PARLATINO and FAO call for responsible investments in agriculture and food systems to address effects of the pandemic


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12/08/2020 - 

Santiago, Chile – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Parliament of Latin America and the Caribbean (PARLATINO) have released a declaration on increasing responsible investment in agriculture and food systems in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.
 
"This crisis is an unprecedented opportunity to rethink the way our agriculture and food systems work, in order to adopt recovery measures that allow the economies of all countries in the region to be rebuilt with equality," said Jorge Pizarro, President of PARLATINO. "We want to build a more participatory and humane development model, and more inclusive societies where dignity and quality of life are guaranteed.”
 
The declaration is based on the 10 Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI Principles), endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), which are applicable to all types and sizes of agricultural investment.
 
“We are taking a great step forward as a result of a process which began in 2018 with different capacity development activities on the CFS-RAI Principles for legislators and advisers of the Parliamentary Front against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean (PFH-LAC),” explained Dulclair Sternadt, FAO Partnerships Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean. PARLATINO is one of four regional parliaments which participates in PFH-LAC, a network of parliamentarians which also comprises one municipal and 21 national parliamentary fronts from Latin America and the Caribbean.
 
Parliamentarians are key actors for development as they place a fundamental role in the creation of regulatory and legislative frameworks that can foster more and better investments in agriculture and food systems. Such frameworks must be coherent and consistent in order to enable and generate private and public investments that can effectively address the effects of the economic recession, prioritize food and nutritional security, improve people's health, conserve biodiversity, protect the environment and consider the needs of the most vulnerable.
 
Parliamentarians are in a strategic position where they not only exercise political control over investment matters, but also create public awareness of the challenges and opportunities related to such investments. Working in partnership with parliamentarians at a global, regional and country level is key for the application of the CFS-RAI principles. 
 
The CFS-RAI Principles
 
The CFS-RAI Principles seek to provide guidance on how to promote investments that strengthen food security and nutrition, as well as inclusive economic development and the sustainable use of natural resources.
 
They include guidelines which can be used to mitigate and recover from the effects of the current pandemic, helping to rebuild food systems so that they are more productive and resistant to future crises. 
 
According to Argentine Senator Silvia Giacoppo, Alternate Secretary of Commissions of PARLATINO and the parliament’s focal point for FAO, "The declaration of PARLATINO and FAO will seek to promote the application of the CFS-RAI principles, from normative instruments to achieving concrete results.”
 
PARLATINO/FAO Alliance
 
The PARLATINO/FAO alliance began in 2009, supported by the Spain/FAO Program for Latin America and the Caribbean and the "Mesoamerica sin Hambre" program, led by AMEXCID (Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation) and FAO. One of the first joint actions was to enable the creation of the Parliamentary Front Against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean.
 
The alliance has supported PARLATINO in the creation of five model laws – which act as a legal framework of reference that countries can use as a basis for developing their own national policies and law - to mobilize legislative actions against hunger and malnutrition.

 

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