CFS 44 Round Up
The annual CFS Plenary from 9-13 October 2017 brought together over 1500 delegates from government, civil society, private sector and philanthropic foundations, international organizations and international research bodies to debate issues, share experience, and set the future direction for CFS.
During the week, CFS discussed the concerning increase in the number of chronically undernourished people in the world and the negative impact of conflict, climate change and protracted crises on food security. More positively, CFS commended the leadership countries were showing in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Read the outcomes of the discussions in the Final report.
The Committee endorsed a set of policy recommendations (paras 20 - 26) on sustainable forestry to strengthen the contributions of sustainable management of forests and trees to the achievement of food security and nutrition.
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A new Chair for CFS
H. E. Ambassador Mario Arvelo, Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the Rome-based UN agencies, was elected by acclamation as the Chair of CFS for the term ending at CFS 46 in October 2019.
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All about side events
Nutrition-sensitive policies, youth and entrepreneurship, land tenure, partnerships, agro-ecology, biodiversity, malnutrition, women’s rights, climate change adaptation, and sustainable forestry are just some of the diverse topics discussed at the 56 side events organized by over 130 organizations.
If you were not able to attend all side events, you can read their summaries or explore the CFS blog, which contains 70+ insightful articles on side events, written by a team of social reporters coordinated by the Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation (GFAR) in partnership with CFS.
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What’s next on the CFS agenda
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Acting on the findings from the independent evaluation of CFS is a top priority for the coming period. CFS 44 accepted a number of recommendations aimed at improving the strategic focus of CFS and its ways of working, with the ultimate aim of lifting the Committee’s impact on food security and nutrition.
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In October CFS decided that nutrition will be the main thematic area of work in the next two years, with a view to achieving a global, multi-stakeholder consensus on a policy instrument to positively shape food systems and sustainably-based diets. A High Level Panel of Experts report on nutrition and food systems provides independent, evidence based analysis to help CFS in this work.
A series of regional symposia on nutrition, co-organized by FAO and WHO, are providing space for CFS to hear more about regional priorities, and can help inform its future work.
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In 2018, CFS will continue to contribute to the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in New York, agreed in October on the key messages that should be conveyed on the links between food security and nutrition and the Sustainable Development Goals under review in 2018. These messages highlighted inequalities in access to resources and sustainable management of resources as key issues to address.
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CFS will hold two events in 2018, looking at the food security and nutrition implications of urbanization and rural transformation on lower income groups, and on promoting youth and women engagement and employment in food systems across the rural-urban continuum. These events will help CFS determine the feasibility of further policy work on these topics.
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In June 2018 the High Level Panel of Experts is expected to deliver its report to CFS on “Multistakeholder partnerships to finance and improve food security and nutrition in the framework of the 2030 Agenda”.
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