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Cambodia

Technical Working Group for Food Security and Nutrition (TWG-FSN)

Cambodia coordinates food security, nutrition and food systems governance through the Technical Working Group for Food Security and Nutrition (TWG-FSN), one of the Royal Government of Cambodia's Technical Working Groups. Established in 2004 and updated periodically in line with the needs of the Royal Government, it facilitates technical dialogue and coordinates external assistance across the sector. It is serviced by the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) as its Secretariat, and complemented at sub-national level by the Provincial Working Groups for Food Security and Nutrition.

Institutional set-up and structure

A high-level multisectoral coordination mechanism convened and chaired by the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development, an inter-ministerial body under the Office of the Council of Ministers. CARD's Secretariat-General serves as its Secretariat. The Working Group is co-facilitated by two development partners — the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany for nutrition and FAO for food security — on rotating terms of at least two years. Its current configuration was set by Royal Government directive SCN No. 998 SCN.KBC of 17 November 2020, with membership updated by Decision No. 489 of 4 December 2023. Its terms of reference were prepared in line with CRDB/CDC guidance, so its composition, mandate and reporting arrangements follow the common principles that apply across the Royal Government's Technical Working Groups.

Mandate and decision-making power

The 2020 directive defines the Working Group as a coordinating body and partnership dialogue mechanism bringing together line ministries and institutions of the Royal Government, development partners and civil society organisations, mandated to facilitate technical dialogue and to coordinate and mobilise external assistance for food security and nutrition policies, strategies and programmes. Its core functions are coordinating implementation and resource mobilisation, promoting policy and strategy coherence, monitoring progress through Joint Monitoring Indicators, integrating cross-cutting issues such as gender, youth and environment, and facilitating information sharing. Its authority is coordinating and advisory: it works through political leadership, mutual accountability and the Joint Monitoring Indicators rather than through binding decisions, with implementation resting with the responsible line ministries.

The Working Group is tasked with the following roles (building blocks):

  • Agenda setting: advocacy and dialogue; decision making on goals and strategic priorities (partially developed)

  • Policy formulation and decision making: providing technical advice; coordinating the policy development and planning process; developing policies for consideration by relevant authorities

  • Implementation: coordinating policy and programme implementation (partially developed)

  • Monitoring and evaluation: monitoring, evaluation and reporting

Who is involved

  • Government: line ministries and institutions of the Royal Government spanning agriculture, fisheries and forestry, health, education, environment, social protection, water and sanitation, commerce, industry, women's affairs and finance, convened by CARD

  • Development partners: UN agencies and bilateral and multilateral donors, two of whom co-facilitate the Working Group

  • Civil society: civil society organisations and NGOs, including the SUN Civil Society Alliance

  • Academia: research and academic institutions

  • Private sector: represented through the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce

  • Sub-national: the Provincial Working Groups for Food Security and Nutrition bring together provincial authorities and local stakeholders; direct farmer and community engagement is provided for through separate Royal Government mechanisms established for that purpose

How it works in practice

The Working Group brings its members together in plenary and through sub-groups, with progress tracked against Joint Monitoring Indicators agreed for successive periods (2019–2023 and 2024–2028). It has convened the development of Cambodia's principal multisectoral instruments, including the Third National Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition 2024–2028 and the Second Cambodia Roadmap for Food Systems for Sustainable Development 2025–2030 and its associated financing strategy. Technical studies, policy reviews and monitoring data are used systematically in both strategic planning and routine deliberation. Implementation is supported through the Provincial Working Groups at sub-national level, with delivery of sector-specific measures remaining with the relevant line ministries.

Evidence base: Extended Assessment of the Food System Governance Strengthening Framework (documentary evidence and stakeholder surveys), 2026.

Last updated: September 2026.