Training Course on Food Security and Agriculture (ACC002)
Training Course on Food Security and Agriculture
The Global Food Security Strategy calls for expanding work in improving nutrition and resilience. This course underscores Perk Group’s focus on food security development and incorporates the participant’s vision for food security and agriculture development. Through this training, participants will be able to address challenges through building a common understanding of their priorities, challenges and key issues in agriculture and food security. Participants will explore current thinking that can be applied to new and existing strategies which will assist them in designing interventions that achieve greater and more targeted results.
Course Duration
Online Training: 5 days (4hrs per day)
Classroom Training: 5 days (7hrs per day)
Course Objectives
The course will examine adaptation in theory and in practice, through a focus on four sectors that are critically important for climate-resilient development in Africa: Water Security, Agriculture and Food Security, Ecosystems, and Ecosystem Services.
The Course will cover two broad spectrums
Agriculture and Food Security
We’ll start off looking at the nature of agriculture across regions in Africa and the current situation of food security. Eradicating poverty through creating food security is a key sustainable development goal. We will analyse food security in terms of availability, access and utilisation - and how each of these aspects can be affected by climate change. I’ll be providing some information about the projected impacts of climate change on agriculture before moving onto look at adaptive strategies. The cases this week offer a rich variety of contextual examples from smart agriculture in Mauritius to changes being made by Namibian livestock farmers.
Climate, Vulnerability and Development
This section will introduce the key concepts around climate adaptation and agriculture that this course in based on exploring the relationship between social and economic development in parts of Africa. We will look at the anticipated changes in the future climate of the region and how this could impact on Agriculture.
Course Outline
Module 1: Introduction to Food Security and Agriculture
- Overview of the Global Food Security Strategy
- Pillars of Food Security: Availability, Access, Utilization, and Stability
- Current State of Food Security in Africa
- Challenges in Agriculture and Food Security
- Group Activity: Identifying Local Priorities and Challenges
Module 2: Agriculture and Food Security in Africa
- Regional Diversity in Agricultural Practices
- Food Security and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Climate Change and Food Security:
- Impacts on Availability, Access, and Utilization
- Case Study 1: Smart Agriculture in Mauritius
- Case Study 2: Adaptive Strategies by Namibian Livestock Farmers
- Interactive Session: Designing Adaptive Strategies
Module 3: Climate, Vulnerability, and Development
- Key Concepts: Climate Adaptation and Agriculture
- The Relationship Between Socioeconomic Development and Agriculture
- Anticipated Climate Changes in Africa and Agricultural Impacts
- Building Resilience in Food Systems:
- Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices
- Role of Local Communities and Indigenous Knowledge
- Group Work: Developing Climate-Resilient Agricultural Models
Module 4: Water Security, Ecosystems, and Ecosystem Services
- Importance of Water Security in Agriculture
- Role of Ecosystem Services in Food Security
- Integrating Sustainable Ecosystem Management into Agricultural Practices
- Practical Session: Mapping Ecosystem Services for Agricultural Use
Module 5: Strategies and Interventions for Food Security
- Developing Effective Food Security Strategies:
- Policy Frameworks and Program Interventions
- Monitoring and Evaluating Food Security Initiatives
- Group Presentations: Proposed Interventions for Local Contexts
- Final Reflections and Course Wrap-Up
Note: The specific content, activities, and duration of each session may be adjusted based on the target audience, learning objectives, and available time.
Course Language
English
Training Methodology
Presentations are well guided, practical exercise, a plenary presentation, and group work. Participants are encouraged to bring any data relevant to their job responsibilities. This is hands-on, product-oriented training and will mostly involve practical exercises. Each participant MUST bring along their own working laptop and android phone.
Certification
Upon completion of training, the participant will be issued with a certificate of Completion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the Training Course on Food Security and Agriculture course.
Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life — the canonical 1996 World Food Summit definition. Food insecurity ranges from chronic (long-term inadequate access) to acute (sudden severe shortage from shocks). Measurement uses the IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification), the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), and standard indicators like FCS, HHS and dietary diversity scores. Food security is SDG 2 and a core humanitarian and development priority.
The four pillars of food security are: Availability (sufficient food is physically present in an area through production, imports, or stocks), Access (households have the income, infrastructure or social safety net to obtain that food), Utilisation (food is consumed in ways that meet dietary needs — requiring water, sanitation, health, and care practices), and Stability (the other three pillars hold reliably over time, not collapsing seasonally or under shock). Strong food security programming addresses all four pillars rather than just food production — agriculture alone doesn't end hunger.
Nutrition-sensitive agriculture is the deliberate design of agriculture programmes to improve nutritional outcomes — not just calorie intake or income — through pathways including dietary diversification, biofortification (vitamin-A maize, iron-rich beans), women's empowerment in agriculture, food safety, and reduction of seasonal hunger gaps. The approach emerged from recognition that agricultural growth alone hasn't reduced child stunting at expected rates. Donors including USAID, IFAD, the EU, and CGIAR centres now require explicit nutrition pathways in agriculture programmes, with indicators tracking dietary diversity, child anthropometry, and women's nutrition.
Food security and livelihoods officers, agricultural extension advisors, programme managers at WFP, FAO, INGOs and national agriculture ministries, rural development specialists, and donor staff designing FSL or resilience portfolios.
The four pillars of food security (availability, access, utilisation, stability), resilience programming, climate-smart agriculture, early-warning systems (FEWS NET, IPC), cash-for-work, food assistance modalities, gender and nutrition integration, and linking FSL programmes to market systems.
Not required. Basic development-sector exposure is helpful. Participants range from new FSL officers to experienced programme managers formalising their sector toolkit, and from corporate agribusiness staff engaging with humanitarian partners.
Online and in-person at our training venues across Nairobi, Kigali, Mombasa, Lagos, Cape Town, Addis Ababa, Juba, Cairo and Dubai. Both formats issue the Perk Group Africa certificate of completion with a verification code.
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