Organizers:

• Permanent Representation of Brazil to FAO, IFAD and WFP
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil
• Government of Brazil
• Ministry of Social Development of Brazil
• CONSEA (National Council on Food and Nutritional Security of Brazil)

Abstract:

Eliminating hunger and poverty is a global priority and a crucial requirement for sustainable development. The world is at the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda and progress on most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is either moving too slowly or regressed below the 2015 baseline. In this regard, urgent, ambitious, but also consistent and sustainable action is needed to accelerate progress towards SDGs 1 (No Poverty) and 2 (Zero Hunger) while also contributing to other SDGs, in particular reducing inequalities (SDG 10).

To that effect, Brazil has proposed the launch of a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty and created a dedicated G20 Task Force to discuss it. The Alliance is already open to members and will be formally launched at the G20 Summit in November.

By recognizing the intricate connections between hunger and poverty and prioritizing both in its framing, the Alliance aims to occupy a space that so far has been absent from most existing initiatives devoted to either poverty or food security.

The Alliance will focus on action at the national level, structured around three main pillars – National, Financial and Knowledge. Through articulation between these three pillars, the Alliance will seek to facilitate the implementation of actions to combat all forms of malnutrition and poverty, adjusted to the specific characteristics and needs of each participating country. To this end, it will take advantage of international knowledge and experience in the design and implementation of public policies in areas such as conditional cash transfer, social protection, homegrown school feeding and family farming – as well as the consensus arising from multilateral dialogue in fora such as the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

Register here

Organizers:

• Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, France
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brazil
• Government of Brazil
• Ministry of Social Development, Brazil
• CONSEA (National Council on Food and Nutritional Security of Brazil)

Abstract:

Tackling malnutrition in its various forms requires interventions across different sectors and systems. Integrating a focus on nutrition outcomes into policy and programmes on other issues, such as health, gender, poverty reduction, agriculture or climate, allows countries to achieve multiple, often interdependent objectives and make the most of limited resources. 

Increasing access to healthy diets by including a greater focus on nutrition is a priority area of concern for the CFS and its stakeholders. An efficient approach to addressing malnutrition requires comprehensive programmes and coherent public policies that address the different causes of malnutrition. Food systems including supply and demand sides dynamics, as well as the food environment play an important role in this regard, as are other systems and sectors. Taking gender into account is crucial to tackle gender inequalities fuelled by malnutrition.  

This complexity can be overwhelming for policymakers and practitioners alike. Both groups look for guidance and recommendations on evidence-based interventions, yet a consensus on what constitutes ‘best buys’ for nutrition is missing, particularly within agriculture and food systems. 

The objective of the event will be to generate a shared understanding of the evidence base of nutrition integration, success stories, identify gaps, and seek to guide CFS member states and other stakeholders in targeting the best approaches to integrate nutrition at the heart of policy and programmes. Synergies of efforts and commitments (such as the G20 Hunger and Poverty Alliance and previous N4G commitments) will be explored.

Register here

Organizers:

• Government of Norway
• Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Iceland
• Aquatic Blue Food Coalition
• Global Action Network Foods from the Oceans and Inland Waters for FSN
• UN Decade of Action on Nutrition
• UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
• Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions
• World Bank
• WorldFish
• Environmental Defense Fund
• Oceana
• CGIAR

Abstract:

2024 marks significant milestones in global efforts to protect the right to food, build resilient aquatic food systems, and support sustainable small-scale fisheries. It has been twenty years since the FAO council adopted the Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Food Guidelines (RtF Guidelines), and ten years since CFS Members endorsed policy recommendations on Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture for Food Security and Nutrition. Additionally it has been a decade since members of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) endorsed the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). 

The RtF Guidelines emphasize the State’s responsibility to ensure that all individuals have access to adequate food. The CFS policy recommendations affirmed the central position of the sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture as fundamental for food security and nutrition and the SSF Guidelines call for action by States and non-State actors to secure all aspects of socioeconomic and environmental sustainability in small-scale fisheries based on the human rights-based approach, ensuring participatory and inclusive processes. 

It is now time to assess progress made since adopting these guidelines and recommendations, and the opportunities for advancing the global agenda for strengthened protection of the right to food, resilient aquatic food systems, and sustainable small-scale fisheries. This event seeks to commemorate these milestones by bringing together stakeholders to reflect on past achievements, share lessons learned, and develop strategies for effectively integrating the RtF Guidelines and the SSF Guidelines, into national and regional policies, programmes, projects, as well as reviewing the policy recommendations, contributing to the CFS Multi-Year Programme of Work.

Register here

Organizers:

• UN Food Systems Coordination Hub
• COP28 Presidency, United Arab Emirates
• South Africa
• European Commission DG INTPA
• The Netherlands

Abstract:

Current food systems are impeding climate goals. In 2023, two global processes underscored the imperative of aligning food systems transformation with climate action agendas. Firstly, the UN Secretary-General's Call to Action at the UNFSS+2 emphasized the need to “align the implementation of national food systems transformation pathways with the continuous updates of Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans for climate action. Secondly, the COP28 Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action endorsed by 160 countries affirmed political commitment “any path to fully achieving the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement must include agriculture and food systems” and affirming that “agriculture and food systems must urgently adapt and transform to respond to the imperatives of climate change”.

Based on the idea that more can be achieved together, the Technical Cooperation Collaborative was formed at COP28 with the mission of supporting countries with enhanced access to quality technical  cooperation to achieve the objectives of the Declaration.

Responding to this, the UN Deputy Secretary launched the Convergence Initiative at COP28 to enable governments and stakeholders at the national level to strengthen synergetic action for food systems transformation, supporting the achievement of the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement.

