the end of November 2018.

At the workshop, participants discussed the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs through a multi-dimensional prism covering cross-cutting themes like gender equality, climate change, nutrition, and food security. The expected results would feed the development of an SDG action plan for the Ministry of Agriculture, with key actions to take to foster implementation.

Partners and state officials were given the opportunity to learn about Armenia’s global commitments regarding the implementation, monitoring and reporting of the Sustainable Development Goals, and to discuss the challenges and opportunities. The discussion covered not only issues related to food and agriculture policy, but also statistical indicators and issues related to the prioritization of the Sustainable Development Goals.

This event is part of a series of national Sustainable Development Goals workshops organized by FAO in a number of countries in the Europe and Central Asia region, such as Albania, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Uzbekistan. FAO is engaged in supporting Sustainable Development Goals monitoring and implementation in the region through awareness-raising on the role of sustainable food and agriculture for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and technical assistance in the definition of national SDG targets and indicators. This support has been recognized as a first example of engagement of relevant partners and state officials in cross-sectoral technical discussions on SDG targets and indicators related to the agricultural sector.

30 October 2018, Yerevan, Armenia