A Consultation Workshop addressing Users’ Information Needs and Response, under the TA-10099 MON: Mongolia Integrated Food Security Information and Response System (IFSIRS) project, was conducted in Ulaanbaatar on January 30-31, 2024 with  a total of 70 participants attended from the President’s Office, Ministry of Economy and Development, MOF, MOFALI, NSO, NEMA, Customs General Administration, Mongolian Agency for Standardization and Metrology, UB city Mayor’s Office, aimag representatives and other organizations represented on the TAU and MOFALI WG, as well as private sector and development partners (ADB, WB, FAO).

The consultation workshop aimed to achieve the following:

• The identification of most urgent policies, programs and investments to address the identified food insecurity risks;
• The determination of the key data and information needed for improved risk management at all levels of the Government;
• Agreement on (analyzed) information products needed, including the format and timeframe in which food security data/information are needed for timely decision-making in managing food insecurity risks;
• The identification of institutional arrangements (incl. improved coordination, flow of data & information) needed for better decision-making in food insecurity risk management

The Consultation Workshop was conducted according to the schedule and agenda; and was co-chaired by Mr. Jambaltseren, State Secretary, MOFALI and Mr. Shingo Kimura, Senior Natural Resources and Agriculture Specialist, ENRAD, EAD, ADB.

Format of Workshop

The 2-day consultation included several plenary and working group sessions, including group work for each of the four dimensions of food security: (i) Food availability; (ii) Food access; (iii) Food utilization (including food safety); and (iv) stability in food availability and access. The working groups will share their findings/-recommendations in the plenary sessions to guide the further development of IFSIRS. 

Workshop outputs 

The Consultation workshop and group discussions with experts from the key stakeholder agencies will result in:

• Policy decisions needed to better manage food insecurity risks;
• Data and information need for managing these risks (both for policy formulation and implementation/recommended actions);
• Agreement on the format, timeframe and frequency of reports generated by the by IFSIRS;
• Recommendations on institutional coordination arrangements (incl. for flow of data & information, and for coordination of food security policies/programs/investments);
• A consensus on a structure and functions of the IFSIRS;
• Agreement and confirmation on a list of food commodities to be covered by each IFSIRS component (to ensure appropriate food security risk management for each component).