Register here

Organizers:

• PSM
• Solutions From the Land
• Kenya Embassy
• Circular Bioeconomy Systems Institution
• Global Dairy Platform
• United States
• Syngenta
• Pinion

Abstract:

In this event, value chain partners offer examples of how circularity can be deployed to catalyse and support peri-urban intense farm-fishing-forestry systems and the production, transportation and delivery of their products.

Farmers, fishers, foresters and their value chain partners are key nodes in the delivery of healthy, abundant, affordable, nutritious food to urban and peri-urban populations and critical sources of resource circularity in the bioeconomy. The transition toward sustainable food production and distribution will happen in nonlinear ways as producers of food and their value chains move to systems that reuse, recycle, and repurpose resources and provide co-benefits of food and nutrition security, quality livelihoods, and more robust local and regional economies.

Value chain partners will discuss how they deploy individual components within the agrifood value chain as well as how they network technical and knowledge, resource inputs, mechanization and equipment designed to increase labour and land productivity, and mature and new technologies to increase circularity in the bioeconomy.

Register here

Organizers:

• FAO; Alliance Bioversity-CIAT
• China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation
• International Land Coalition
• One Planet Network Sustainable Food Systems Programme, Rights and Resources Initiative
• Switzerland
• UNDP
• UNEP
• WWF International 

Abstract:

The intricate connections between the Rio Conventions and National Pathways for Food Systems Transformation require policies that effectively tackle the interrelated environmental, socio-economic, and food security goals in alignment with the objectives of climate action, land and biodiversity restoration, and tenure security for all. 

This requires systemic agrifood policies, interventions, and investments in climate-resilient and sustainable agricultural practices, protecting and restoring natural landscapes, enhancing soil health, and promoting equitable land governance, including secure land tenure. These integrated approaches and global initiatives are essential for effectively addressing global challenges related to climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, and food and nutrition insecurity.

This event will focus on the critical intersections of climate change, biodiversity conservation, land degradation neutrality and the need for land tenure security in the transition to sustainable and resilient agrifood systems.

Register here

Organizers:

• Mexico
• Indonesia
• Republic of Korea
• Türkiye
• Australia

Abstract:

This side event delves into the critical role women play in achieving more equitable and sustainable food systems. We will explore how empowering women as agricultural entrepreneurs and leaders drives positive change, as promoted by different CFS policy documents. 

Through engaging with diverse CFS stakeholders, the event will also highlight actions and strategies to promote gender inclusion in food systems, drawing on the experiences of MIKTA countries. By fostering collaboration, we aim to inspire action to unlock women's full potential for improved nutrition, food security, and overall food systems transformation.

Register here

Organizers:

• Sweden and the Swedish FAO Committee
• Switzerland and the Swiss FAO Committee

Abstract:

The side event will showcase the various ways in which National FAO Committees (and similar structures) are and can be utilised to promote inclusive, multistakeholder-approaches to food systems governance and uptake of CFS products as well as food systems dialogues.

The FAO Basic texts refers to National FAO Committees as suitable instruments for coordinating participation in the activities of the Organization and some Members have Committees dating back decades. The function and composition of the Committees varies but several mirror the CFS as inclusive multistakeholder platforms involving and engaging a broad range of actors in agriculture and food systems. As such, the Committees can play important roles both in providing input to CFS processes and for the dissemination and uptake of CFS policy products and outcomes.

The side event will be an opportunity for sharing good practices and lessons learned from different National Committees highlighting various stakeholder perspectives.

Register here

Organizers:

• Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights)
• Special Rapporteur on the right to food (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights)
• End Water Poverty
• ONGAWA Engineering for Human Development
• WCC Ecumenical Water Network

Abstract:

UN Special Rapporteurs, Member States, Civil Society, and Indigenous Peoples will convene to discuss about bridging the gap between the right to water and the right to food. The discussion will be informed by the recent report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation “Water and Food Nexus: A Human Rights Perspective.”

Objectives:

• To discuss the report of the Special Rapporteur on the water and food nexus with governments representatives, experts, policymakers, civil society and rightsholders.

• To highlight the urgency of addressing the water-food nexus in the context of the water crisis.

• To explore better coordination opportunities between water and food sectors at national and international levels.

• To discuss opportunities for policy reforms that prioritize water use for human consumption, including sufficient and acceptable food systems, and promote gender equity and the fulfilment of human rights to food and water. 

• To provide a platform for rightsholders to present their experiences and knowledge.

Register here

Organizers:

• Germany (Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development)
• Switzerland
• Working Group on Global Food Security (AKWE)
• PSM
• CSIPM 

Abstract:

Against the backdrop of the 20th anniversary of the Right to Food Guidelines it is critical to explore how the impact of CFS deliberations and policy outcomes can be further strengthened. As the implementation of the CFS policy products strengthens the implementation of the right to food, it is essential to promote their dissemination, ownership, use and uptake following a rights-based, inclusive approach. Through diverse multistakeholder lenses, the panel will discuss lessons learned and best practices while taking into account the content of the CFS Uptake Action Plan. 

In view of the upcoming UN Year of the Women Farmer in 2026 and the crucial role women play in the agriculture and food system and for its transformation, this side event will put a special focus on the recently adopted CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (VG GEWE). 

It will explore how women are central actors in addressing hunger and malnutrition, yet are also highly vulnerable to the persistent inequities and discrimination in global agriculture and food systems. The panel will also shed light on how the uptake of new CFS policy products can be best undertaken in order to increase their impact right from the time of the development of policy products.

Register here

Organizers:

• FAO
• UNICEF
• World Bank
• International Agri-Food Network

Abstract:

In October 2023, the CFS policy recommendations on strengthening collection and use of food security and nutrition (FSN) data and related analysis tools were endorsed during the fifty-first plenary session of the CFS. They contain a collective call for action targeting diverse stakeholders with an objective of further strengthening food security and nutrition data systems for improving decision-making in support of the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security.

