The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) presented today to the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (PARLATINO) a new guide designed to advise parliamentarians in creating enabling environments for responsible investment in agriculture and food systems.

The guide was developed in collaboration with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), with the support of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), as part of the Umbrella Programme Supporting Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems.

The guide integrates contributions from legislators and advisors from different parliaments around the world, including those from the Parliamentary Front against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean, a regional network supported by FAO, the Spanish Cooperation Agency, and the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID).

"This tool addresses key aspects for the promotion of more and better investments in agri-food systems to end poverty and hunger, and mitigate the impact of COVID-19," said Marcela Villarreal, Director of FAO's Partnerships and United Nations Collaboration Division.

"The guide provides guidance to parliamentarians on how to ensure coherence of legislative frameworks, promote the adaptation of certain laws, ensure adequate funding mechanisms and other key aspects," Villarreal added.

According to FAO, agricultural investment is one of the most effective strategies in the fight against poverty and hunger. Yet, those that are poorly planned and executed can be more harmful than beneficial.

"A malpractice occurs, for example, when an investment results in violations of land tenure rights or natural resources, degrades the environment and/or harms the food security of communities," explained Emma Mcghie, Program Officer in Responsible Agricultural Investment at FAO.

Actions that cross borders

The FAO and IISD guide helps implement the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems, adopted by the Committee on World Food Security in 2014, through their national policy frameworks.

"Parliamentarians and their advisors, being at the heart of public policymaking, have a fundamental role in ensuring that investments contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," explained Silvia Giacoppo, Argentinian senator and Alternate Secretary of PARLATINO Committees and focal point for FAO.

"In times of pandemic our priority is to support legislative action against hunger and malnutrition and the effects of climate change, in order to positively impact the entire Latin American and Caribbean territory," added Giacoppo.

"Latin America is the developing region that has been most affected by the pandemic. Ensuring responsible investment in agrifood systems, from parliaments, is one of the most effective measures to avoid a food crisis," added Luis Lobo, Spain-FAO Program Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean.

This presentation is part of the close collaboration between FAO and PARLATINO, which in 2020 released a joint statement on increasing responsible investment in agriculture and food systems in the face of the crisis by COVID-19.

Consult the guide here: http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb1991en