In 2010, the European Union (EU) and its Member States along with all partners sought to address food and nutrition security by adopting an EU-wide policy framework for food security . An Implementation Plan for Food and Nutrition Security was produced and divided into six policy priorities:

• improving smallholder resilience and rural livelihoods (e.g. providing people in the countryside with the necessary tools to manage and diversify their crops, reduce post-harvest losses and improve storage facilities);

• supporting effective governance (e.g. helping to ensure responsible leadership and policymaking);

• supporting regional agriculture and FNS policies;

• strengthening social protection mechanisms for FNS (i.e. developing nationally owned and led comprehensive social protection systems that support the most vulnerable in periods of hardship);

• enhancing nutrition in particular for mothers, infants and children;

• enhancing coordination between development and humanitarian actors to build resilience and promote sustainable FNS.

Until 2020, the European Commission produced, jointly with the Member States, consolidated EU-wide biennial progress reports:

The first biennial report (2014) establishes a benchmark against which subsequent reports compare the performance of EU donors in working together. It is accompanied by a Staff Working Document (SWD) , which provides additional information and case studies.

The second biennial report (2016) examines two themes in greater depth — enhanced nutrition and inclusive agrifood chains and systems. Its related SWD provides additional information and case studies.

The third biennial report (2018) details progress against policy priorities and provides a deeper focus on two specific themes: Climate-resilient approaches and nutrition-sensitive agricultural practices. It also lists a number of policy recommendations. The related SWD provides additional information and case studies, notably on joint programming.

The fourth biennial report (2020) focuses on the main policy developments, analyses the financial trends in disbursements and the evaluation of policy priorities. It also highlights the results and progress achieved by the EU and its Member States on the two thematic focus areas (i) women’s empowerment for food security and nutrition, and (ii) rural employment creation. It concludes by highlighting the importance of eight policy orientations, including the need to adopt a comprehensive approach to sustainable and inclusive food systems and, to promote climate-sensitive agriculture, including agro-ecology, acknowledging the importance of sustainable agriculture in adapting to and mitigating climate change. The related SWD provides additional information and case studies, notably on joint programming.

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