The overall objective of this side event will be to take stock of and discuss initiatives that are being planned and undertaken to implement the CFS policy recommendations on data in practice. These initiatives include the creation of a new statistical domain on FSN statistics under the aegis of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC); the harmonization of healthy diet metrics under the Healthy Diets Monitoring Initiative (HDMI); the proposal of a new SDG indicator on Minimum Dietary Diversity in the context of the 2025 Comprehensive Review of the SDG indicator framework; as well as the 50x2030 Initiative to Close the Agricultural Data Gap. 

Register here

Organizers:

• Switzerland; Germany
• Fastenaktion and RAISE
• People-Centred Food Systems project at Columbia University
• UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
• Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
• FAO Right to Food Team
• FIAN International
• European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC)
• The Rural Women’s Assembly
• Centre for minority rights (CEMIRIDE)
• VSF-Suisse
• Welthungerhilfe
• Mater Fondazione

Abstract:

This side event will bring together civil society voices from Africa and Europe to discuss the implementation of the Right to Food Guidelines and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP). The realization of the Right to Food is closely linked to the rights to land, seeds, food sovereignty and participation enshrined in UNDROP. We will discuss the struggles and successes of peasants, pastoralists, Indigenous Peoples and civil society organizations in promoting these rights in Africa and Europe.

KEY NOTE: Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food

PANEL DISCUSSION: Julliet Ogubi (Cemiride, Kenya), Tunsume Mwaibasa (Welthungerhilfe, Malawi), Lungisa Hunsa (Rural Women Assembly, South Africa), Paula Gioia (European Coordination Via Campesina, Germany), Christophe Golay (Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Humanitarian Law, Switzerland)

CONCLUSION: Geneviève Savigny, Chair of the UN Working Group on UNDROP (on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas) 

Register here

Organizers:

• ECDPM
• IFAD
• EAFF
• Brazil
• World Bank
• Paris Peace Forum
• Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
• Africa Europe Foundation
• University Mohammed VI Polytechnic
• World Rural Forum
• IUCN - International Union for the Conservation of Nature

Abstract:

The side event will foster a multi-actor discussion on enhancing the international financial architecture to support sustainable food systems (SFS) transformation. It will offer ideas and recommendations on improving partnerships, coordination, and inclusivity to address the projected $350 billion annual investment gap to achieve SDG2 and transform food systems by 2030, with special attention to the unique challenges and needs of Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). The event will feature a panel discussion with senior representatives from major international financial institutions, development agencies, regional family farmers’ organizations, and relevant national and regional bodies. This will be followed by an interactive dialogue with the audience.

Register here

Organizers:

• PFM - Philanthropic Foundations Mechanism
• TMG Think Tank
• Brazil
• Canada
• Caritas Nairobi
• Instituto Comida do Amanhã
• UNDP

Abstract:

A feminist call to urban food system transformation advocates addressing intersecting inequalities within food systems and cities. It recognizes that women and marginalized communities play critical roles in food production, trading, preparation, and crisis management, yet often face barriers and discrimination in governance processes. 

To combat the invisibility of hunger and poverty in urban low-income areas, we present two arguments linking inequality debates with the right to food.

Firstly, gender-sensitive urban planning reveals hidden truths. Poverty, violence, and hunger are interconnected, yet modern city designs often conceal these realities. A feminist approach amplifies the voices of marginalized communities facing hunger and systemic exclusion. In Cape Town, community kitchens, mostly run by women, act as informal security systems and play key roles in food provisioning during crises. Women are champions of family nutrition and urban agroecology solutions.

Secondly, the right to food in urban areas can be progressively realized through meaningful citizen participation in food governance. Technical innovations like greenhouses in informal settlements significantly contribute to the urban poor's food supply. And social innovations emphasize the participation of marginalized groups in policy processes.

This builds on the CFS policy work on gender equality (2023), agroecological and other innovative approaches (2021), and on inequality (2024/ongoing), pointing towards discussions on urban and peri-urban food systems (2025).

Register here

Organizers:

• Embassy of India in Rome, Indian Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

Abstract:

The CFS Side event “Right to Food and the Role of Social Safety Nets in food security and nutrition” aims at analysing the role and impacts of the social safety nets in fostering food security and nutrition and achieving SDGs particularly SDG 2 of Zero hunger in the context of the progressive realization of the right to adequate food. 

Drawing experiences from Asia, Africa and Central and South America, the event will deep dive into the scope, form and focus of the social safety nets, the policies driving their success, the challenges faced by developing countries in effective targeting and implementation, the reforms and adjustments needed, while also trying to address the paradox of co-existence of hunger alongside social safety nets. 

Register here

Organizers:

• World Food Forum (FAO-OYW)
• Indonesia
• United Republic of Tanzania
• HIRED Consult
• CSYM Tanzania

Abstract:

Every person on the planet needs good food to thrive, yet the agrifood systems that provide us with food are under increasing pressure to meet the requirements of a growing population. 

Youth are often excluded from processes that discuss long-term policies and solutions for agrifood systems transformation. Their engagement is limited to participation and consultation, seldom reaching the level of true leadership. This presents a missed opportunity for more inclusive and impactful outcomes to their participation, denying them the opportunity to be in the driver’s seat of agrifood systems transformation. 

To achieve good food for all, it will be crucial to elevate and finance youth-specific programmatic actions at the global, regional and local levels, engaging youth in agrifood systems policy and advocacy, empowering young agrifood entrepreneurs and researchers that have innovative solutions and developing youth's capacity around pertinent thematic areas that enable them to acquire relevant skills for entrepreneurship and employment in the agrifood sector. Looking ahead, it will also be crucial to explore key issues, trends and uncertainties that will shape opportunities and risks for youth in agrifood systems, such as artificial intelligence. 

