The Dominican Republic
National System for Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security
The Dominican Republic coordinates food and nutrition policy through the National System for Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security (Sistema Nacional de Soberanía y Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional) established in law: a council of ministers chaired from the Ministry of the Presidency, a technical secretariat that runs day-to-day coordination, and a network that carries civil society participation from municipal level upwards. This institutional set up can be classed as a dual, state-centric mechanism.
National Council for Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security (CONASSAN)
Institutional set-up and structure. Created by Law No. 589-16 in 2016. The law places the President as chair, with three executive vice-presidencies held by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Education, each responsible for a group of ministries. Members serve on an honorary basis. The Council may invite any person, institution, guild or association to take part in its working sessions as a guest.
Mandate and decision-making power. The Council designs the public policies needed to ensure the country produces sufficient food sustainably, with equitable distribution and at prices the population can afford, and to consolidate the social protection system so that the right to food is guaranteed, with priority for children, pregnant and nursing women and older people. It prepares the proposal for the National Plan for Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security, promotes a multisectoral approach across the agricultural production, health, education, labour and social security sectors, and identifies the population groups affected by malnutrition and food insecurity so that action can be focused on them. Decisions rest with the Council alongside the Technical Secretariat.
The Council carries the following roles (building blocks):
Agenda setting: deciding on goals and strategic priorities
Policy formulation and decision making: developing policies for consideration by the relevant authorities; deciding and enacting them
Implementation: coordinating financial resources and the budget
Who is involved
Government: the Ministry of the Presidency, agriculture, education, public health, economy, housing, higher education, industry and commerce, environment and natural resources, women, and public works and communications, together with the national consumer protection institute and the Dominican Federation of Municipalities
Civil society: represented through the National Network's elected coordinator, who sits on the Council; non-state actors are not otherwise members
How it works in practice
• Holds ordinary sessions quarterly, with extraordinary sessions as required
• Priorities are set at the start of each four-year government term through the national planning system
• The national food and nutrition plan is updated in step with ministries' own strategic plans, which secures resourcing
• Accountability reporting is currently informal
Technical Secretariat of CONASSAN
Institutional set-up and structure. The coordinating body of the System, made up of a Technical Secretary and a group of supporting institutions: government bodies that are not members of the Council, together with international cooperation agencies willing to offer technical and financial assistance when the Secretariat requests it. Its operating rules are set in the regulations of the law.
Mandate and decision-making power. The Secretariat is responsible for the operational coordination of food and nutrition sovereignty and security, and for structuring the projects and programmes of the national and international institutions working in the field. It disseminates the national policy and monitors its execution, proposes to the Council policies or legal instruments that complement the national policy, and promotes spaces for dialogue and communication that serve as consultation and information mechanisms. It also establishes technical coordination between state institutions, Dominican society and non-governmental actors. It shares decision-making with the Council.
The Secretariat is tasked with the following roles (building blocks):
Agenda setting: advocacy and dialogue
Policy formulation and decision making: providing technical advice; coordinating policy development
Implementation: coordinating policy and programme delivery
Monitoring and evaluation: tracking progress, evaluating and reporting
Who is involved
Government: the Technical Secretary, with a group of supporting public institutions that are not members of the Council
Development partners: international cooperation agencies providing technical and financial assistance on request
Wider support: the national statistics office supports the Secretariat's working tables
How it works in practice
Leads day-to-day coordination across the System and its working groups, which are convened around specific programmes including zero hunger and the environment
Disseminates the national policy and monitors its execution
A strengthened monitoring and evaluation system accompanied the 2025 to 2028 plan
National Network for Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security
Institutional set-up and structure. Established to coordinate action on the National Plan, the Network elects representatives from municipal assemblies through provincial level to a national coordinator who sits on the Council. It has its own supporting unit in the form of a national technical secretariat, and a multi-level governance component reaching from local to national level. Its composition, operation and secretariat are set in the regulations of the law.
Mandate and decision-making power. The Network coordinates action to formulate, monitor, implement and evaluate the National Plan for Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security. It monitors the food and nutrition situation at the different territorial levels and develops proposals, presents an evaluation of the four-year plan to the Council three years into implementation together with proposals for the next plan, assesses the global food production and marketing situation and its effects on the country, and contributes to regional collaboration across Latin America and the Caribbean. It functions as a space for information sharing and dialogue rather than for decision making.
The Network is tasked with the following roles (building blocks):
Agenda setting: advocacy and dialogue
Monitoring and evaluation: tracking progress, evaluating and reporting
Who is involved
Government: representatives of ministries including agriculture, health, education, environment, industry and commerce, women, and public works
Local government: provincial governors, senators, deputies and mayors
Public institutions: including the agrarian institute, the agricultural bank and the national hydraulic resources institute
Civil society: non-governmental organisations, community organisations and neighbourhood associations, alongside consumer groups, youth and women's associations, and religious, sporting and cultural bodies
Private sector: agricultural, livestock and aquaculture producer associations, business associations and chambers of commerce
Academia: universities and research centres
How it works in practice
Municipal assemblies elect representatives through provincial level to a national coordinator who sits on the Council
Monitors the food and nutrition situation across territorial levels and develops proposals from it
Presents an evaluation of the four-year plan to the Council three years into its implementation
Evidence base: key informant interviews and policy documents, 2026. Last updated: September 2026.
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