Food Security and Sustainability Training Course

Duration 10 days 21 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Food Security Officer, Programme Manager and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-FS-029

Before you join: Participants should have basic familiarity with development, humanitarian, agriculture, nutrition, climate adaptation or social protection work.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Food security programmes must make defensible decisions when food availability, access, utilisation and stability are affected by conflict, climate hazards, price shocks, displacement and weak market systems. Teams need to distinguish acute food insecurity from chronic vulnerability, target assistance fairly, protect livelihoods and demonstrate that interventions do not damage soils, water resources, local markets or social cohesion. Poor analysis can lead to mistimed responses, unsuitable transfer values, exclusion errors and unsustainable production support.

This course develops the technical judgement required to assess food security conditions and design sustainable responses. Participants use the FAO four dimensions of food security, Integrated Food Security Phase Classification principles, Household Economy Analysis, Food Consumption Score, Household Dietary Diversity Score and reduced Coping Strategies Index. They examine market systems, seasonal calendars, climate risk, nutrition links, gender and protection considerations, social protection, sustainable agriculture and responsible food-system governance. The course also addresses monitoring, evaluation, accountability and adaptive management.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings, worked datasets, humanitarian and development cases, group analysis, response-design simulations and structured application planning. Participants progressively build an evidence base, assessment plan, response option appraisal and monitoring framework for a realistic food-security challenge. They leave with a completed Food Security and Sustainability Response Plan that can be adapted for programme design, proposal development, assessment planning or internal decision-making.

The course is suited to professionals working in humanitarian response, rural development, agriculture, nutrition, resilience, climate adaptation, social protection and public food-policy functions. It is especially useful for staff who must turn mixed evidence into practical, accountable decisions.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess food security using the FAO four dimensions and seasonal analysis
  • Classify acute food insecurity evidence using IPC analytical principles
  • Calculate and interpret Food Consumption Score, HDDS and rCSI results
  • Conduct Household Economy Analysis to identify livelihood deficits and response options
  • Analyse market systems, food prices and transfer feasibility using market assessment methods
  • Design sustainable food-security responses using agroecology, climate-risk and protection criteria
  • Build a food-security monitoring framework with indicators, thresholds and feedback mechanisms
  • Present a complete Food Security and Sustainability Response Plan for review

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce defensible food-security assessments from household, market and seasonal evidence
  • Select assistance modalities using transparent feasibility and risk criteria
  • Connect livelihood recovery with soil, water and climate-resilience considerations
  • Strengthen proposal, programme-design and donor-reporting contributions
  • Present evidence-based response recommendations to technical and senior stakeholders

For your organisation

  • Improve targeting decisions through clearer household vulnerability analysis
  • Reduce unsuitable transfer, input and livelihood-support choices
  • Build programmes that protect local markets and natural resources
  • Strengthen food-security monitoring, accountability and adaptation decisions
  • Create more consistent assessment and response-design practices across teams

Course modules

21 modules over 10 days

Participants can frame a food-security problem using recognised dimensions, systems links and decision questions.

  • FAO four dimensions: availability, access, utilisation and stability
  • Food systems mapped from production through consumption and waste
  • Distinguishing acute food insecurity from chronic food insecurity
  • Entitlements approach applied to food access and livelihood failure
  • Nutrition, health, care and sanitation links to utilisation
  • Decision questions for assessments, programme design and policy review

Participants can establish an evidence plan that tests credible food-security assumptions.

  • Secondary-data review using assessment reports, price series and climate records
  • Evidence matrix linking decisions, indicators, sources and confidence ratings
  • Triangulation across household, market, nutrition and remote-sensing evidence
  • Sampling choices for rapid assessments and household surveys
  • Data-quality checks for completeness, consistency, timeliness and bias
  • Ethical data collection, informed consent and responsible data management

Participants can analyse how seasonal patterns and shocks affect household food security.

  • Seasonal calendars covering rainfall, harvests, prices, labour and hunger
  • Hazard timeline connecting shocks with household coping capacity
  • Shock typology: drought, flood, conflict, disease and price spikes
  • Climate-risk screening using hazard, exposure and vulnerability factors
  • Forecast-based action triggers linked to food-security risk thresholds
  • Scenario assumptions documented for planning under uncertainty

Participants can use Household Economy Analysis to identify livelihood deficits and viable support options.

  • Household Economy Analysis baseline: wealth groups, income and expenditure
  • Livelihood zoning based on production systems and market access
  • Sources of food, cash income and essential expenditure
  • Outcome analysis estimating survival and livelihood-protection deficits
  • Coping capacity assessed through assets, labour and social support
  • Response options matched to household deficit and market conditions

Participants can select, calculate and interpret household food-security indicators.

  • Food Consumption Score calculated from seven-day food-group frequency
  • Household Dietary Diversity Score interpreted with contextual caution
  • Reduced Coping Strategies Index scored from household coping behaviours
  • Livelihood Coping Strategy Index distinguished from food-consumption measures
  • Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women used for nutrition-sensitive analysis
  • Indicator disaggregation by sex, age, disability and wealth group

Participants can interpret classification evidence and communicate acute food-security severity responsibly.