As such, this side event aims to explore transformative approaches to enhance the inclusive engagement and empowerment of youth in agrifood systems transformation, aligning with the CFS policy recommendations on reducing inequalities for food security and nutrition, and promoting youth engagement and employment in agriculture and food systems.

Register here

Organizers:

• Food Equity Centre, Institute of Development Studies
• University of Cape Town
• CSIPM
• CONSEA
• WFP
• HLPE-FSN
• Government of Mexico
• World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments

Abstract:

Food justice and urban justice and governance are together the focus of the last two HLPE-FSN reports, which have both called for attention to how food system drivers are linked to wider systemic drivers (including urban systems and infrastructures) and how these drivers work in concert to shape outcomes as equitable or unjust. This event, which brings together members of the drafting teams of the two HLPE-FSN reports with academics and activists who work on urban food justice, is designed to see how a common agenda can be forged, with a focus on those living in urban contexts who are most marginalised in food and urban systems while also on how the urbanization paradigm often reinforce inequalities if the structural causes of migration to cities, particularly by the youth, are not addressed.

Speakers will outline the interaction between these two important CFS agendas and will highlight important considerations from civil society experiences and their collective agency in community-led initiatives, and academic research. The session will be interactive, with a chance for participants to help develop a common agenda and objectives for research, advocacy and policy aligned with the CFS multi-year programme of work.

Register here

Organizers:

• FAO - PSUF
• FAO-RLC
• Parliamentary Front against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean (PFH)
• The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation

Abstract:

This side event will be a pivotal moment in highlighting the transformative potential of the first Global Parliamentary Pact Against Hunger and Malnutrition adopted in 2023, to implement the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Voluntary Guidelines on Food Systems and Nutrition (VGFSN) and other CFS Policy Products through Parliamentary Action. The 20th anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Food strengthens the momentum for parliamentary networks worldwide to elevate their shared commitment to combatting food insecurity on a global scale. The Global Pact serves as a beacon of unity to address the pressing issues of hunger, malnutrition and food system transformation. This essential role of parliaments in accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was also recognized in 2022 by UN General Assembly (A/RES/77/159).

The VGFSN explicitly stresses the key role played by parliamentarians in “promoting the adoption of policies, establishing appropriate legislative and regulatory frameworks, raising awareness and promoting dialogue among relevant stakeholders, and allocating resources for the implementation of policies and programmes to achieve healthy diets through sustainable food systems."

The event will provide a space for stakeholders to explore experiences, synergies, best practices and existing resources, ultimately paving the way towards more coordinated and effective global responses to food system transformation.

Register here

Organizers:

• SUN, Scaling Up Nutrition Movement Civil Society Network
• Western Cape Government, Republic of South Africa
• University of the Free State
• University of Kwazulu Natal, African Centre for Food Security
• Economic Development Partnership
• CSIPM
• UNCTAD
• Mexico
• SUN Movement Secretariat
• CARE

Abstract:

This event merges themes from three critical areas: community mobilization strategies, the role of local food systems in a fragmented global context, and the impact of global economic governance on the right to food. "Nourish to Flourish" explores how resilient food systems can be cultivated from the ground up, linking community initiatives with broader governance frameworks. The event will feature a keynote address on global food systems governance by Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, followed by a panel discussion.

The discussion will highlight successful collaborations and lessons learned, including with the involvement of governments, civil society, academia, the private sector and smallholder farmers, while also addressing the challenges, systemic reforms, and investments needed to uphold food sovereignty and nutrition security. The event aims to foster sustainable and equitable food systems that can withstand future global crises by integrating local actions with global strategies.

Register here

Organizers:

• FAO - PSU & ESP
• IFAD
• International Agri-Food Network (IAFN)
• Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahamandal (MAVIM)

Abstract:

The CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment in the context of Food Security and Nutrition (VG-GEWGE), endorsed in 2023, mark a significant milestone.

These guidelines are the first globally negotiated multistakeholder policy agreement where member states commit to address gender inequalities that hinder food security and nutrition and impede the empowerment of women and girls in agrifood systems. They comprise a diverse spectrum of thematic areas, including dedicated recommendations on women’s economic and social empowerment in agrifood systems which cover women’s access to the labour market and decent work, their roles as producers and entrepreneurs and their access to financial services and social capital.

You are invited to join FAO, IFAD and the International Agri-Food Network (IAFN) for a side event on how we can translate the CFS VG-GEWGE into action. The event will showcase impactful collaborations with the private sector and government in favor of gender equality in agrifood systems, including examples from the State Women's Development Corporation of Government of Maharashtra (MAVIM) and the FAO-IAFN Women's Accelerator Mentorship Programme for Women-led SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa.

Register here

Organizers:

• WFP
• UNICEF
• FAO

Abstract:

This side event will explore the critical intersection of social protection, health, and food systems in addressing poverty, hunger, and malnutrition through the promotion of healthy diets and system-wide synergies, especially in fragile and least-developed contexts. Despite progress in national social protection systems, hunger and malnutrition remain persistent, underscoring the need for greater integration between food, health, and social safety nets. 

The session will highlight practical examples and evidence of how these synergies can improve nutrition, particularly for women and children, and boost human capital accumulation for economic development. With a focus on country-specific challenges and solutions, participants will discuss strategies to scale up efforts, enhance workforce skills, and ensure systems are adaptable to shocks.

As we approach the 2025 World Social Summit, this event will call for unified global action to place food security and nutrition at the heart of social protection, advancing the SDGs and sustainable development for all.

