8 December 2020, Rome/Bogota- Marcos González is a community leader in the department of Córdoba. He is very well aware of the reality that surrounds his neighbors in the village of Tierralta, as for a long time he has been closely noting the hardships they encounter to produce and provide themselves with healthy and nutritious food. However, after participating in training, he realized that he could expand his knowledge and contribute even more to the community. There he learned, for example, everyday situations in which the right to adequate food is violated.

This training was facilitated by ‘Social Prosperity’ and FAO, who for years have been carrying out capacity building and awareness-raising campaigns addressed both to civil society and public officials.

These initiatives would not have been possible without the strong interest of the State to improve the food security and nutrition (FSN) of its people and territories, especially of the most vulnerable, and to build a better country. It has spearheaded this process, securing the collaboration of experts and providing the necessary financial resources.

Another of the cornerstones of the cooperation between FAO and the Government has been the technical assistance provided to the Intersectoral Commission for Food Security and Nutrition (CISAN), the highest State body in relation to FSN, as well as to the subnational management and planning committees, by advising on how to develop public policies related to FSN and the human right to adequate food.

“Colombia, with these territorial management strategies and their corresponding methodologies, is traveling a little-explored terrain such as public planning with a human rights approach,” said Manuela Ángel, Assistant Representative to FAO Colombia. "The participatory nature has represented great potential for organized civil society in decision-making matters”, she added.

The Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Food, approved in 2004 by FAO member countries, have served as the basis for developing road maps such as the ones for the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF) to incorporate the human right to adequate food in their programs. In light of the recommendations made by the Guidelines, a context analysis was conducted and areas for improvement were identified, among others.

The work has been carried out at different levels within the government and in the territories. Given its complexity, articulating with all of them has not been easy. In addition to ICBF and Social Prosperity, the Territory Renewal Agencies (ART) and the Agency for Reincorporation and Standardization (ARN) have acted as counterparts. In addition, the Parliamentary Front Against Hunger has facilitated the debate with a plural representation of legislators.

Often these are field interventions, carried out hand in hand with the populations that are most at risk of food insecurity, such as indigenous people, women and local producers. At the same time, they are accompanied by plans to ensure their funding and that they can be maintained over time.

There remain challenges to be resolved on the horizon. Among them, making sure that social participation is truly inclusive, so that the voice of all actors is heard throughout all territories and their specific demands are addressed. This requires a consistent investment, not only in logistics, but also in strengthening the capacities of all those involved. Also, monitoring and evaluating the FSN programs and strategies, once implemented, to check if expectations are really being met. Accountability is another pending issue, a fundamental principle of human rights that refers to the obligation of authorities to assume responsibility for their actions.

The alliance between FAO and the Government of Colombia has proven successes, but the fight against hunger and malnutrition has not yet ended. The next few years will be decisive in ensuring that all people, in every part of the country, can enjoy the right to adequate food.

Human rights to stamp out hunger in rural territories

The development of the countryside, where 47% of the population lives in poverty, is one of the historical debts that Colombia has to pay after five decades of armed conflict. Among the challenges are securing access to land for peasants, gender equality or youth empowerment.

The State is convinced that a human rights-based approach is essential to embark on the path towards human development and poverty reduction.

The first point of the Peace Agreement aims to achieve rural transformation, recognizing explicitly the right to food, and therefore placing it at the top of the public agenda.

A clear reflection of these efforts is the reincorporation of former combatants into civilian life. The Agreement establishes they can receive land to carry out productive projects. FAO, together with other United Nations agencies, supports them through training, seed delivery, setting up cooperatives, etc. This can help farms to move from supply to market models.

The country has a great opportunity in building the new food security and nutrition policy with a human rights-based approach. These policies, and those that emphasize inclusive rurality, greatly boost the institutional support that Colombia has already been giving to the right to food, and which is expected to follow the same path, with each step along the way becoming stronger.