Zero Hunger Coalition supports revision of Cambodia Roadmap for Food Systems for Sustainable Development 2030
Last week, the Zero Hunger Coalition travelled to Cambodia for a series of meetings with the Council for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) to discuss the country’s food system transformation. In 2021, Cambodia developed its Roadmap for Food Systems for Sustainable Development 2030 which will now be complemented by a report from the Coalition with modelling and evidence-based recommendations.
The Coalition had the pleasure of meeting with representatives from CARD, which is leading the revision of Cambodia’s Roadmap, including His Excellency Mr. Sok Silo, Secretary-General, Mr. Chea Samnang, Deputy Secretary-General, and Dr. Ouk Rabun, Senior Minister and Chairman.
In addition, the Coalition also met with relevant ministries and UN partner organisations to discuss how to jointly support the country in its food systems transformation.
Aligning efforts for Cambodia’s food systems transformation
These initial meetings served as the opportunity to present and gather initial feedback on the research conducted by the Shamba Centre for Food & Climate, FAO and IFPRI, for the report being developed under the auspices of the Zero Hunger Coalition and HESAT2030 and with the support of GIZ MUSEFO Cambodia.
As part of these meetings, participants agreed on the group’s collaborative strategy as well as the report’s methodology, initial insights and operational definition of healthier diets.
The report will address government priorities and align with the work of other relevant actors, such as GIZ, WFP, FAO and UNICEF, all of whom are supporting food system transformation in the country.
Revision of the Cambodia Roadmap for Food Systems
In the four years since the development of Cambodia's Roadmap for Food Systems for Sustainable Development 2030, a revision is now needed.
The Roadmap, which stemmed from an extensive government-led policy dialogue and country diagnosis following the United Nations Food Systems Summit in 2021, highlighted the need for urgent action in four key areas:
healthy diets for all
empowerment of youth, women and vulnerable populations
resilient livelihoods and food systems
governance for more inclusive food systems
With the support of the Zero Hunger Coalition, the Roadmap will be updated under the leadership of CARD to ensure its alignment with policies currently under development, such as the 3rd National Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition (2024-2028). This revision also provides an opportunity to identify evidence-based, cross-cutting interventions that will have a significant impact on addressing the country’s food system challenges.
Secretary-General Silo highlighted his support for the work already undertaken by the Coalition and expressed his appreciation for the collaboration between various food system actors. He emphasised the importance of ensuring that project outcomes are aligned with - and supportive - of the government’s objectives.
Next steps
As a next step, the Coalition will continue its work to identify the most cost-efficient and effective investments to support food system transformation in Cambodia. In addition, the Coalition will support CARD to develop evidence-based material to share with their donors and provide an opportunity for Cambodia to share their learnings with other Coalition countries through the South-South dialogues.
The CARD Secretary-General H.E. Sok Silo plans to convene a follow-up virtual meeting to further strengthen support across ministries as well as a series of collaborations with UN-led consortium to align and enhance the outcomes of the work of the Coalition. In addition, a joint workshop is planned to take place at the end of this year to share the findings from the Zero Hunger Coalition report.