Register here

Organizers:

• Brazil in its capacity of Co-Chair of the Friends of the Right to Food Group
• Germany in its capacity of Co-Chair of the Friends of the Right to Food Group
• Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture - BMEL
• CSIPM
• Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
• EAO - RTF Team, Governance Team
• FAO - Development Law Service

Abstract:

The event will highlight the 50th anniversary of the CFS (1974), the 20th anniversary of the Right to Food Guidelines (2004), and the 15th anniversary of the CFS Reform (2009) where States, international organizations, CSOs, Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and the private sector strive to collectively embrace the challenges and responsibility associated with building inclusive and sustainable food systems anchored in human rights. It will highlight the pivotal role of the right to food in tackling interconnected issues that affect people and the planet, guiding national responses to the food crisis, fostering international coordination, and shaping food systems transformation, providing a solid legal framework for cohesive responses.

The event will also discuss the role of several other international instruments (such as CFS policy outcomes, ICESCR, CEDAW, CRC, CRPD, UNDROP, UNDRIP, ILO conventions, and CEDAW General Recommendations) in complementing the understanding of the right to adequate food, constituting an advanced normative framework for the realization of this right.

Over the last years, the right to food has been enshrined by a growing number of States into national policy and legal frameworks, making it central to domestic legislation and international policy, ensuring social participation of rights-holders and their organizations into public decision-making and the adoption of an inclusive, comprehensive human-rights based approach to food security and nutrition. The right to food is enshrined at the core of the mandate of the reformed CFS as strongly reflected in its mult-year programme of work.

Register here

Organizers:

• WFP
• University of California, Davis
• Kagin's Consulting  

Abstract:

Resources are failing to keep pace with ever-growing humanitarian needs in the face of shocks, resulting in widening unmet requirements. The inability to meet the increasing demand for humanitarian needs raises a critical question: What are the costs of inaction for both potential beneficiaries of assistance and non-beneficiaries, in both the short and long run?These adverse consequences analysed include short-term “costs”, such as increased malnutrition, poor health outcomes, and heightened vulnerability to food insecurity. Over time, these short-term impacts can compound, especially if shortfalls in humanitarian assistance persist. Long-term costs include stunted growth in children, reduced educational attainment, and diminished economic opportunities, perpetuating the cycle of poverty. The study also looks at economic instability and social tensions rise, impacting broader community development and national stability.This study, a follow-up to a previous regional study that focused on the macro effect of reduced funding, will focus specifically on two countries: Somalia and Uganda.

Register here

Organizers:

• FAO
• ICLEI
• GAIN

Abstract:

Urban agrifood systems feed most of the global population. They are essential to the wellbeing, health and prosperity of communities and the environment. There are multiple points of leverage within urban agrifood systems to transform food systems inclusively, equitably, and justly into ways that are locally meaningful and owned. Cities, with their routine governance relationship with communities and the surrounding landscape, are key to accelerating and effectively accessing these opportunities. They can respond agilely to changing circumstances and bring together multiple actors, for transformation.  However, the goal of sustainable, resilient urban agrifood systems is challenged by the complex intersection with other systems like climate, biodiversity and administratively, for example: technical and financial constraints, competing mandates, and lack of coordinated, coherent policies within city administrations and across multiple levels of government. 

Urgent action, led by national and local governments, is needed to build institutional capacity, and foster inclusive governance. 

This event critically discusses the pivotal role cities play in urban agrifood system transformation. Examples of multi-stakeholder action in the areas of food loss and waste, public food markets as well as national government support for food and nutrition urban challenges, are presented. The need for a global collaboration of urban agrifood systems actors—uniting governments, city networks, international organizations, NGOs, and research institutions to drive collective action and sustainable urban agrifood systems, will also be introduced.

Register here

Organizers:

• The Coalition of Action on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems for Children and All (HDSFS)
• Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition (ICAN)(WHO, UN-Nutrition, FAO, SUN Movement, GAIN)
• CBD, Alliance of Bioversity International CIAT

Abstract:

Employing a rights-based approach, with a focus on the right to food and the right to a healthy environment, can support more sustainable actions on climate, biodiversity and nutrition. Access to adequate, safe and nutritious diets is critical if we are to uphold human rights, improve people’s health and limit biodiversity loss and global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. To achieve this, comprehensive policy actions are required that promote the consumption of healthy diets from sustainable agrifood systems that align with global climate and biodiversity frameworks. Encouraging sustainable and healthy dietary practices though nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific measures in environmental policies can drive a climate-smarter world.

The proposed side event aligns with the narrative guiding the CFS Multi-Year Programme of Work for 2024-2027, particularly on strengthening the means of implementation and collaborative action for food security and nutrition. The event is consistent with this commitment to give greater prominence to the specific challenges and existing solutions posed by the progressive realization of the right to adequate food for all in the context of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Register here

Organizers:

• HLPE-FSN - High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition
• Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition (GLOPAN)
• Government of Sierra Leone
• Government of Brazil
• Government of Mexico
• PSM

Abstract:

The event will build the CFS MYPoW theme Building Resilience in Food Systems by focusing on how to boost resilience from production to supply chain management, exploring how to diversify sources of inputs, production, markets, and actors, including supporting the creation of small and medium-sized companies, cooperatives, consortiums and other groups to maintain diversity in food systems.

The event will feature results from the GLOPAN project on resilient food systems in Malawi, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone and from the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) report entitled, “Food from somewhere: Building food security and resilience through territorial markets” as well as inputs from Brazil and Mexico, and a representative from each of the private sector and civil society.