  • IPC analytical framework: evidence, convergence and phase classification
  • Reference thresholds for food consumption, livelihoods and nutrition
  • Area classification distinguished from household-level vulnerability profiling
  • Convergence of evidence assessed across outcomes and contributing factors
  • Confidence statements reflecting evidence quality, gaps and disagreement
  • Classification findings translated into response priorities and monitoring needs

Participants can assess whether markets can support food-security response options.

  • Market system map identifying actors, functions, rules and services
  • Price monitoring tracks staple foods, fuel, wages and terms-of-trade
  • Trader capacity assessed through stocks, suppliers, credit and transport
  • Market integration examined using price correlation and supply routes
  • Household purchasing power compared with minimum expenditure baskets
  • Cash, voucher and in-kind feasibility criteria applied transparently

Participants can design transparent targeting approaches that reduce exclusion and protection risks.

  • Geographic targeting combines severity, access constraints and population estimates
  • Household targeting criteria based on food-security and livelihood evidence
  • Community-based targeting checked for bias, power and exclusion
  • Gender analysis identifies control over food, income and assets
  • Disability inclusion measures address communication, access and participation barriers
  • Protection risk assessment covers safety, exploitation and social tension

Participants can compare response options against needs, markets, risks and delivery constraints.

  • Response Analysis Framework links needs, objectives and feasible options
  • Transfer-value calculation uses expenditure gaps, prices and programme objectives
  • Cash assistance assessed against market functionality and protection risks
  • Food assistance specifications consider dietary quality, acceptability and storage
  • Livelihood grants matched to household capacity and market opportunity
  • Decision matrix scores impact, feasibility, cost, risk and sustainability

Participants can integrate sustainable production and resource-management measures into food-security programming.

  • Agroecological principles applied to diversified and resilient farm systems
  • Soil health practices include composting, mulching and cover crops
  • Water stewardship assesses irrigation efficiency, recharge and competing demand
  • Integrated pest management reduces hazardous pesticide dependence
  • Seed-system analysis distinguishes local supply, quality and varietal suitability
  • Land-tenure considerations shape equitable agricultural support design

Participants can design food-security interventions that address climate risks without creating maladaptation.

  • Climate-smart agriculture balances productivity, adaptation and emission considerations
  • Climate-risk profile links hazards with livelihoods and food-system nodes
  • Drought-tolerant crop selection tested against dietary and market preferences
  • Climate information services matched to farmer decision calendars
  • Maladaptation screening identifies harmful incentives and unequal risk transfer
  • Adaptation pathways sequence immediate relief with longer-term resilience investments

Participants can incorporate nutrition objectives and safeguards into food-security interventions.

  • Nutrition-sensitive pathways connect income, production, markets and care practices
  • Diet quality assessed beyond calories using food-group diversity measures
  • Seasonal nutrition risks linked with disease, workload and food availability
  • Home-garden support designed around water, labour and dietary constraints
  • Fortified foods and specialised products considered within appropriate mandates
  • Referral pathways connect food-security teams with health and nutrition services

Participants can identify supply-chain losses and propose practical food-system improvements.

  • Post-harvest loss assessment traces spoilage from harvest through retail
  • Storage solutions compared for cost, pest control and household suitability
  • Cold-chain constraints analysed for perishable foods and nutrition outcomes
  • Value-chain mapping identifies margins, bottlenecks and producer incentives
  • Local procurement criteria consider quality, seasonality, competition and traceability
  • Food-waste prevention options assessed for safety and operational feasibility

Participants can adapt food-security analysis and response design for complex crisis contexts.

  • Conflict sensitivity identifies dividers, connectors and resource-related tensions
  • Displacement analysis considers legal status, assets, networks and mobility
  • Urban food-security assessment examines rent, transport, informal work and markets
  • Access constraints mapped for checkpoints, insecurity and seasonal isolation
  • Do-no-harm review tests assistance effects on prices and social relations
  • Area-based approaches coordinate food security with shelter and basic services

Participants can connect programme responses with social protection systems and food-security policy.

  • Social protection instruments: cash transfers, public works and school meals
  • Shock-responsive social protection links registries, finance and trigger systems
  • Adaptive social protection combines anticipatory action, response and recovery
  • National food-security strategies reviewed against household vulnerability evidence
  • Public grain reserves assessed for governance, costs and market effects
  • Policy coherence examined across agriculture, trade, nutrition and climate objectives

Participants can build a results model that connects food-security activities with accountable outcomes.

  • Theory of change links interventions, assumptions, outputs and outcomes
  • Logical framework indicators specify quantity, quality, population and timeframe
  • Sphere Handbook commitments applied to food-security response quality
  • Community feedback mechanisms capture complaints, preferences and unintended effects
  • Accountability to affected people built into information and participation plans
  • Risk register assigns controls for operational, fiduciary and safeguarding risks

Participants can design monitoring systems that support timely food-security programme decisions.

