A training pack. Field programme management: food and nutrition.

One of the main barriers to development is the lack of adequately trained field staff. It is now widely recognized that the field worker plays a crucial role in implementing community development programmes. National development plans may look promising on paper but without the staff in the field, capable of managing the programmes, there is little chance for substantial gain from development efforts. To help address the problem of training for field workers, the Food Policy and Nutrition Division has produced the Training Pack. Its aim is to help field workers develop simple management skills which can be used in their daily work. The material in the Pack stresses those management techniques required by all field workers, whether their primary responsibility is agriculture, health, nutrition or community development. The Pack uses aspects of food and nutrition to illustrate the basic management skills, without attempting to turn the field workers into nutritionists. The emphasis of the Course is on the planning, implementation and evaluation of community activities. The practical approach advocated by these training materials is described in detail here.