This session will contribute to the HLPE-FSN work on this theme. It will focus on lessons learned around how to bolster resilience at a range of scales: farm level production, the community, across the supply chain and within formal institutions, including interactions across scales and possible trade-offs and ensure food systems are efficient and robust. We will also look ahead to emerging options for bolstering food systems resilience including exploring how to ensure the processes of food systems transformations is also resilient.

Register here

Organizers:

• FAO - PSUR
• International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
• Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
• Government of Germany
• Government of Liberia
• Government of Switzerland

Abstract:

The CFS Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI) recognize that all stakeholders have a role to play in promoting responsible investment in agriculture and food systems. Governments need to create enabling policy, legal, regulatory, and institutional environments for responsible investment and ensure appropriate safeguards to balance the needs and interests of investors, smallholders, local communities, and other affected parties. Investors and agribusinesses are responsible for mitigating and managing the risks associated with their investments and for maximizing their positive social and environmental impacts. They are also responsible for complying with relevant laws and regulations and for conducting due diligence.

In many contexts, these stakeholders need guidance and support to apply the CFS-RAI effectively. For this reason, several organizations have collaborated on the development of a range of practical tools that governments, investors, agribusinesses, and other stakeholders can use to promote, support, and apply the CFS-RAI in practice. This side event brings these organizations together to showcase these tools, explain their role in promoting responsible investment, and explore opportunities for greater coordination of efforts to promote the use of these tools to strengthen responsible investment for food security and nutrition and for food systems transformation.

Register here

Organizers:

• Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC)
• EU
• FAO
• IFAD
• UNHCR
• UNICEF
• USAID
• World Bank
• WFP

Abstract:

Over the past 15 years, the world has experienced an increasing risk of famine. With the intensifying threat of climate change and the continuing possibilities of conflict, economic crises, and new pandemics, the prospects for the future are worrying. Despite significant increases in humanitarian assistance, acute food insecurity is worsening, suggesting that emergency food aid alone is insufficient. The protracted nature of these crises highlights the need to understand and address the root causes, such as conflict, poor governance, and systemic failures in food systems. Without proactive measures, the conditions leading to famine will persist, exacerbating human suffering and destabilizing affected regions. 

This side event will present the results of a series of dialogues held throughout 2024 that sought to build understanding of long-term trends, gaps, and responses to famine, as well as the role of humanitarian diplomacy and the critical elements of famine prevention. The discussion will seek broader stakeholder endorsement over an area that is often poorly understood and aim to secure a CFS acknowledgment of a new policy and operational approach to preventing famine.

The side event is organized by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) and Tufts University. The GNAFC is a multistakeholder initiative of humanitarian and development actors, united by a commitment to tackle the root causes of food crises and to promote sustainable solutions to address and prevent them. The members of the GNAFC are the European Union, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Bank.

Register here

Organizers:

• CSIPM
• UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
• Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – OHCHR

Abstract:

Famine, starvation, and severe food crises during situations of conflict, occupation, war and protracted crises represent profound violations of the Right to Food and Nutrition (RtFN) and failures to address them at international level. The formation of these crises and their persistence is often due to systemic impunity under existing laws. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) and other early warning systems provide essential technical analysis but often don't take a human rights approach in doing so and don’t address the diverse contexts and root causes of food crises, neglecting community’s rights, resilience and local relationships with land and resources. 

This side event seeks to utilize the convening power of the CFS, as the foremost intergovernmental platform to achieve global food security based on the right to food, to foster a different conversation around food crises that goes beyond technical measurements and into better understanding the contexts in which these crises emerge, and valorizing the evidence of people on the ground. It aims to also explore how political will and accountability can be mobilized within international bodies to ensure timely and effective aid reaches affected populations and propose strategies to enhance responsiveness and inclusivity in crisis response efforts. Participants will engage in a dialogue to share their perspectives and context, and discuss the needed role of the CFS in upholding and producing responses which are embedded in a holistic, human rights-based framework, in particular the use and implementation of the Framework For Action for Food Insecurity in Protracted Crises (CFS-FFA).

Register here

Organizers:

• FAO-PSU
• Mexico
• Canada
• International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs
• Global Indigenous Youth Caucus
• IPON Research Network
• Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples' food systems

Abstract:

In March 2023, the Resilient and Inclusive Transformation Impact Initiative presented the technical paper: “Indigenous Peoples: From discrimination and marginalization to inclusion in a meaningful and effective way”. This paper highlights the differences between Indigenous Peoples' perception of poverty and well-being and those of mainstream approaches, which often lead to the systematic failure of development policies. These approaches frequently cause harm – including the erosion of Indigenous Peoples' food and knowledge systems, deterioration of health and food security, and environmental decline within their territories. Such impacts often result in the migration of Indigenous Youth to urban areas, exacerbating their food and knowledge systems and threatening their right to adequate food, deeply rooted in their traditional practices, lands and territories.

This side event aims to address Indigenous Peoples' rights, values, and needs in the design, implementation, and monitoring of rural transformation policies and projects. It seeks to discuss strategies and recommendations to counter these negative trends and enhance the resilience of Indigenous communities. Despite their tied relationship to their lands and territories, many have lost control to them, facing increased violence and displacement. The participants of the event will gain insights into practical solutions and collaborative efforts necessary to build resilient, inclusive, equitable, and sustainable agrifood systems, contributing to the CFS vision and multiple SDGs (1, 2, 10, 12, 13 and 15).

Register here

Organizers:

• IFAD
• International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
• World Bank
• Agro-Ecology Coalition
• FAO
• Standing Together for Nutrition/The Micronutrient Forum
• Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)/I-CAN
• Government of Senegal
• Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, United Kingdom
• ROPPA
• AICCRA (WB) 

Abstract:

Climate change threatens progress towards the elimination of hunger, and food security and nutrition for all, but its worst effects are not shared equally; a 2021 report by the World Bank estimates that climate change widens the global gap between the poor and the better-off by $20 billion annually. Without action, climate change will adversely impact food production, increase food prices, reduce diet diversity, and decrease the nutritional content of staple crops, particularly affecting poorer populations in low- and middle- income countries. By 2050, an additional 78 million people will face chronic hunger relative to a no-climate change future. Evidence also links climate extreme events with low birthweight, stunting in children, and many other adverse health and nutrition outcomes. 

