FAO, the Pan-African Parliament and the Parliamentary Front against Hunger together for Food and Nutrition Security in Africa

Johannesburg - The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) delivered a workshop with PAP Parliamentarians in South Africa, to advance the process of establishing the Pan African Parliamentary Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition (PAPA-FSN) as they intensify efforts to end hunger and malnutrition on the African continent.

In this regard, a delegation from the Parliamentary Front against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean (PFH LAC) were invited to share with the 20 African Parliamentarians attending the workshop, the experiences that have contributed to the development and reinforcement of legislative and institutional frameworks at the regional and national levels.

Speaking to the group of Parliamentarians and FAO Officials, Mr. Lewis Hove, FAO Representative for South Africa, expressed the Organization’s appreciation to the Pan-African Parliament, “this is a clear demonstration of the importance that the Pan-African Parliamentarians are attaching to food security and nutrition in Africa and to the partnership with FAO. “

Hon. Dr Bernadette Lahai, 4th Vice President of the Pan-African Parliament, extended particular gratitude to Hon. Maria Augusta Calle (Ecuador), Coordinator of PFH LAC and to Hon. Saboto Caesar (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Minister of Agriculture and Sub regional Coordinator of the PFH LAC for participating in the workshop, since their experiences will  assist African Parliamentarians in shaping the PAPA-FSN.

“I am sure that during this Workshop we will learn a lot from their invaluable experience”, said Dr Lahai, “the achievements that have been reached since the establishment of the Parliamentary Fronts against Hunger in 2009 are impressive” she added.

Experience of the Parliamentary Front against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean (PFH LAC)
As a follow-up to the participation of African Parliamentarians to the VI Forum PFH held in Lima (November 2015), Hon. Maria Augusta Calle reminded the meeting of the mutual commitment in fighting against hunger and malnutrition. "We took the decision that the fight against hunger has neither borders, nor political colour;” she said. “We have to create spaces for dialogue and exchanges of experiences to share our success as well as our mistakes; the solidarity among us is the key and all the actors need to be involved” she added.

Hon. Saboto Caesar in his presentation highlighted how a targeted programme had drastically reduced hunger in his country from 20% in 1995 to 4.9% in 2012, and new target set to 3.2% in 2016.   “Any number can be divided. First you have to start off with the political will, both government and opposition must buy into the idea. If you have 20 million people you could divide them into workable groups and assign structures for management accountability and transparency,” he said.

The Session emphasized the need for Parliamentarians to work, including through South-South cooperation, to create suitable legislative frameworks and instruments supported by political will and joint actions at the regional and national levels. To this end the PFH LAC delegation proposed and Agreement of Cooperation and invited the parliamentarians from PAP to the upcoming VII Forum of the PFH LAC in Mexico, where the agreement can be finalised.

Discussion on way forward
In terms of technical support from FAO, the Parliamentarians provided recommendations as inputs for a Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP),  fully aligned with the objectives of the Alliance. The TCP will be implemented following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the PAP and FAO before the end of 2016.

FAO reassured the Parliamentarians of the Organization’s technical support, including capacity development of the Parliamentarians and continuing the exchange with the PFH LAC.

The launching of the PAPA-FSN is slated for October 13^th, 2016 during the next session of the Pan-African Parliament in Cairo, Egypt.