SESRIC’s delegation convened with the FAO Sub-regional Office for Central Asia (FAO-SEC) at their headquarters to discuss potential collaboration, focusing on agriculture and food security. FAO’s Subregional Office for Central Asia is located in Ankara, Türkiye. Establishment of the office in 2006 enhanced FAO’s ability to respond to the priority needs of the countries in the subregion – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. FAO provides analysis and advice in policy reform for agriculture, land tenure and natural resources. The Organization’s technical assistance covers institution building, development of knowledge and competencies, and exchange of experience among countries facing the challenges of transition.

Dr. Nenden Octavarulia SHANTY, Director of Training and Technical Cooperation Department of SESRIC, led the delegation and provided an overview of SESRIC’s mandates and activities in statistics, socio-economic research, training and technical cooperation. She highlighted the OIC Statistics Database (OICStat) which currently hosts 1,852 indicators under 27 categories, and various statistical Publications, including the Statistical Yearbook on OIC Member Countries, SESRIC OIC Statistical Outlook Series, Did You Know (DYK) Module, and the Annual Progress Report on Prioritized SDGs.

Dr. SHANTY also detailed SESRIC’s 24 capacity building programmes, emphasizing those relevant to FAO’s areas of interest, such as the Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programmes, Agriculture and Food Security Capacity Building Programme (Agri-CaB), Cotton Capacity Building Programme (Cotton-CaB), Water Resources Management Capacity Building Programme (Water-CaB), Environment Capacity Building Programme (Environment-CaB), and Poverty Alleviation Capacity Building Programme (PA-CaB). She discussed the Centre’s planned activities within these programmes, as well as SESRIC’s Reverse Linkage Projects in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) and SESRIC Projects Funded by the COMCEC. The delegation also shared SESRIC’s reports on Agriculture and Food Security in OIC Member Countries with FAO-SEC colleagues during the session.

Mr. Ridvan KURTIPEK, National Programme & Operation Specialist at FAO-SEC, along with his team, briefed the SESRIC delegates on the organisational structure and scope of work of FAO-SEC. Some FAO-SESC’s technical cooperation areas were discussed, such as the Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance Partnership (LEAP), a multi-stakeholder initiative aimed at improving the environmental sustainability of the livestock sector through harmonised methods, metrics, and data. They also shared the FAO’s capacity building activities and their sectoral-based technical approaches.

The meeting focused on potential joint initiatives in agriculture, food security, livestock and farming (including bee farming, goat/sheep farming, and chicken farming), cotton plantation and industry, water resource management, environment, and poverty alleviation. They also discussed collaboration opportunities for the upcoming Webinar on “Digitalisation in Food Security and Agriculture” on 9 July 2024 and the Workshop on “Promoting Food Security in OIC Member Countries through Sustainable Agricultural Inputs” on 24-25 September 2024 at SESRIC Headquarters, within the framework of SESRIC Projects funded by COMCEC.

Another key point of discussion was the possibility of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between SESRIC and FAO-SEC, seen as essential for fostering long-term cooperation and mutual benefit. Both parties will continue to explore innovative action plans to enhance agricultural development and ensure the availability of water and food in OIC countries.

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