Entrenched gender inequalities cause climate change to impact the well-being of women and girls disproportionately. Women are often more vulnerable to climate change and less able to respond in ways that benefit them, which can perpetuate and, in some cases, exacerbate gender gaps in food security and nutrition. At the same time, women’s empowerment is critical for achieving global food security and nutrition goals and increasing resilience to climate change. 

Despite the importance of considering this nexus between women, nutrition and climate change, climate policies and interventions do not adequately integrate gender and nutrition objectives. Agro-ecological approaches, especially those which are gender transformative, will be essential for addressing climate adaptation/mitigation, gender equality, and nutrition goals in parallel. 

To achieve the level of investments needed, it is essential to make the case to policy-makers – in quantitative terms – for reducing inequalities in climate adaptation, resilience, and nutrition outcomes. The ‘5Es’ of the Value for Money Framework (economy, efficiency, effectiveness, overall cost-effectiveness, and equity) are a useful framework to articulate not just the full range of cost and benefit streams, but also, crucially, who bears these and how costs and benefits are distributed.

Register here

Organizers:

• FAO - Global Soil Partnership (GSP)
• Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Germany (BMEL)
• Global Environment Facility (GEF)

Abstract:

People require sufficient, wholesome and safe food to thrive. More than 95% of our food comes from soils. Efforts and investments to produce nutritious crops can be lost if soil management is not sustainable or if soils are unhealthy. Unhealthy soils cannot produce nutritious crops nor assimilate nutrients added by fertilization. Sustainable soil and fertility management (SSFM) is essential to preserve and increase nutrient content in soils, plants, animals, and humans. As global demand for food increases and environmental pressures intensifies, it is imperative to recognize the critical role that healthy soils play in shaping resilient and equitable food systems capable of meeting the challenges of the future. This side event focus on innovative approaches to achieve SSFM, highlighting key insights from the Global Soil Partnership projects, programmes and tools, FAO’s SoilFER Framework, the nutrition sensitive approach from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Germany (BMEL) and the integral food systems program of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). By bringing together experts this event will provide a platform for sharing successful practices, discussing challenges, and identifying opportunities for collaboration to enhance soil health and agricultural productivity worldwide.

Register here

Organizers:

• Kingdom of Morocco
• OCP Group
• Private Sector Mechanish

Register here

Organizers:

• GAFSP
• Foreign, Commonweath and Development Office, United Kingdom
• WFP
• IFAD
• Réseau des Organisations Paysannes et des Producteurs de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (ROPPA)
• Asian Farmers' Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA)
• Spain
• Cambodian Agriculture Cooperative Corporation (CACC)

Abstract:

In a world where collaboration is essential to addressing global challenges, this side event brings together a diverse range of voices to emphasize the transformative potential of partnerships in enhancing food security and nutrition. The event begins by offering insights from the donor community, examining how multistakeholder approaches, as exemplified by initiatives like the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), are key to the global efforts to combat food insecurity. Representatives from the United Nations Rome-Based Agencies (RBAs) will showcase best practices from the GAFSP portfolio to foster international partnerships aimed at achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2), with a particular focus on a human rights-based approach to food.

Compelling ground-level narratives that have emerged from GAFSP’s projects will be shared. Concrete examples from WFP's work with producer organizations in Southeast Asia and IFAD's collaboration with governments in Africa will showcase success of a multistakeholder approach in improving food and nutrition security.

The event will further engage participants in a dynamic discussion featuring representatives from the Donors community, along with voices from civil society and farmer organizations. This conversation will delve deeper into how multistakeholder partnerships foster innovation and deliver impactful results on the ground. The dialogue will be open to audience participation, encouraging the sharing of insights and raising of questions.

To conclude, the event will underscore the future directions of GAFSP, reaffirming our collective commitment to advancing food security and nutrition through collaborative approach.

Register here

Organizers:

• IFAD
• IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (CGIAR)
• TAAT
• AfricaRice
• Strategic Seeds company
• Ebonyi, Ogun and Benue State Governments
• Ministry of Agriculture of Togo
• ITRA
• ICAT

Abstract:

IFAD, IITA, and partners propose a side event at CFS 52 to present findings from a mechanization policy assessment on food and nutrition security in Togo and Nigeria. The assessment highlights significant issues, such as the capacity gap among local fabricators and the lack of access to full-grade stainless steel materials necessary for producing quality food production machines. In Nigeria, the project's intervention has increased farmers' awareness of government policies on rice and cassava, promoting high-quality cassava production and supporting import substitution. These findings showcase how agricultural research and innovation can inform and support policy implementation towards achieving Zero Hunger. 

This study and dialogue, involving AfricaRice, NARES, the private sector, farmer groups, banks, and input dealers, reviews government agricultural goals, assesses input utilization constraints, maps production input sizes, and identifies initiatives for agricultural transformation in selected states and regions. The analysis guides policy engagement in Nigerian and Togolese Zero Hunger forums, using evidence to transform agriculture through partnerships. The event will feature a panel with experts from IFAD, One CGIAR, government officials, and the private sector to discuss study findings, policy implications, and the role of agricultural research in creating opportunities for rural people, particularly women and youth.

