Implementing Agenda 2030 in Food and Agriculture: Accelerating Policy Impact through Cross-Sectoral Coordination at the Country Level

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda), which lays out the principles and targets expected to guide development in the coming decade, highlights the interconnection and complexity of global challenges. Objectives related to food, nutrition, agriculture and natural resources are intrinsically interrelated. Consequently, achieving the specific targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires the engagement and coordination of multiple government sectors. However, even with a growing emphasis on the value of working across sectors, the literature offers little guidance on how to integrate cross-sectoral approaches into national and sub-national planning and implementation. This paper is an initial effort to provide indicative approaches for working across sectors in tackling complex issues related to sustainable food and nutrition, agricultural systems and natural resources. It is conceived as a resource for national and international actors who recognize the benefits of using cross-sectoral approaches to achieve common strategic development goals at the country level. It looks at how cross-sectoral coordination can be designed and carried out at the country level, and identifies factors and conditions that can advance it. In addition, the paper investigates the role of multistakeholder collaboration in facilitating and supporting coordination across sectors. The paper builds on the available literature and on country studies from Asia, Africa and Central America to analyze how and when to work across sectors and to identify elements that may enhance cross-sectoral coordination. The analysis addresses the following dimensions: initial and enabling conditions, governance arrangements and processes

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