Development Objective: to reduce poverty and improve food security and child nutrition,
improve gender equity in rural areas, increase agricultural productivity, and promote sustainable use
of natural resources through more appropriate and better informed government action.
Immediate Objective: i) to generate information through collaborative research activities on those
themes and sub-themes that have identified by East and West African network members as priorities
at the country and regional levels in order to improve policies and decisions that influence food
security, poverty alleviation, gender equity, and sound management of natural resources; ii) to
improve the dissemination and use of information and thereby facilitate more informed dialogue and
debate by policymakers and the news media which reaches the general public; and iii) to strengthen
the capacity to undertake and communicate policy research and analysis on topics related to food,
agriculture, gender, and the environment in network countries.