Register here

Organizers:

• Agrinatura (The European Alliance on Agricultural knowledge for Development)
• European Commission (DG-INTPA F3)
• FAO - Investment Centre

Abstract:

The adoption of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals highlighted the need for transformative actions in agriculture and food systems to achieve Zero Hunger, enhance food security, and improve nutrition by 2030. Despite these ambitions, achieving these goals remains challenging due to ongoing crises, and the slow progress in building resilient food systems. 

International and national efforts to impulse transition focus on the supply side, lacking emphasis on demand-side measures. The absence of comprehensive demand-side policies remains a critical gap in achieving global food security, since these strategies aim to improve the economic status of the poor and are the only ones that address the root causes of food insecurity, poverty, and inequality. To overcome these challenges, the food system transformation should be oriented toward creating dynamic economies through investment in governance and public goods (roads, electricity, education) and job creation. 

This event intends to promote a multi-stakeholder debate emphasizing the critical importance of demand-side policies in transforming global food systems and achieving sustainable food security. It is proposed as part of Agrinatura’s “Sustainable Agri-Food Systems Intelligence – Science-Policy Interface“, supported by the European Commission (EC), and is jointly organized by Agrinatura, FAO Investment Centre and EC (DG-INTPA). 

Register here

Organizers:

• Mosaic Company
• Pinion
• Global Dairy Platform

Register here

Organizers:

• FAO-ESA
• Foresight4Food
• Nepal (Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development)
• Viet Nam (Institute for Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development)
• IFAD
• Food Security Information Network (FSIN)

Abstract:

Decision-making may contribute to shape up “the future we want” or to perpetuate the unsustainable ‘business as usual” model. To help countries and stakeholders in shaping strategies for agrifood systems transformation that deliver food security, development and humanitarian partners are engaged in strategic foresight processes from local to global scales. FAO’s “The future of food and agriculture” (FOFA) report series, FAO’s Country Policy Profiles (CPPs), the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) database, as well as regional and thematic foresight reports and the F4F network are available to Members to support foresight work. 

This side event will also explore how key triggers of transformation feature in selected regions and countries, how strategic foresight work is contributing decision-making, and offering available data sources and intelligence methodologies for more accurate diagnosis of societal understanding and political will to trigger the future transformation. Part of these efforts are made possible by regional information systems, which serve as a common reference point for different actors monitoring food security challenges. This side event will also showcase how these regional information systems collect, analyze, and share data on food security and nutrition.

Register here

Organizers:

• FAO
• Green Climate Fund
• United Kingdom, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
• BMZ, Germany

Abstract:

Rural populations are at the front line of climate change, but only 1.7% of the limited pool of climate finance currently reaches smallscale farmers. Through its focus on poor and vulnerable populations, social protection can play a critical role in advancing inclusive

climate adaptation, mitigation and just transitions in rural settings. This session will present findings from a recent review of social protection for rural populations within the existing portfolio of the UNFCCC climate funds that explored how to scale-up and strengthen the role of social protection in inclusive climate action for rural and agrifood system dependent populations. Building on the findings of the review, it will bring together key stakeholders from different CFS constituencies to reflect on their experiences of bridging the gap between those working on social protection, agrifood systems and climate change to deliver sustainable, resilient and inclusive food systems that leave no-one behind.

Register here

Organizers:

• Executive Secretariat of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries
• National Council on Food and Nutritional Security of the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil
• Secretary of Fight Against Hunger of the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger of Brazil
• Ministry of External Relations of Brazil

Abstract:

The adoption of the Food and Nutritional Security Strategy of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries – ESAN-CPLP, in 2012, consolidated the high-level political commitment of Portuguese-speaking countries to realizing the Human Right to Adequate Food (RtF) through strengthening participatory and intersectoral governance of food systems. Ten years later, hunger and all forms of malnutrition remain among the main challenges for the member states of the CPLP. These challenges become even more complex in the context of the escalating climate crisis. 

In this regard, the Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Adequate Food (RtF) by the Committee on World Food Security, adopted 20 years ago, present a strategic opportunity to reflect on the progress and challenges in consolidating participatory and intersectoral governance arrangements of food systems in CPLP countries, as well as at the international-regional level. Building upon the experience of National Councils on Food Security and Nutrition and intersectoral policy management mechanisms aimed at achieving the Human Right to Adequate Food (RtF), special attention will be given to lessons learned by Government and Civil Society in implementing ESAN-CPLP and to promoting social participation and empowering rights-holders to devise solutions for the complex challenges in food systems, with particular emphasis on addressing inequalities.

The event enables greater alignment of the CPLP with policies and guidelines stemming from the Committee on World Food Security’s Work Plan (MyPOW) 2024-27 and their dissemination across territories.

Register here

Organizers:

• CGIAR Nutrition Impact Platform
• Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
• University of the West Indies
• SUN Global Network
• State Government of Odisha, India
• CGIAR Gender Impact Platform
• Micronutrient Forum

Abstract:

In many countries, gender disparity in food systems is still prevalent, and influences the nutritional outcomes of different household members. At the same time, when faced with disruptions, women and children are unequally burdened with household responsibilities, and often face significantly higher levels of food insecurity and worse nutrition outcomes than men. As urban and peri-urban landscapes continue to evolve, agrifood systems will also change, with implications for the availability and affordability of healthy and nutritious diets, especially for women and children. 

This side event brings together experts in the field of nutrition, gender and food systems, to explore the synergies and trade offs from the urban and peri-urban continuum with positive gender and nutrition outcomes, and its impact on food and nutrition security. It will encourage the audience to engage by highlighting new insights and evidence-based solutions that can bridge the gender-nutrition nexus with rapid urbanization. The event will also seek to address the ’how’ in enabling sustainable, equitable and nutritious urban and peri-urban food systems to benefit diverse communities, especially women and children, leaving no one behind.

Register here