The EESC participation to the 51st meeting of the Committee on World Food Security

Mr Peter Schmidt, President of the NAT Section, Mr Maurizio Reale, President of the Sustainable Development Observatory, Ms Piroska Kállay, President of the Sustainable Food Systems Permanent Group, and Mr Andreas Thurner, EESC Member, participated to the 51st meeting of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in Rome on 23-25 October 2023.

The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) is the foremost inclusive international and intergovernmental platform for all stakeholders to work together in a coordinated manner to ensure food security and nutrition for all. These are developed starting from scientific and evidence-based reports produced by the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) and/or through work supported technically by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Food Programme (WFP) and representatives of the CFS Advisory Group. The CFS reports to the UN General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The EESC has an observer status at the CFS, but used the opportunity to maintain and further develop close contacts and exchange of information with the FAO.

The delegation for example met with:

• David Laborde, Director for Agrifood Economics,
• Corinna Hawkes, Director for Food Systems and Food Safety,
• Stefanos Fotiou, Director of Office of SDGs,
• Kaveh Zahedi Director for Climate Change and Biodiversity,
• Maurizio Martina, FAO Assistant Director-General and
• Marcela Villarreal, Director of Partnerships and UN Collaboration).

Further collaboration with FAO in the context of the COP on Climate and biodiversity, the next HLPF meeting and the UN Summit of the Future planned in September 2024 were discussed, as well as exchange of data and experience on systems-based analysis for sustainable food systems, on climate-related financing of food systems, on transformative partnerships and on the development of a positive narrative regarding agrifood system solutions to climate change were discussed during these bilateral meetings.

The delegation also exchanged views with representatives of the Civil Society and Indigenous People's Mechanism (CSIPM) and several other CSOs. The CSIPM is the largest international space of civil society organisations (CSOs) working to eradicate food insecurity and malnutrition that was founded in 2010 as an essential and autonomous part of the CFS. to facilitate civil society participation and articulation into the policy processes of the CFS. Points of discussion included the CFS work programme, the EU Framework for sustainable systems, the need of territorial solutions towards sustainable food systems, the opportunities of convergence between the work of CSIPM and the EESC.

During its 51st Session held from 23 to 27 October and reconvened on 25 November, the CFS endorsed (see report of discussions here):

• the Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment in the Context of Food Security and Nutrition,
• the Policy Recommendations on Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition Data Collection and Analysis Tools for Food Security
• and the CFS Multi-Year Programme of Work (MYPoW) 2024-2027.

Additionally, the Plenary discussed the progress of the follow-up to the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) as well as the monitoring of the two Policy Recommendations on Price Volatility and Food Security, and on Social Protection for Food Security and Nutrition.

Last but not least, this session saw the election of the new CFS chair for the upcoming two years:  Ms Nosipho Nausca-Jean Jezile, Permanent Representative to the UN Agencies in Rome of the Republic of South Africa.