Organized jointly by FAO Senegal and the Initiative Prospective Agricole et Rurale (IPAR), the 10^th edition of the Windows on agriculture took place on April 14^th 2016 in the context of the Foire internationale de l’agriculture et des ressources animales. This edition examined “How to improve food security and nutrition in Senegal through a human rights-based approach”. The Window on agriculture represents a multistakeholder platform with representatives of State Ministries, local communities, technical and financial partners, civil society actors, producers and research institutes in Senegal.

Benefitting from the participation of around 100 participants with a wide-array of expertise, this 10^th edition saw four presentations elaborating mainly on three key questions for Senegal: How is the right to adequate food crucial for small-scale and family farmers? ; How do right to food principles support policy processes aimed at fighting food insecurity? ; What can be the benefit of a human rights-based approach to current policies?

Following the presentations from the four panellists, an interactive questions and answers session took place. During this discussion, a number of crucial issues for the realization of the right to adequate food in Senegal were raised and discussed, among which were access to land and productive resources as well as the role of women and youth in achieving this objective. Finally, the session enhanced the general understanding of the contribution of the human rights-based approach to the realization of the right to adequate food of all Senegalese.

While the session was moderated by Cheikh Oumar Ba (Directeur général de l’IPAR) and presided by the Ministry of agriculture and rural equipment, welcome speeches were made by Vincent Martin (FAO Representative in Senegal) and Cheikh Seck (Président de la commission parlementaire du Développement et de l’Aménagement du territoire). After the welcoming session, the panel of experts consisted of: Simon Blondeau (Right to Food Team, FAO); Seydou Ndiaye (Réseau Africain pour le Droit à l’Alimentation Sénégal); Zakaria Sambakhe (Action Aid Senegal); and Yoro Thioye (Conseil National de Concertation et de Coopération des Ruraux).

A report of the event will soon be available.