On the sidelines of the 5th Investing in Africa Forum, held from 10 to 12 September in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, FAO’s Regional Representative for Africa, Abebe Haile-Gabriel, met with representatives of the Congolese Parliament to discuss the role of parliamentarians in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. Mr. Haile-Gabriel commended the President of the Senate, Pierre Ngolo, and the President of the National Assembly, Isidore Mvouba, for their leadership on keeping issues of food security and nutrition at the forefront of the political agenda. The leaders of the two chambers of Parliament were instrumental in creating a Congolese...

Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), and the Rwandan Parliament met in Kigali, Rwanda from 16 -19 July 2019, for a weeklong learning exchange which focused on mainstreaming gender into agriculture and strategies to improve food security. The week featured a two-day capacity building workshop, designed to support parliamentarians in developing effective gender-responsive policies and legislation, and also included a high-level policy dialogue and field visits to Rwandan cooperatives devoted to soya bean and coffee production. Representatives of civil society organization representatives, intergovernmental organizations, think tanks, and the media also...

Brazzaville - "Improving nutrition requires a collective effort. It requires well-designed laws that improve food systems, ensure healthy diets and strengthen school meals. It also requires adequate public budgets and it calls for strong legal frameworks that consolidate advances and allow us to press ahead." Referencing the words of the Director-General of FAO, José Graziano...

As producers of the majority of the world’s food, family farmers not only contribute to food security and nutrition, but also fulfil economic, environmental, social and cultural functions in the areas in which they live. Despite this, family farmers are paradoxically among the world’s most vulnerable and food-insecure populations. The UN Decade of Family Farming, led by FAO and IFAD, is an opportunity to work together to create an enabling environment for family farmers. During the global launch of the Decade, a wide range of stakeholders came together for a three-day period to work on concrete actions to support...

Rome – Senator Guido Girardi, author of the Chile’s food labeling law, recently visited FAO for a working meeting with the Parliamentary Alliances team of the Partnerships division, taking the opportunity to present an update on the impact of the law.  The Chilean food labeling law, which entered into force in 2016, was the first of its kind and an important example of the role that parliamentarians can play in improving food security and nutrition. The law requires foods that exceed specified limits of sodium, sugar, and saturated fats to be clearly labeled as such, and imposes certain restrictions on advertising...