  • Monitoring plan defines indicators, sources, frequency, responsibility and use
  • Baseline design establishes comparison points before programme implementation
  • Outcome monitoring combines food consumption, livelihoods and market indicators
  • Process monitoring checks timeliness, coverage, quality and participant experience
  • Post-distribution monitoring assesses utilisation, protection and market effects
  • Adaptive management protocols define thresholds, review meetings and action owners

Participants can produce an implementable food-security response plan with realistic resources and controls.

  • Activity-based budgets connect delivery quantities, unit costs and contingencies
  • Procurement planning specifies technical standards, lead times and supplier checks
  • Distribution plans define sites, schedules, crowd management and verification
  • Partner capacity assessment reviews technical, financial and safeguarding controls
  • Implementation workplans sequence assessments, approvals, procurement and monitoring
  • Exit and handover planning supports local ownership and programme continuity

Participants can communicate food-security evidence and recommendations clearly to decision-makers.

  • Problem statements distinguish symptoms, causes, affected groups and severity
  • Evidence summaries present key findings, limitations and confidence levels
  • Response rationale connects selected modalities with assessment findings
  • Budget narratives explain cost drivers, value for money and contingencies
  • Decision briefs compare options using concise risk and feasibility analysis
  • Technical annexes organise methods, indicators, assumptions and implementation detail

Participants can reconcile trade-offs between urgent food needs, livelihoods and environmental sustainability.

  • Trade-off analysis compares speed, equity, nutrition, markets and environmental effects
  • Multi-criteria analysis ranks intervention options against weighted decision criteria
  • Stakeholder mapping identifies authority, incentives, influence and accountability relationships
  • Systems thinking identifies feedback loops and unintended programme consequences
  • Sustainability screening reviews environmental, social, financial and institutional viability
  • Implementation assumptions tested against seasonal, political and operational constraints

Participants can build, review and present a complete Food Security and Sustainability Response Plan based on a defined crisis or development scenario.

  • Assessment synthesis combines household, market, seasonal and nutrition evidence
  • Problem analysis identifies priority groups, drivers and food-security outcomes
  • Response package specifies objectives, modalities, targeting and sustainability measures
  • Results framework defines indicators, baselines, targets and review thresholds
  • Implementation plan schedules procurement, delivery, coordination and risk controls
  • Peer review tests evidence quality, feasibility and accountability provisions

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Food security assessment evidence matrix
  2. Seasonal and shock-risk calendar
  3. Household Economy Analysis worksheet
  4. Market and modality feasibility checklist
  5. Food-security monitoring framework
  6. Food Security and Sustainability Response Plan

Who should attend

  • Food Security Officer — needs stronger assessment and response-design skills
  • Programme Manager — oversees food security, livelihoods or resilience portfolios
  • Humanitarian Coordinator — requires evidence for prioritisation and response decisions
  • Agriculture Specialist — links production support with sustainability and household outcomes
  • Monitoring and Evaluation Officer — develops indicators for food-security programme performance
  • Government Food Policy Officer — supports food-security planning and crisis preparedness

Skills and tools covered

Food security assessmentLivelihoods analysisMarket systems analysisSustainable response designNutrition-sensitive programmingMonitoring framework design

Tools and standards

Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, Household Economy Analysis, Food Consumption Score, Sphere Handbook

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short technical briefings followed by case-based analysis from drought, displacement, market-shock and rural livelihood settings. Participants work with sample household, market, price and seasonal datasets; interpret assessment findings; compare response options; and test decisions through facilitated simulations. Group work focuses on evidence quality, targeting, sustainability trade-offs and implementation constraints. Individual application planning helps participants adapt methods and templates to their own country, programme or policy responsibilities.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic familiarity with development, humanitarian, agriculture, nutrition, climate adaptation or social protection work. Experience reading programme reports, simple spreadsheets and household or market data is useful. The course assumes that participants understand common project-cycle terms such as objectives, activities, outputs and indicators. No prior certification in food security, economics, statistics, agronomy or humanitarian coordination is required. Advanced quantitative modelling is not expected; calculations are explained through worked examples and applied using practical templates.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand basic project-cycle concepts and have some exposure to development, humanitarian, agriculture, nutrition or public-policy work. You do not need prior food-security certification, advanced statistics or economics training.

Bring a laptop if possible, plus a current programme document, assessment report, proposal or food-security challenge from your work. Course datasets and templates are provided, so attendance without a live project is also suitable.

It is designed for food security, livelihoods, agriculture, resilience, nutrition, programme management, monitoring and policy professionals. It suits staff with some practical responsibility who need stronger analytical and response-design methods.

The course focuses on household food access, livelihoods, markets, shocks, response choices and programme accountability. It addresses nutrition and agriculture where they affect food-security outcomes, rather than training participants as clinical nutritionists or agronomists.

Participants use assessment, market, targeting, sustainability and monitoring tools that can be adapted to ongoing programmes. The final response plan provides a structured basis for a proposal, programme revision, contingency plan or internal decision brief.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first part builds assessment and analysis skills, the middle part develops response and sustainability design, and the final part focuses on monitoring, implementation and the capstone plan.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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